Israel is a land long contested and fought over by many nations and religions from all over the world. Also it still remains a birthplace for a number of religions if not a significant place of worship for some. It shares land borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan on the east, the Palestinian territories comprising the West Bank and Gaza strip on the east and southwest, respectively, and Egypt and the Gulf of Equaba in the Red Sea to the south. Always under pressure from the borders and constantly under civil unrest- my visit to Israel was short but well-travelled. This time the country was fighting on the West Bank around the Gaza strip against the Palestinians…

The unique opportunity that I was presented with was to travel with a good friend from NZ to Israel as her father was originally from this holy country. We met each other at the airport in Tel Aviv and shortly after were greeted by her parents and then driven to Nofit, a small colony near Haifa. Here I stayed with a warm family, a good friend of Samantha’s dad. The colony resided up in the cool hills of Haifa overlooking much of the lightly populated city. The main thing I remember about staying in this area was the crisp, warm morning air and the amazing smells of the Mediterranean food. I ate my fair share of hummus, falafels, salads, trina cookies, stuffed tomatoes and the food was all cooked with love and care. The first couple of days were spent exploring the nearby villages and also the main city centre of Haifa.

Haifa been the largest city in Northern Israel and built on the slopes of Mt Carmel has a settlement that spans for more than 3000 years. We drove around the main sea port and stopped for a light meal before heading off again up the winding roads. The Bahai Gardens are a must see stop here providing a spectacular aerial view of the city and at the same time allowing one to view a cascading garden that flows from the top to bottom. After this we went to visit an old monastery called Stella Maris where monks still reside.

        

The main intentions of my travels was again to live and feel what it’s like to be a local living and residing in this country. Israel is a tough one though, people wore a tough, relaxed and friendly exterior but on the inside were deeply torn by a lot of what was happening within their country. Haim, the good friend of Samantha’s father informed me one night of his time-serving in the army and how they lived each day like it could be their last. The sounds they heard, the sights they saw and the smells they smelt would be enough to traumatise and upset anyone for life. Not only this, living in such a country with the constant fear of something happening had seen them run off into their bomb shelter a number times. This room is built-in almost most houses in Israel.

Nazareth, one of the oldest cities in the world has a strong significance in both Christian and Arabic religion. Now seen as the Arab capital of Israel, Nazareth is an old brick laid city with many holy sites. The places we were fortunate enough to visit were the Basilica of Annunciation and Mary’s well. Here it was assumed that Angel Gabriel came down to Mary and told her that she was going to be having a child. The place holds a certain sanctity and to make sure this is respected, please ensure you have appropriate clothing that sees you draped from head to toe. Also be weary of the hawkers trying to sell “spiritual merchandise” as they are just selling in the area as a means to make money.

                             

Basilica of Annunciation                                                           Mary’s Well

Tiberius is a western city near the Sea of Galilee which was established a long time ago was named after the famous Roman Emperor Tiberius. This city now houses the majority of jews and christian within Israel and hosts a number of significant historical landmarks. We visited a few sites and it was all packed within half a day. The main one which is a must do is to visit the River of Jordan where Jesus was said to have been baptised by John the Baptist. Religious or not this place holds a very special and moving atmosphere that draws you in the moment you step in. Over here you’re able to dip and bathe in the river and can choose to get baptised within this river if you so please. For those truly spiritual this is a unique opportunity as they have the opportunity to baptise themselves in these spiritual waters. Not having enough time, I thought I’d just dip my feet in the water and stay there for a bit soaking in the atmosphere trying to imagine what it would have been like back then.  Make sure you visit this holy site!

    

Jerusalem is located on a plateau in the Judean Mountains between the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea and it is one of the oldest cities in the world. It is the home to the three major Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Israelis and Palestinians both claim Jerusalem as their capital, as Israel maintains its primary governmental institutions there and the State of Palestine ultimately foresees it as its seat of power; however, neither claim is widely recognized internationally.

For me this was a place of great importance and learning as I was able to trace in the footsteps of many religious events a couple of millenniums ago. The road into the old city was enough to send shivers down my spine. The buildings, the churches, the markets and the number of religious people scrummaging around was an indication that we were in Jerusalem. Here we went past many sites like King David’s Tomb, Heichal Shlomo, The Shrine of the book and many more. I really wanted to go to the mount of olives but it was red-zoned because of the fighting. So we parked up and went it into the old city and entered through the most amazing gates by King David’s fort. Here we whizzed our way through the many markets in the Armenian Quarter, Arabic Quarter, Christian Quarter and the Jewish Quarter. Each area unique in its smells and products had its way of captivating us and drawing us towards them with curiosity. For me the two most moving places was the The Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Western Wall.

This church is venerated as Calvary (Golgotha), where Jesus was supposed to be crucified and also contains the place where Jesus is said to have been buried. Within the church are the last four or five Stations of the Cross along the Via Dolorosa, representing the final episodes of Jesus’s Passion.

         

The Western Wall wall has been a site for Jewish prayer and pilgrimage for centuries; the earliest source mentioning Jewish attachment to the site dates back to the 4th century.  The wall itself wasn’t very big but the queues of people from all wakes of the world wanting to go up and pray and leave a note, was astounding. Being there and actually observing these masses draw in, would make anyone, religious or not moved by the experience. I myself, walked up and left a note within the walls.

      

The rest of the day was spent walking through the many winding streets, picking up on small historic sites and informing ourselves with a bit more information. It was a very hot day and we were all very exhausted by the end of it so decided to retire back to our place.

Israel to me was a unique country in itself, a city of unrest and a place that has seen a lot of trauma physically and emotionally. The people there still live in fear & restlessness but have no intentions of moving as for them this is home. Very kind, welcoming and loving people- Israel definitely was made unique by the people I met and the family I traveled with. Go there, take a risk and come back fulfilled in more ways than you can imagine.