Halloween decorations

The Equinox did a great job decorating for Halloween!

Relaxing day in Egypt

As we pulled into Alexandria, the rain came down in sheets (pic. 1). So far I think it has rained in every port. However it quickly cleared up.

I didn't have plans for Alexandria, just hoped to pick up a tour at the port (pic. 3) or take a ship's bus to a shopping mall. But there were only taxis at the port side so I spent a few hours shopping in port market (pic. 4) and then relaxed on the ship.

Pool lights

In the evening I stopped at the outdoor pool to relax and enjoy the colored fountains. Pic. 1 and 2.

I then checked out the indoor pool to enjoy it's fountain and lights. Pic. 3.

They were accompanied by music and both were very relaxing.

Passing back by the outdoor pool, I got to see it all lit up. Pic. 4.

Israel day 2 - the desert

I was up bright and early for day 2 Israel. I again had a private tour with a cruise critic group. Our guide was on time but for the second time, no driver. Eventually he was found and we were on our way.

First we traveled through the Israel desert. Our guide described how the desert has been used through the years for outlaws and those looking to raise an army. We were on our way to the dead sea!

Masada

However, our first stop was Masada (pic. 1). This is a high plateau that used to hold Herod the Greats fort and palaces. There are two ways up. One is to walk (pic. 2) and the other is the tram (pic. 3). Guess which one I took?

Top of Masada

There were a few ruins littering the top (pic. 1 and 2). Pic. 3 shows the top of the plateau.

However there was also a very moving story regarding some Israelis who held out here against the Romans for 3 yrs before committing suicide. Pic. 4 shows the ramp that the romans built to attack Masada.

One ruin showed where Herod the great had plastered over the local rock to give it a more expensive look (pic. 5).

Dead sea spa

Next up was the long awaited dead sea spa.

Soaking in the sea

After a less than memorable meal at the spa, I headed to the spa. First I soaked in sulfur pool. Then I went and got muddy (pic. 1) before heading to the dead sea for a nice soak (pics. 2 and 3).

As soon as we got done, a storm moved in and the waves kicked up. They closed the sea access so we were lucky to have gotten in.

On the way back we passed the caves where the dead sea scrolls were found but did not get to stop.

I had a fabulous time in Israel!

Glorious Jerusalem

I had a fantastic time in Israel. Our guide was wonderful! She had some tough situations she dealt with and still managed to pull off a wonderful tour. It's interesting how a guide's pride, love of their country and enthusiasm can really make a difference when they tell you about the sites.

We started our drive to Jerusalem about 7:30 in the morning with an expected 2.5 hr drive. She gave us a wonderful history of the road we were on and how it had been secured through the years. Unfortunately there was a broken down bus that delayed us for about an hour.

Eventually we arrived on the top of the Mount of Olives where we had an introductions to the sites. One of the highlights was the gold dome in pic. 1.Unfortunately the wind was blowing quite hard and the air had turned cold so we didn't pause to admire the scenery. The whole hillside below us and leading up to the wall of Jerusalem was covered in graves.

We then drove to the city wall to begin our walking tour (pic. 2).

Tunnel tour

Our first stop in the city was to take a tour of the underground tunnel system. It was a fabulous tour! We went through storage areas, old water cisterns and passageways to see the western wall, the original walkway that had been built along the wall prior to the city area being built and some animated mechanical reproductions of the process. We ended our tour in an underground cistern that had water in it. Apparently this tour exit had only been open for about a week.

The tour exited into the Muslim part of the city where we were told we would be escorted by armed guard back to the entrance of the tour. I didn't see the guards as there was a man siting outside the entrance yelling at us about why did we come to his city if we were afraid of them and why did we need a guard. One of our party started yelling back that he wasn't afraid of them.

It was all pretty unexpected as we had just come out of a dark underground tour into the sunlight and couldn't quite make out what was going on. Unfortunately with this atmosphere we just continued on so didn't hear much about that part of the city. But apparently we were walking down the way that Jesus walked with the cross (I think).

Western wall

After we completed the tunnel tour we stopped for lunch at an unmemorable restaurant and then continued to the Western Wall (pic. 1 and 2)

There were both women's (pic. 3) and men's sides (pic. 4). The women's side was about 1/3 as big as the men's side and significantly more crowded. The men in our group did some sort of dance with some traditionally dressed Jewish gentlemen on the men's side. They are uncertain if they were asked for money afterwards. The women in our group placed notes in the wall.

Markets

On the way to out next site our guide pointed out some interesting historical and architectural elements in the city. We also saw many little shops along the streets.

Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Our next major stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (pics. 1 and 2). This is a church shared by a number of religions. It has a number of major sites located in it such as the rock where the cross was, the slab where Jesus's body was laid out, the tomb where he was buried, the rock that sits at the center of the earth... you get the idea. Alot of unlikely genuine major sites. But all the same it was really interesting. Out guide explained the significance of each major site to the corresponding religion. And the mosaics on the ceilings and the walls were amazing.

More church pictures