Israel and Jordan

We have always wanted to visit Israel, and finally we went for 2 weeks in early October. The weather at this time of year is marvellous – still very hot during the but cool enough at night to sleep without aircon – and no rain at all. We spent 5 nights in Jerusalem and surrounds and also visited Bethlehem in Palestine for a day trip. We hired a car to drive right up to Acre on the Med Coast and then across to the Golan Heights. From here we spent time at the Sea of Galilee and then travelled south to the Dead Sea. We visited many Christian sites all over Israel, most of which are commemorated with a church built on the so- called original site of the nativity, sermon on the mount, calvary etc. Some of these churches are very old and amazingly beautiful but some are fairly new and often detract from the original story. It’s easier to imagine Jesus preaching to the disciples on the hillside over the Sea of Galilee when you look out over the sea from the car park than by entering the plain newly built church at the site. We drove all the way south through the desert to Eilat on the Red Sea. It’s a modern beach resort squeezed into the 11kms of Red Sea shoreline owned by Israel, with Jordan at one end and Egypt at the other. From here we were able to do a long day trip to Petra in Jordan, to see the amazing city that was carved out of the rock a few thousand years ago. The highlight is the Treasury Building which is amazingly well preserved but the site is really extensive and you can walk and climb for hours and hours. The border crossings were rather tedious but the trip was worth it. We also spent a number of days in Tel Aviv and really liked it. We stayed in a small boutique hotel on the beach front and were very pleasantly surprised by the beaches which were far better than anything in Eilat. Tel Aviv has a real café culture and there must be more coffee shops per capita there than anywhere else in the world. There is always time to stop and have a coffee! We ate at some good restaurants and really liked Jaffa – the old market and the new harbourside shops and restaurants. The Art Museum in Tel Aviv is world class and has an amazing 19^th and 20^th century collection. Israeli food is wonderful, especially the starters, which are vegetarian and brought to the table as lots of small portions of hummus, falafel, bread, pickles and salads as soon as you sit down. Main courses are usually fish or lamb and often cooked on coals. Local wines are quite expensive, especially for something good but go down well with all the outdoor eating.