Israel Part One: Tel Aviv, Haifa, Sea of Galilee

This past week Darren and I have been in Israel and we had a fantastic time.  Darren had to go to Tel Aviv and Haifa to attend two meetings that were on Sunday and Wednesday, so we decided that I would accompany him and we would try to do some sightseeing before and in between the meetings.  Even though I knew Darren's work had a good-sized office in Tel Aviv, I just never thought about the possibility that we would do some sightseeing there, but once everything came together, I was really excited.  Darren was in Israel briefly this summer while on a work trip, and while he did see some sights (mostly the Dead Sea and Masada), it was a very short trip, so he was also looking forward to going back.

The whole trip was incredible and we took over 400 pictures.  I want to remember the details as much as I want to share our trip with you, so I will be splitting this trip into multiple posts with many pictures, just to prepare you.  Also, multiple friends of ours mentioned they will be traveling to the area soon and wanted to hear about our experiences, so I will be adding in commentary and recommendations for them.  So now to begin!

We arrived Friday afternoon and got through immigration and customs with no problems.  The guy at the immigration booth even joked that he thought we might be heading to the BYU Jerusalem Center because our passports show that we were both born in Utah.  We made sure to correct him that we definitely do not attend BYU (Sorry, Dad). ;)  We picked up our rental car and attempted driving in Israel.  Wow, Israelis seem like they are unsafe drivers.  I'm not exactly sure why they have lane markers, turn signals, or parking spot lines, since most people do not use them.  I have proof, too, which will come later.  Anyway, we drove to our hotel, which was right next to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, where a lot of other hotels were located.  We stayed at the Best Western, which was not super fancy, but they had free wi-fi and (more crucially) free parking.  Most other places charged for parking.

Our hotel, Best Western, was not fancy but it worked out pretty well

Some (maybe most? I'm not sure) hotel rooms in Israel come with a small kitchenette in the room.  The reason is apparently to allow Jewish guests to store or prepare a small meal for the Sabbath since they would not go to a restaurant or even use electricity that day.  It worked out great for us because we could eat breakfast in the room every morning.  We both had cereal most mornings and we even found a convenience store around the corner that sold my favorite kind of American cereal: Quaker Oatmeal Squares.

The small kitchen in our hotel room

Another thing about the hotel unique to the country was the small box on the post of every door.  This is called a Mezuzah, which contains specific scriptures that the Jewish people believe should be on the posts of every door (see Deuteronomy 6:9).

By the time we got settled, it was dinner time, so we just ate at a place close by and then headed home as a thunderstorm was rolling in.  The next morning, while Darren was getting ready, I walked across to the street to the promenade just to enjoy the sunshine (the weather in Zürich had been a little dreary before we left) and to take some pictures.  The white sandy beaches are gorgeous and well-maintained.  The promenade stretches for miles along the coast.

The hotels along the beach

Who knew Israel was an excellent beach getaway?

Locals enjoying the water

We then left our hotel and drove up from Tel Aviv to Haifa, which is the third-largest city and a major industrial center.  It is a non-religious city, so it is a good place to visit on a Saturday, when most other cities are closed down.  Haifa sits at the foot of Mount Carmel.  We drove up to the top of Mount Carmel to see the views and visit some sites.

The view of Haifa from Mount Carmel

Mount Carmel is mentioned in the Bible several times, including when Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal (see 1 Kings 18:19).  We went to the Carmelite Monastery that is built around a cave where it is said Elijah lived for a short time.

The Carmelite Monastery chapel

The cave where Elijah is said to have lived

The headquarters of the Baha'i faith are also located on Mount Carmel.  We made a short visit to the beautiful gardens they have that extend all the way down the mountainside.

The Baha'i Gardens

After a quick lunch, we jumped in the car and drove to the Sea of Galilee.  We just passed through Nazareth and didn't stop to take pictures because while there are one or two things to see, the city is overcrowded and a bit rundown.  Plus we were running out of daylight and decided we were more interested in the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee is actually just a good-sized lake that is Israel's main source of fresh water.  Another interesting fact is the lake is down in a valley, so its surface is actually 200 feet below sea level.  There are several small towns around the Sea of Galilee.  Our first stop was the largest town of Tiberias, which was the regional capital in ancient times.  A major flood in 1934 damaged much of the town, so there are only a few ancient buildings left.  However, the town has a nice lakefront promenade that we walked down.  The Sea of Galilee was very pretty and I could see this area being a decent vacation spot.

Walking towards the promenade

A view of the lake from Tiberias

One old building we came across, which we think is an old mosque

We then drove north along the western shore of the lake to see the Church of the Beatitudes, which was built by the Roman Catholic church on a hill believed to be near the place where Christ gave the Sermon on the Mount.  The area around the church was beautifully landscaped and also had a great view of the lake.

The view from the grounds of the Church of the Beatitudes

The Church of the Beatitudes

Inside the church

A great shot of the church at sunset by Darren

Our final stop was the remnants of the ancient town of Capernaum, where the Apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John were from.  Christ also preached and performed several miracles here.

A statue of Peter the Apostle

Some believe that these ruins below are what is left of Peter's house.  From what I remember reading, a church had been built around the foundations of the house, but it fell into ruin over time.  Over the house, a sort of church has been built with a partial glass bottom to view the ruins.

The remains of Peter's house

The structure over Peter's house

Another interesting site was the ruins from a synagogue built around the 4th century AD, which was built on the foundation of a previous synagogue that was from the time of Christ.  It was fascinating to be able to walk inside and around this structure and try to imagine what it looked like when it was used.

An ancient synagogue

Darren inside the ruins of the synagogue

A picture of sunset from the town of Capernaum

Most sites close around 4 or 5 pm during the winter months, so we headed back to Tel Aviv around 5 pm.  Just as a quick note, we ate at a great place called Orna and Ella, which served fresh and local food.  It was my favorite place we ate at while we were there and I would recommend it to anyone.

Orna and Ella does not have an English sign, so watch for this sign

That was our first day in Israel!  More to come!