Garden-Cave-Rock

Garden of Gethsemane

they have a public and a private section. we first went into the private area where they have younger olive trees and had a discussion. we then ventured over to the public area where you can't get close to the trees which are 2000-3000 years old.

Beit Lehi
(archaeological site in the Judean lowland)

we finished off the day at the Valley of Elah where David fought Goliath.
-Brian and i both show off our rocks!

Cae Med Beth

we left the beautiful city of Tiberius

- and headed to Caesarea

~ Roman centurion became 1st gentile convert to Christianity

~Roman theater

~Hippodrome where chariot races were held

~Brian and I enjoyed an old in day toilet

~cats were all over the place in Israel

~amazing views of the Mediterranean Sea

-we also stopped at Netanya college where LDS Presidents and those who dedicated the Holy Land are each honored with an Olive Tree.

-we only had 30 minutes at the Mediterranean Sea so some jumped in for a quick dip but Britni and I just waded and collected sea shells.

- Roman aqueduct

-next we headed to Bethlehem where we arrived just as the sun was setting. this was an interesting experience since Bethlehem is controlled by the Palestinians. we had to drop off our Israeli guide because Isrealis are not allowed in and a Palestinian guard walked through our bus holding a gun.

-Church of the Nativity where we can see the orginal flooring and Brian stands infront of the entrance where if you look closely you can see 3 doors, one on top of the other, that shows the changes over time.

-our big group cramped into one of the caves where we sang Christmas Carols. and within these caves Christ was born.

-arrive in Jerusalem to stay at the Olive Tree Hotel.

Sea & River

i was head of schedule this morning and while waiting for breakfast to start Britni and Brian spotted me from their hotel window.

i then enjoyed a yummy breakfast.

-we visited Capernaum where many teachings of Christ took place.

-we also got to touch the Sea of Galilee.

-Mount of Beatitudes~ (Sermon on the Mount)

-Tel Dan~ (gold calf erected and fortifications of Joshua)

-Caesarea Philippi~ (Christ asked disciples, "Whom do ye say that I am?")

-Jordan River

Tour around Galilee

we started off the day at Ein Harod

(the spring where Gideon chose his 300 men before he went to battle)

-Mt Carmel where Elijah had his confrontation with the priests of Baal

-Arbel Cliff for an overview of the Sea of Galilee

-excited to be on the bus with a/c

we went to Nazareth and took a tour of what the town would have looked like and how it would have worked back in the day.

that evening we went on a boat ride on the Sea of Galilee where Christ walked on the water. we then ended the night by sidewalk shopping.

PeTrA!!!

we started off our morning bright and early.
i really liked the design of our hotel- it was pretty sweet

the walk down was nice, however, the walk back up was a bit miserable at times since the last leg of the walk has no shade cover what so ever. the sun was out and was determined to torcher us.

Camel ride in front of the famous Treasury!!!

-when we left there were tons and tons of people packed in front of the treasury.
so glad we got there early and got our camel ride in.

-nifty little shop built in the rock
-Arabic apple juice and water
-cute little desserts at The Scots Hotel

after Petra we made our way for a long bus ride to Israel where we went through border control and then made our way for another bus ride. we got to the hotel in Tiberias, Israel located on the Sea of Galilee for a late dinner then headed to bed for another earlier morning.

new continent-new country

Asia-Jordan

landed in Jordan today- where we are 9 hours ahead of Utah.

-we spoke with a nice lady at the airport who is originally from Jordan but now lives in the states. she came for a long visit with her husband and left her children behind.

-we stopped by a place where they say god produced water from a rock.

-we then got to our sweet looking hotel.

ready for a long flight

the girls the night before we left. Dalia and Tes got to play at the Gerbers while their parents were having fun with me.

I'm headed to...

and,

-be back in 16 days!