Jerusalem & Tel Aviv
March 16-18, 2018
Israel has been on my bucket list for the longest time! The Bible always talked about Jerusalem and it felt a little unreal to walk the streets of our cities ourselves in real life! From floating in the Dead Sea (and accidentally getting an Israeli parking ticket) to visiting intriguing Biblical sites and eating the best cauliflower pita at Miznon in Tel Aviv, we loved Israel and wouldn't have wanted to wrap up our Middle East adventure anywhere else.
The Dead Sea is the lowest point of elevation on the entire Earth. Wild!
We found a public beach and tiptoed into the water despite the cold. Okay, it's true...we only stayed in there for a few minutes each :) As expected, our bodies floated with ease! Our skin stung from the salty water and we had to wash ourselves off immediately as the salt already started to crystallize once our skin met the air. Very cool and relaxing experience though!
From the Dead Sea, we drove to the Garden Tomb, which is purported to be the actual tomb of Jesus :O Tons of Catholic and Christian tour groups lined up for a few seconds in the tomb. While it felt like a "holy site," it also felt like an empty stone room to me.
There's no need for us to revere a site like this because Christ is risen and alive today! It's simply cool from a historical perspective.
Crowds of Jewish people flocked to the Western Wall to recite prayers and slip prayers written on pieces of paper into cracks on the wall. With a pep in my step, I quickly hurried down the ramp to the wall when I turned back and realized a few men were yelling my name. "That's the men's section!" they gasped.
I looked around and indeed noticed only men around me. Pro tip: half of the wall is dedicated to men and the other side, exclusively for women. I guess I made it easy to tell I'm a tourist...whoops! For anyone visiting, it's women on the right and men on the left. ;)
Lastly in Jerusalem, the via dolorosa, the street Jesus walked carrying the cross to His crucifixion. This felt so sobering as we walked along the same street and imagined the feeling of dying a death as an innocent man, but choosing to take on this sacrifice so you and I would have a way to heaven.
In Tel Aviv, we found the lovely eatery of Miznon! Some of the best food of our entire Middle East trip (and an awesome recommendation from our friend, Carly S) :). They are famous for their pitas, especially their roasted cauliflower one. They have amazing sauces and lines packed out the door. We probably had to wait a good 40 minutes for our order to be ready, but it was well worth the wait and so delicious.
We spent the day biking using Tel Aviv's bikeshare. So convenient and honestly such an easy way to see the city! We also stayed at the best hotel: Vital Hotel Tel Aviv. Highly recommend as they have the best lounge with high quality refreshments and drinks galore.
We biked through a hipster area with tons of graffiti art on the walls. The bike path took us from the Old City to Jaffa Gate, which was absolutely stunning as the sun set as it's right by the water. The most beautiful way to end our Middle East adventure! Not to mention, some delicious gelato as a quick pick-me-up.
Thus concludes the biggest adventure we've taken. Hope these posts were helpful in case you plan on visiting the Middle East! Is there any place we missed seeing and need to go back for?!
See the whole series from our Middle East adventure below :)