Tel Aviv, Israel
So after my incredible experience at the Cairo airport with Israeli security officials I found myself safely in Tel Aviv. I’m staying at the Adiv Hotel right on the beach. It is amazing. The number is 03-522-9141 and my room number is 209 for those of you who would like to call. I’ll be here all week. 
I’ve booked 3 tours. Day One I go to Nazareth, Tiberias, Galilee, the Sea of Galilee, Capernaum, The Mount of Beatitudes, the Jordan River and finally Armegeddon.
Day Two Jerusalem (Old and New), Mount of Olives, Temple Mount, Garden of Gethsemane, Mt Zion, Hall of last supper, David’s tomb, Western Wall, local bazaar, Christian Quarter, Stations of the Cross, Church of the Holy Sepulchre - site of the crucifixion, Jewish Quarter, Bethlehem, Judean Desert, and a few government buildings and the holocaust museum.
Day Three Massada - palaca and fortress built by King Herod, caves where Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, float in the Dead Sea, see Jericho and old Roman road.
Action packed! Then Day four I take a free tour around Tel Aviv for 2 hours. All this for $192. My hotel is about $52 a night. Which is a bargain since there is a special sporting event going on and every place is booked. Plus I’m just across the street from the beach, which has the most amazingly fine sand and warm water! It’s like bath water, and the weather is prefect!
I took a trip down to the mall to think about purchasing an MP3 player. I was frisked by an armed guard who waved a metal detector over me. Later I saw two 18-20 girls patroling the sidewalks outside the mall with M-16 machine guns almost as tall as they were. From what the news is saying (CNN World) there is a pretty heavy situation going on in the Gaza Strip as the Israeli government plans to pull settlements and troops out of Gaza. People are still going about their business in Tel Aviv.
July 19th, 2005 at 10:44 am
OMG! I hope things are going well, I know some times “Americans” aren’t welcome in some areas. I am praying that you aren’t going to visit anywhere close to those places!
I love all the photos, I have also spread the word here in the office, and to my friends to check out your site!! I have you on the camel on my desk top here at work!! So I get a lot of questions!! : )
Glad that you are still alive, and made it thru the airport!! That’s crazy!
love you
Chris and Franklin
July 21st, 2005 at 9:09 pm
Makes the news from Israel a little more important, doesn’t it?
How far is it from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem? To Gaza? That’s where all the hot spots are.