Why I wanted to Visit Israel
Welcome to my first article for our Visit Israel Travel Series.
I’m excited to share my Israel travel series based on my recent travel experience to Israel. There was so much to see and do that I couldn’t put it all in one article so I’m going to break it out into a Visit Israel Travel series. I was struggling as to what order to share my experiences in Israel with you when it finally occurred to me I should share in the order I experienced everything. Duh makes sense right? This article is more of an introduction, a teaser if you will but I promise you won’t have to wait very long for the next one where we dive right into my amazing experiences in Israel. From Jerusalem, to the Dead Sea to Tel-Aviv there’s so much to share and I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
A photo of one of the first views I got of Israel, specifically this is in Jerusalem and you can see the Dome of the Rock (the gold top dome). I’ll tell you more about it in another article. I told you this is just a teaser 😉
Why did I want to Visit Israel?
I was always fascinated with Israel. I’m not even sure where the first stirrings of curiousity for the country began but I do know that for the longest time I was fascinated. In fact, when I was a teen I often wondered what it would be like to live in a kibbutz. For those of my readers who are unfamiliar with a kibbutz, it’s a term commonly used for a communal settlement or more typically, a farm. In case you’re wondering, yes I did get to visit a kibbutz, two in fact one for a chocolate making experience (boy that was delicious). I will be sharing more on my experiences at the two kibbutz and all of the fascinating places I saw and things I got to do and experience.
I took it as a good sign that when I arrived in San Francisco from Vancouver that there was a celebration for my direct flight from San Francisco to Tel Aviv. Why? It turns out it was the inaugural flight for this direct from San Francisco to Tel-Aviv. Some big wigs for United were there, the Mayor of San Francisco and coincidentally the Minister of Tourism from Israel. There was food and as you can see below live music.
There are so many people who travel to Israel that United needed a direct flight from San Francisco to Tel Aviv, interesting. It was a nice start to my travels as I got to have some hummus and pita right there and it got everyone in a festive mood before getting on the plane. I just had to share this surprise that I had at the beginning of my travel.
Another reason I’ve always been fascinated with Israel is its rich history. I’m not a religious person, I never have been but the history of Israel is fascinating regardless of what faith you belong to or even if you aren’t particularly religious at all. Even for someone like me who isn’t religious, the sites I saw and things I learned were invaluable experiences.
Just seeing the inside of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem was jaw dropping. The amount of people, people of different religions, the beauty of altars and more. This is just one of many photos I took in this beautiful church.
My desire to visit Israel was surpassed by what I actually got see and experience. It’s a beautiful country with such a rich and fascinating history that will want you going back to see more of it. I was only there for a week and felt I just scratched the surface of all it has to offer and yet I have so much to share! I got to experience so many things and the opportunity to learn about culture of the country. It was an amazing experience that I won’t soon forget.
Here’s a preview of what I did in Israel and of which I will be sharing in our future articles for our Israel Travel Series. I hope you got a glimpse of why I and anyone for that matter might want to visit Israel.
- Visiting the Jerusalem biblical zoo.
- Visiting Yad Vashem Museum, a holocaust museum.
- Walking tour of Machane Yehuda Open Market. It was an amazing outdoor market that was home to just about every food you can think of. It had fruits, veggies (both of which were so much more flavorful than what we get back home) dried fruits, spices, falafel, etc. I even got the opportunity to try the best coffee I’ve ever had.
- We visited the Old City of Jerusalem.
- We also were able to visit the Israel Museum which housed everything from pottery to sculptures of cultures that included Egyptian, Roman, etc.
- Attended the “Night Spectacular” at the Tower of David Museum in the citadel. It was a sound and light show of the 3,000 years of history of Jerusalem. It was simply breathtaking.
- Journeying to the Dead Sea. It was so much fun to be able to experience floating in one foot of water and see what is considered the lowest place on earth.
- Experienced the ruins of Massada, which are the ruins of King Herod’s mountain fortress. It was fun to ascend and descend via cable-car.
- Visited the Chocolate workshop of Kubbutz Dganya–this was something my entire family enjoyed. We decorated and put together our very own chocolate selection, which was a ton of fun. It was also quite delicious.
Some of the amazing writers I travelled to Israel with have published some of their articles. While we may cover some of the same topics we all have our own perspective, stories and photos to share so I thought I would share their articles with you. Make sure to check them out!
- Momfluential – Visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
- Momfluential – A Week’s Worth of Feral Israeli Cats – this is one of my favourites as I too was fascinated by these cats and you will see some of them in one of my upcoming articles. However, Ciarin has some amazing photos that you should see!
- Stuffed Suitcase – 7 Fun Facts About Israel You Probably Don’t Know – Kim takes wonderful photos and again another fun perspective on Israel
- Stuffed Suitcase – Discovering the Dead Sea
This would be a fantastic and magical trip. Wonderful indeed.
This looks like an amazing trip. I love all the beautiful photos..
So much history. I’m sure it was a fascinating trip. At this point our finances don’t permit much travel…but some day, I hope to get back out there. I also wish I felt safer traveling. There are places I have visited in the past that I wouldn’t even consider today. I hope that changes.
That’s really neat! I’ve never been before, but have a few family members who have visited. I would love to someday!
After reading this it makes me want to go to Israel even more. It is so rich with history and culture.
What a beautiful place and I would love to see it one day!
My SIL Is a rabbi. Two summers ago, she took my brother and their kids to Israel to live there for 2 months. They had a great time, learned a lot and the photos and stories were amazing.
I am Jewish and I find Israel very fascinating ,their sights and the people interest me I have been there twice and loved it.
As a Christian, I can’t imagine anyone not wanting to see Israel. My whole family has wanted to since we were children. I appreciate your pictures and review of it since I will never get there. I look forward to seeing every single picture you took! You are so fortunate to have gone, and we are fortunate that you are sharing it with us. Thanks.
Oh what a beautiful place. I have always want to walk the same streets Jesus walked. I know it had to make you feel closer to him in an essence. Now with all the unrest I think maybe one day. I will walk them streets when he returns and takes us all there.
going back to israel is on my wish list………… you saw so many more places then I did but we saw so many other special places
As a very religious person, I have wanted to visit Israel since I was in my teens. It has continues to stay on my bucket list for all these many years. As I grow older, I fear that my dream of visiting the Holy Land, will not come to fruition, but it will stay at the top of my bucket list until I get to “tick it off” or until I die.
I look forward to reading all the posts on your incredible adventure.
You were so lucky to go there. It’s beautiful.
That had to be so much fun. The photos are beautiful!
I am in aww of that church , I am looking forward to reading more seeing more pictures, So much history here, and religion , I hope I am blessed one day to go .
@tisonlyme143
I studied abroad in Israel for 4 months in college…one of the most amazing experiences ever!
I have always wanted to see Israel. Our pastor and his wife went a few years ago. After heard so some about it I want to go.
I’ve always wanted to visit Israel as well. I’m a Seventh-day Adventist Christian who keeps the Jewish Sabbath, so I’ve always felt like I have something in common with the Jewish faith. Also, I think the Dead Sea might be the only place in the world that I’d be able to float without dropping like a rock! lol
I have always been fascinated with Israel too. I think about what it must have been like back when Jesus was alive and that just really fascinates me.
Beautiful photographs. Part 1 sounds like your trip was FAB!
Amazing trip. I am glad you were able to fulfill your dream!
I would be fascinated to,its just beautiful from what I see
Israel looks so beautiful! I would love to visit one day. All the wonderful things to see. Would be truly amazing!
An aunt of mine lived on a kibbutz for a couple of years and has often gone back to meet up with people she met there.
Its been 20+ years since I was there and I can still see some of the places in my mind. While there I got hooked on Mint tea and just about every morning and think about our trip
Thank you for sharing! I have always wanted to visit Israel too. I don’t think I will ever be able to go,but now I can experience a little bit of it thru your experience. Beautiful pictures! Strange how we want to go to different places. Seeing and reading about Israel thru you eyes makes me want to go even more. I guess I should never say never. It could happen.
I would love to visit Israel, these are beautiful pictures. I’m fascinated with the culture, the people, the customs, the agriculture, I’d love to see it all! Nice trip!
I have always wanted to visit the Holy Land; how marvelous.
What an amazing adventure you must have had. I’ve never been out of the country. I’ve been to most of the state’s in America but never outside. I bet it was awesome and can’t wait to hear more…
I have wanted to visit Israel for longer than I can remember. Being a Christian I would really enjoy this. The Jews are God’s chosen people. Thank you so much for sharing this great article. God Bless