Greece ~ Where Autumn Comes in like a Lion. . .and Lamb

"Listen!  the wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves,
We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!"
-  Humbert Wolfe

The wind which began last evening continued through the night. Its gusts have unrelentingly rattled the window shutters and pummeled our doors. The rain that threatened yesterday has made good on its promise today. I am wrapped in my flannel robe as I write on this dark, chilly October morning.  This time of year the sun doesn't make it over the mountain behind us until after 8 a.m. 

View from the Stone House on the Hill on a stormy day

I suspect we won't see it at all today. And to believe that two days ago I was wearing shorts and basking in the afternoon sun on our deck and later that day we sat outside at the local taverna sipping krasi, wine at sunset.

Sunset sipping wine in Stoupa village

This autumn's weather in the Greek Peloponnese, The Mani specifically,  is proving to be much like last year: both a lion and a lamb.

How are gardens grow in the autumn

Autumn is a time for gardens to flourish. Blooms are no longer punished by the intense Mediterranean summer sun. Garden stores are selling tiny truck garden plants for winter garden harvest – we only wish our time here would be long enough to plant and harvest them. Our flowers are in full bloom, these photos taken within the last week and all but the Lantana (bottom corner) are growing at The Stone House on the Hill.

Autumn leaves begin to fall. . .

Yet, there is no doubt that autumn is preparing the area for winter’s arrival. . .

A cloudy October day

We had two sets of guests last fall, one came in late October and we sat huddled together in The Stone House on the Hill waiting for a break in the wind and rain to go explore the countryside.

A November morning

The second set arrived in early November and we explored the area in our shirt sleeves under sunny, warm skies.

A number of you have told us that you are planning to visit ‘someday’ and some have asked,  “When is the best time to visit, when is the weather the best?” 

Late September Stoupa beach

We prefer -- and recommend -- the spring and fall but I checked a couple of travel sites to see what other travel writers have to say. While they are speaking of Greece in general, it pretty much echoes our thoughts:

September view from our deck at The Stone House on the Hill.

Frommer’s Travel Guides say, “. . . that the best time to visit is Greece is spring and early summer (mid-Apr to mid-June) or autumn (Sept to mid-Oct). This way, you'll avoid the summer high season, with its inflated prices, hordes of tourists and high temperatures (heat waves of 100°F/+40C are routine)."

Another site, greek-travel.gr points out, “December to March are the coldest and least reliable months, though even then there are many crystal-clear, fine days, and the glorious lowland flowers begin to bloom very early in spring.”

Approaching Kalamata airport - Taygetos Mountains

Airfares, like the weather, are usually better on these shoulder season months than in the height of summer tourist season.  But those of you thinking of flying directly to Kalamata should keep in mind, that flights here operate primarily during high season (late spring, summer, and into October). We just managed to catch one of the season’s last on British Air from London in September.

British Air flies from London to Kalamata in the spring and fall

Speaking of travel, regular readers know that travel to other destinations in Europe and beyond, was one of reasons we bought a home here Well, I wrote this post at the end of last week because I knew we'd be on the road this week -- our first such close-to-home trip in Europe. We flew to Rome from Athens on Monday, (two hours and 10 minutes gate to gate)  and we set sail on the Celebrity Constellation on Wednesday.  If you want to take a look at where we are off to, just: click this link. 

Thanks for spending some time with us during these blustery autumn days in Greece’s Mani. It is currently gorgeous weather in Rome, but they are predicting rain showers tomorrow.  Lion and Lamb, it seems, everywhere this fall.  We’ll be back as shipboard internet allows in the next few weeks. Hello to our new followers who wrote us such nice messages about our blog last week (you know who you are)!  To all of you, wishes for safe travels~

Linking up with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration

Reverse Thrusters! Middle East to the Mediterranean

Carpe Diem,seize the day!  Carpe Deal,seize the deal! 

Those are the philosophies guiding our travels these days. Which means sometimes we just never know where we might end up. Only two weeks ago, I  was telling you about that cruise we’d booked, the round-trip Abu Dhabi, Arabian Sea adventure. And that's where we were headed, until a week ago when . . .

The Scout and I were on our back deck enjoying our Friday afternoon ‘coffee break’ (a carry over from our 8–to–5 work-world; now just a relaxed time of sipping Starbucks and a bit of conversation) he off-handedly mentioned,

“I found a cruise you should take a look at.” (You know how The Scout is always scouting for deals and destinations).

Celebrity Constellation

He proceeded to show me a Celebrity cruise that departs Rome, Italy on November 2nd and ends up in Athens, Greece 12 nights later.  It is the Constellation; the same ship sailing to and from Abu Dhabi and the one on which we crossed the Atlantic a few years ago. She’s affectionately called, “Connie” by repeat guests.

The routing

The routing (shown above) appealed because it  included stops in some of our favorite Mediterranean places, but it was the price that jolted me far more than the java I was sipping: only $849 per person for a balcony room.  Ocean view, $723, and inside cabins only $653.  Were they kidding? Or was it a series of typos? Those were incredibly good prices!

Athen's Acropolis from the Electra Palace Hotel

Hmmmm. . .it ends in Athens. “That would be convenient,” I said. We could get a rental car at the port and drive home. (Short flights and easier travel in Europe was one of the factors we considered before buying our Stone House on the Hill in Greece.)

Now admittedly it ends in Athens because Celebrity has pulled out of Istanbul as result of recent unrest there and it does have three days and nights in Israel and one in Turkey (Kusadasi). Each of those stops could still be could be changed on a moment’s notice as result of safety concerns, but then any port can be pulled for a variety of reasons on cruise itineraries, even weather. If so, some other interesting port would be substituted or we’d spend another day at sea.  Not tough duty anyway you look at it.

A balcony room on the Constellation

The Scout pointed out this cruise is three nights longer and cheaper than the one we had just booked in the Middle East.  Airfare to Rome from Athens (with the checked bag fee included) is $154 for the two of us. . .another cost savings over the flights to and from Abu Dhabi.

Sunsets at Sea can't be beat

We refilled the coffee cups and grabbed the calendar. We were still well outside the final payment (90 days in advance in this case) of that Arabian Sea cruise we’d just booked.  We’d get our entire down-payment back; in fact we’d just transfer it to this cruise.  Downside of this cruise: we are within the 90 days so full payment was required at time of booking. And no changing our minds once that happens. . .

Hora Sfakia, southern coast of Crete

We discussed the pluses and minuses of the two cruises. One would sail us into whole new worlds and the other would take us back to old favorite places.

Then we talked about that pizza we’d eaten in Naples on our last cruise visit there several years ago. “Oh, there’s that wine bar near the Spanish Steps in Rome. We could go back there,” I suggested.  The Scout noted that we’d have time in Crete to rent a car and drive down to the village of Hora Sfakia on the island’s southern coast and visit Greek friends there.  Israel, with an overnight stay in the port of Ashdod puts us near Tel Aviv and all the attractions it offers visitors. Kusadasi is the gateway to Ephesus. . .

Sea Days are among my favorites

Two hours later we’d 'reversed thrusters', and with the final payment made on Saturday morning, we are set to sail the Mediterranean ~ we’ll get back to the Middle East one of these days!

Before You ‘Carpe Cruise Deals’

There are deals to be had in Europe (land and sea) now. I checked and the deals are still available for this cruise if anyone is interested.  We use a few filters before jumping on a deal - just to make sure we aren't blind-sided later. Here are some of our considerations:

Basking in the Mediterranean Sun - Celebrity Constellation

-- Cost of the airfare? Consider how much your airfare will add to the cost of the trip before signing up for a cruise deal. If you find a fly/cruise package check to see if booking your air travel separately might save you money.

-- Cost of hotels? It is best to schedule your arrival for a cruise one day early as it gives you time to get over jet lag if coming a long distance, retrieve luggage that might have been delayed and simply  enjoy the port city and not view it from the back of a cab racing to the ship.  It does mean you’ll need to add the cost of a hotel stay to your projections. We've decided to stay two nights in Rome because of low hotel rates.

-- What is the real cruise cost? Does the price quoted include port charges and taxes?  These can be significant additional costs. What are the terms of cancellation? (That's important if you change your mind as frequently as we do.)

-- What are the onboard benefits?  We are receiving a $450 on-board ship credit (which can be used to purchase excursions, beverages, internet, for example), and had our choice of a beverage package for two, prepaid gratuities, or free internet.  The on-board benefits represent significant cost savings.

-- Is a better deal available through a different agency?  Now some of you are loyal to ‘your’ travel agent and would never change and we understand that.  However we have found deals vary between on line agencies that specialize in cruises.  We have used Cruise Compete to compare prices (as everyone can do) and we’ve seen differences of several hundred dollars in costs or on-board benefit packages. We routinely use Vacations To Go and Cru Con on-line agencies.

Cabin location on a ship can afford interesting views - here we watched the refueling operation

-- What is the category of the cabin and where is that group located on the ship?  An ocean view room that is at the waterline won’t provide much view nor is a ‘view obstructed balcony/veranda’ going to be much fun either.  Find out the category of the room, then go to a layout of the ship (found on the cruise line’s web site) and check for that category’s location and deck. Often times the agency has particular rooms on hold, so get the numbers, look up the location and then request a specific room.

-- Will you feel safe in the ports of call?  A number of you’ve responded to recent posts, saying you aren’t comfortable with travel to certain destinations right now.  So before booking a ‘deal’ make sure you really want to visit the places on the itinerary. If you aren’t going to get off the cruise ship, do you really want to take the cruise?

-- On your own or cruise ship excursions?  Check the price of the excursions offered by the cruise ship – they are generally expensive and can add significantly to the total trip cost.  You don’t need to participate in those groups, you can tour independently or find smaller groups being organized by fellow cruisers who participate in the on-line, Cruise Critic, a cruiser user-group.

Lazy days at Sea

That’s it for this week – hope you’ll be back soon and bring a friend or two with you.  Thanks for the time you’ve spent with us ~ as always we appreciate it!

Couple of housekeeping notes:  I've noticed a number of you have signed up to receive our blog posts as weekly emails but you haven’t taken the second step to make that happen: 

After you've entered your email address in the box on the blog's home page, you’ll receive an email (in your regular or junk mail) from “Feedburner” asking you to verify that you did sign up, you must respond to that email to actually sign up.

And a disclaimer about the sites listed above:  We are recommending them because we use them - we don't get any payment or benefits from recommending them to you.

This week we are linking up with:
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration

Travel Planning in a time of terror ~

Plan – (noun) an intention or decision about what one is going to do

Planning (verb) decide on and arrange in advance: Ex:"they were planning a trip”

                                                                     -- Oxford dictionary

Mt. Rainier, Arriving Washington State

The next best thing to travel itself is planning it, to our way of thinking.  So much so, that we think of life as having two seasons: the planning season and the traveling season. 

Agios Nikolaos, Peloponesse, Greece - 'our' village

Sometimes though circumstances beyond our control can impact both the ‘plan’ and the ‘planning’ as we learned when we cut our spring stay short in Greece and raced back to the States to deal with a medical matter. 

Not only was our immediate plan impacted but planning for future travels was put on hold. It was a strange time for us.

Because, travelers like us, simply don’t think about not traveling unless some event – whether personal health or world event – forces them to do so.

To Travel or Not. . .

Not whether to go, but where to go? is the question

 
And there’s no doubt that world events are impacting travelers – headlines on a much-too-frequent basis remind us that any place, any activity can be a terrorist target:  Paris. Orlando. Brussels. Nice. Istanbul. San Bernardino. Munich. Japan. Watching fireworks. Dancing at a nightclub. Shopping at a mall. Transiting an airport. Attending a party.

Which poses the question, how much impact should these random attacks have on travel planning?

Terror – (noun)
-a very strong feeling of fear:
something that causes very strong feelings of fear : something that is terrifying:
violence that is committed by a person, group, or government in order to frighten people and achieve a political goal

                              -- Merriam-Webster's Learner's Dictionary

That impact was the dinner conversation we had with fellow travel enthusiasts this week. We’ve all been to Istanbul, Turkey and were discussing both its attractions and the double-whammy tragedies in Turkey; recent terrorist attacks and the military coup attempt. “I suppose you two are heading back there though,” one friend said to us. 

Istanbul, Turkey street scene

July 21, 2016

“U.S. Consulate General Istanbul advises U.S. citizens in Istanbul that it has encouraged its staff to consider limiting non-essential travel throughout the city, especially to public areas or sites frequented by westerners and/or foreigners. Extremist organizations may seek to take advantage of the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt to conduct near-term terrorist attacks.”

Istanbul  has been our ‘go to’ airport since purchasing our Stone House on the Hill in Greece.  Round-trip tickets from there to Seattle have provided significant cost savings in our commute between the two worlds in which we live.  It is such a vibrant, exciting city that we try to spend at least a night or two as we commute between continents.  But, no. We are not planning to transit Istanbul. . . for now but probably not forever, it’s on hold. [Well, we weren't when I wrote that sentence, but we've found a great airfare on an airline we like. . .maybe it isn't on hold. We'll see.] 

 Putting plans in Place. . .

But those headlines also remind us that bad things can happen anywhere, anytime, so the notion of staying within the United States and not traveling outside its borders is absolutely an absurd thought (especially for those of us who consider two countries as home). While we are enjoying our summer stay in the Pacific Northwest, we are planning our return to Greece and subsequent  adventures.

Arriving Athens, Greece

 

We’ll be heading back at The Stone House on the Hill for olive harvest. We are traveling via London – but only because we are able to fly directly to Kalamata from Heathrow this fall and we are eager to try the closer, quicker route.   We’ve decided not to book a return back to the States yet as we aren't sure when we are returning.  What we have done is booked a short cruise on that side of the world. On that adventure we’ll be setting sail from . . .

Abu Dhabi on the Arabian Sea

. . .  Bet you didn’t expect that one, did you!?

Magic Carpet is getting ready for another take-off

Yes, we’ll be heading to the Middle East from Greece. We’ll board a Celebrity cruise ship – the Constellation - in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates for a 9-night Arabian Sea cruise. We sail to: Dubai, also in the United Arab Emirates, Muscat, Oman, Khasab, Oman and back to Abu Dhabi. The ship overnights in all the ports but Khasab, so we’ll get a taste of Arabian Nights as well as days.

Salalah, Oman

We are starting our research and look forward to hearing from you if you have recommendations for any of our ports of call. Hope you’ll shoot us an email or a leave suggestions in the comment section. 

That’s it for this week.  Hope you are having a great summer where ever you are spending it. Safe and healthy travels to you and yours. As always, thanks for stopping by – hope to see you again next week. And bring a few friends along!

Linking up this week with:

Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration

Souvenirs ~ Decorating The Stone House on the Hill

sou·ve·nir  [ˌso͞ovəˈnir], noun,

a thing that is kept as a reminder of a person, place, or event.

We long ago quit buying knickknacks, postcards, key chains and other nonsensical items on our travels. In recent years we’ve been cleaning out our Pacific Northwest home of such collections and discarding the travel memory clutter.

  

‘If we can’t eat it or drink it – we won’t haul it home’ has been our rule of travel.

We refocused and redefined 'souvenir' when we purchased The Stone House on the Hill and began decorating it. We wanted a home that reflected ‘us’ and might inspire and entertain those who stayed with us. What better reflects ‘us’ than travel? Why not start buying things for the house on our travels? Practical, or useful souvenirs, you might say. We've seen it used in those decorator magazines for years. . .

You long-time readers probably recall we had an extra suitcase on our Middle East cruise which was designated for those types of purchases and. . .then. . .

. . .added yet another filled with Turkish rugs.  We hauled more luggage that trip than we've ever taken anywhere! 

So many of you wrote saying you wanted to see our souvenirs and how they’ve been put to use in Greece, that I thought this week I'd take you on a home tour of sorts and show you where some things and have come from and where they are being used:

Turkey

Let’s start with those Turkish rugs we bought at our last port of call, --  Alanya, Turkey, that magnificent place with the stunning old fortress wall --  on our Magic Carpet ride of a cruise through the Middle East last spring:

Alanya, Turkey at night from our Oceania Cruise ship Nautica

We purchased three rugs, one for in front of the fireplace, one for a hallway and one for the den.

Turkish rugs for the den, hallway and living room

Jordan

Petra, Jordan - a favorite highlight of the cruise

One of my favorite rugs came from Jordan – where Petra and the Wadi Rum were highlights. The purchase of the rug helped support the foundations and charities that are favorites of Queen Noor. (Queen Noor of Jordan is an American woman who is the widow of King Hussein of Jordan. She was his fourth spouse and queen consort between their marriage in 1978 and his death in 1999.)
The purple and green in its design matched perfectly with the colors of our ‘guest level sitting room and bedroom’.

Guest room at The Stone House on the Hill

We also found an easy decorating item and souvenir to bring back is a pillow case.  The day bed in the guest room has pillowcases in the center that we purchased in Singapore. The goal is to fill that bed with ‘travel pillow cases’.

Pillow cases make great souvenirs

While in the guest level of our home, lets move into the sitting area and . . .

India

We went local and rode tuk tuks to see Cochin, India

Our first cruise port of call in India was Cochin, where we explored the town independently from the back of a tuk-tuk, similar to the one above. On one of our stops we couldn’t resist this throw and pillow that now decorate the beige couch in the guest suite.

Throw and pillow from Cochin, India

Egypt

Safaga, Egypt our port of call 

Our introduction to this fascinating country of Egypt came with a cruise tour that took us from Safaga to Luxor and during that trip our guide told us the story of the importance of the Scarab beetle in Egyptian myths and legends. She held up a papyrus painting and I immediately ‘had’ to have one.  It only cost $7US and the framing (done in Greece) was another 20 euros – it is one of our favorites.

Scarab beetle brings memories of Egypt 

While 'de-cluttering' the Pacific Northwest, I happened upon some oversized postcards that I purchased several years ago in Provence, France. Instead of dumping them, I took them to Greece and got them framed (35 euros) by the two talented ladies who run my favorite gallery in Kalamata –  and they now are on display above the kitchen table.

Provence

A taste of Provence

While we’ve prided ourselves in purchasing ‘useful’ souvenirs for our Greek home, I have to admit – we did give in to temptation and filled our refrigerator door with . . .magnets, one from each country in which our Magic Carpet landed. They surround my favorite saying:

Life is not measured by the

number of breaths we take,

but by the number of moments

that take our breath away.

Now, every room in The Stone House on the Hill features something to remind us of those breathtaking moments!

Memories to take our breath away

That’s it for this week.  Thanks for coming along on the tour and we hope you’ll be back again soon.  I’ll do another post one day and show you some of the items we've found during our travels in Greece that now are part of our furnishings and decorations.  Do you collect souvenirs? If so, tell us about them in the comments below or shoot us an email!

Safe travels to you and yours~

Linking up this week with:

Mosaic Monday – 
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration

Alanya, Turkey ~ On the Turkish Riviera

It appeared we were docking below a medieval fortress and that pirate ships – the tourist variety -were plying the waters around our Oceania Nautica as we approached Alanya, Turkey.

Approaching Alanya, Turkey aboard Oceania's Nautica

These first scenes from the ship - when you aren’t quite sure what you are seeing are what we think keeps cruising exciting and will bring us back time and time again to the sea.

Nothing like fortress walls to spark the imagination - Alanya, Turkey

It was day 33 of this cruise that had begun in Bangkok, Thailand and taken us on a Magic Carpet Ride to new and exotic places in the Far and Middle East. We were headed to Istanbul, Turkey where most of the passengers would be leaving the ship.  We had made arrangements to disembark a day early* while the ship was in Rhodes, Greece, so this was our last full day of the cruise.

Ships of every shape and size - Alanya, Turkey

After the rushed and people-intense whirlwind tour of Israel the day before in Israel, we were looking forward to exploring this town on Turkey’s Riviera on our own. The ship was docked so that it was an easy walk into the heart of this tourist city. No metal detectors to walk through as we disembarked as we’d had in Haifa, Israel, no taxi drivers to negotiate with as we’d had in Oman, or tuk-tuks to climb aboard as we’d done in Phuket, Thailand and Cochin, India.

Oceania Nautica docked at Alanya, Turkey

Alanya, a very popular seaside resort town, according to legend was given to Cleopatra by Mark Antony back in 44 B.C.  It was during the Middle Ages that it rose to prominence under the Seljuks, who built the castle with its more than 3.7 miles (6 kilometers) of walls, 93 towers, 140 battlements and 400 cisterns. The Seljuks were a Sunni Muslim Turkish confederation that ruled much of Central Asia and Anatolia between 1071 and 1194.

The walls which once encircled numerous villages now have some spectacular homes within them.

Numerous homes are found within the old fortress walls - Alanya, Turkey

Not ones to shop for souvenirs, we had weakened our resolve a bit and set off to buy some Turkish rugs, as our Stone House on the Hill in Greece, was in need of floor coverings and it was our destination after the cruise. And when in Turkey, why not? Right?

Tourist town - no doubt about it - Alanya, Turkey

Located on beautiful gulf and  framed by the pine-forested Taurus Mountains, white sand beaches, caves and sea grottos are easily accessed from this town on the Mediterranean Sea.  Its location in the Mediterranean basin means rain comes mainly in the winter and summers are hot and dry. It’s Tourism Board uses a slogan, “Where the Sun Smiles” and that was certainly the case on our springtime visit.

The day and our cruise comes to an end - Alanya, Turkey

On board the ship, a pool party – “Sheik, Rattle and Roll” – the final event of the cruise, began at the same time as our 9 p.m. departure from Alanya. As we watched the lights fade into the distance it was time to start saying goodbyes friends we’d made among both staff and fellow cruisers. 

Our bags were packed - we were ready to go - Alanya, Turkey

As for those Turkish rugs, three of them were folded up inside that bag on the lower left in the photo above.  The large suitcase was filled with items for the house – many of which had been purchased along the way.

* Note: It was possible to disembark a day early but arrangements to do so were made before we before we started the cruise. Port authorities and cruise folks had to approve it. When they send the authorization, they remind you that you don’t get refunds for unused nights.

The route of our Magic Carpet Ride - Oceania's Nautica

Thanks for joining us on our Tales of the Magic Carpet Ride of a cruise. We’ve enjoyed your comments and the conversation our posts generated.  The cruise was an excellent way to see many countries that would have otherwise been difficult and costly to visit. We often use cruises as introductions to areas and then return later as was the case with Egypt. The cruise was our introduction and we returned for more last December.

So now -- like at the end of this cruise last spring -- we are off to The Stone House on the Hill.  We hope you’ll be back again next week as we have a lot to tell you about our little slice of Greece.

Happy and safe travels to you ~

Linking this week with:
Mosaic Monday – 
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration

Israel – Where Reality trumped Imagination

                                                                                               

It was all there: places we’ve ‘known’ since long-ago Sunday School teachers introduced us to Bethlehem and its Manger; Jerusalem and its Tomb. Our young imaginations were unleashed by those lessons and stories, in turn, enabling us to create images of both places and people.

However, as a child the thought of ever seeing these places was really quite unimaginable.

Then, decades later, on a warm spring Saturday we found ourselves in Israel. Finally, those  imagined places would become reality.

Dome of the Rock

It almost seems sacrilegious to cram a visit to Bethlehem and Jerusalem into a single 12-hour period.  There is far too much to see and far too much history to absorb in such a short time. But sometimes travel reality trumps the imagined itinerary as well.

We’d lost one of two days planned for touring Israel when our cruise ship was delayed for a full day in transiting the Suez Canal. In order to see as much as we could in a single day that we had remaining, we signed up for a big-bus cruise ship tour (12-hour, $195 p/p). We’d depart from Oceania Nautica’s cruise ship, docked in Haifa, at the ungodly hour of 6 a.m.

First stop, some two hours away, was the Mount of Olives for a panoramic view that stretched out over the old –walled city of Jerusalem, Dome of the Rock and the sprawling modern city that has grown around them.

In this small, overly-crowded area we had one tourist tout leading a camel and offering rides; he competed for business with the man, walking along side his donkey carrying a sign that read, “Take a ride with Jesus”. For a price you could have your photo taken atop the donkey with the Jesus impersonator.

“We’ve got Egypt to the south, Syria to the North and Lebanon, Egypt and Jordan to the east. That’s the neighborhood. It’s a tough one. Thanks for coming to visit. I am sure you got those looks from family and friends when you said you were coming here.”  

                      - Our tour guide, as we traveled past Tel Aviv en route to Jerusalem

Obviously from the crush of tourists – all vying for the best view point, the best photo angle and the best selfie, there were a lot of people visiting despite real or imagined threats to safety. A parade of tour buses stretched for miles on this warm Saturday morning. The Israeli/Palestinian unrest wasn’t keeping everyone away.

Tour buses and taxis for as far as one could see at The Mount of Olives

Despite the gaggles of tourists everywhere we went, it was interesting to finally see places that we’ve ‘known’ all our lives; places like the Garden of Gethsemane, the site of Jesus’s betrayal and the magnificent Roman Catholic Church, known as the Church of All Nations (aka as the Church or Basilica of the Agony), that stands next to it. 

The Garden of Gethsemane

Church of Nations

We followed a maze of narrow pedestrian streets through Jerusalem’s walled old city. Being on a tight timeline and being jostled and bumped by competing tour groups and local shoppers we had no opportunity to stop at the inviting stores that made up this bustling souk. Our path led from the Wailing Wall to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher – on the Via Dolorosa, the route on which Jesus carried the cross to his execution (at least the route as it was defined later in history by the Crusaders).

Stations of the Cross on Via Dolorosa drew the faithful to touch the walls

I couldn’t help but think of the story of Jesus chasing the merchants and money changers from the Temple when he returned to Jerusalem for Passover when I saw this sign along our route on the Via Dolorosa . . .

We merged into other tour groups squeezing into the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, the place housing both where Jesus was believed crucified and his empty tomb. It was a claustrophobic sort of tour . . . but nothing as claustrophobic as our afternoon visit to the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem.

Bethlehem

Our tour guide who'd been with us since boarding the bus and who provided most of our day’s narration was Israeli. Because Bethlehem is in Palestinian territory, another guide – a Palestinian – took over the narration and led the tour of that portion of the day’s outing.  She led us to the Church of the Nativity and Manger Square, both places where reality was very different from those Sunday School imaginary places. We went under the church to a stone-walled small room (not for the claustrophobic) and there peeked through a small hole in the wall at the room said to be ‘the manger’. As our slow-moving line inched past those who'd peeked into the manger, we decided the less time spent in this underground dungeon the better.

“Palestine and Israel talk of ‘quiet’ not ‘peace’ for the sake of tourism”            

- our Israeli guide

In addition to the Holy sites our whirlwind tour had taken us past lush agricultural fields and suburbs with towering high-rises that housed some of the world’s tech giants. 

Sadly, what may have been far more moving than scenes dating back 2,000 years, were those, like 'the wall'  that spoke of the present day:

Armed guards The Mount of Olives

The Gate between Jerusalem and Bethlehem

The wall separating Jerusalem and Bethlehem - Israel and Palestine

We'd had a long and interesting tour. Perhaps with fewer people and a slower pace, we'd have reacted differently to the sites we visited.  Many had told us in advance of our visit of their experiences in which they had wonderful - downright, moving - reactions to the place. We didn't. Someday, maybe, we’ll get a chance to return. We likely won’t go out of our way to do so.  There are many other places along our Magic Carpet Ride of a cruise route that we’d rather revisit.

The brief stop did spark an interest in knowing more of the story and for those of you history buffs out there, we highly recommend, Jerusalem, The Biography, by Simon Montefiore:



Next week, we’ll conclude our Middle East cruise tales with a stop in Turkey. Then we'll be heading back to our other life at The Stone House on the Hill in Greece and we've got some road trips to take you on while there!  As always thanks so much for the time you spent with us – hope to see you back again soon.  Happy and safe travels to you and yours~

Linking up with:
Mosaic Monday – 
Through My Lens
Our World Tuesday
Wordless Wednesday
Travel Photo Thursday – 
Photo Friday
Weekend Travel Inspiration