The beauty about having free & easy days added to a package tour is the flexibility of itinerary. Our 12-day package only had a day tour at the old city of Jerusalem but we were so drawn to it that we came back for more airtime on the last 2 days of our trip.
Oh, how I love Jerusalem!
DAY 3: Old City Tour
It was raining heavily in the morning. Dee and I got out a few minutes late and missed the volunteers who offered to walk with us to Jaffa Gate. We thought we might as well go on our own. Geared with a raincoat and map, we walked through the chilling old city starting with the Christian Quarters and all the way through Muslim, Armenian and Jewish Quarters. Managed to go around the City of David in Zion, too.
The line towards the “tomb of Jesus” was too long so we didn’t bother queueing up. Pose na lang! *click*
HORROR NIGHT
Since our package with Abraham Tours has ended, even though we wanted to continue our hostel booking, we couldn’t do so. They were fully booked that weekend. Finding a better and cheaper alternative, we booked a loft apartment nearby and went straight after coming back from West Bank.It was a horror night for us! Stinky, old building with cat poop, no lift to the 3rd floor, dirty bedsheet, lock wasn’t working, some guy came knocking wanting to fix the pipe, etc. We went back to the reception to complain.
Had to compromise ‘coz it had been a tiring day for us and no alternative accommodation was nearby. Long story short, they committed to upgrade us the next day at one of their deluxe suites at the main building and give us free breakfast at no extra charge!
Day 13: MOUNT OF OLIVES
We were calmed down the next day we saw them over breakfast. Filling our tummy with enough stock, we made our way back to the old city. The streets were quiet as it was Shabbat.
We strolled around for a couple hours before assembling for the 2pm tour. Interestingly, their “mountains” are rather hills to me – Mt of Olives, Mt Zion, Mt Bental, Mt Tabor, Mt of Temptation, Mt of Beatitudes and more.
My favorite stop was at the Garden of Gethsemane. There was a church there that had a stone slab which people believed was where Jesus leaned that night of deep agony before He was arrested by the Roman soldiers. The moment I touched it, tears began to flow. I can’t imagine the excruciating pain Jesus had to go through.
Day 14: CHANCE AT TEMPLE MOUNT
Since we spent the night packing for flight, we couldn’t get up early for the morning time slot. After a good brunch back at Kusina ni Lakay, we tried our chance during lunch hour on our last day in Israel. Temple grounds were open to public from 12:30-1:30pm and yes, we made it!
Back at the hotel, we picked our bags, took the tram and bid Jerusalem farewell. We made it to the airport just in time! 3 hours was unfortunately the minimum allowance one needs to set aside due to security checkpoints.
Just the thought of Jerusalem, my heart keeps remembering our Lord Jesus. Really thankful for the sacrifice He has done and the life He lived that touched people beyond His earthly existence.
