Holy Land Day 1

Holy Land Tour Day 1                   

Though we arrived late in Atlanta, we made our connections to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv.

There were many, many children on this flight, leaving at 10:30 PM for an 11 hour flight, which arrived in Tel Aviv at 5:30 PM. After a short ride we arrived at our hotel, The Blue Bay which sits directly above the Mediterranean in Netanya. The sunset was stunning as was the dinner buffet.

The hotel accommodates the orthodox Jews at the opening of their Shabbat. Religious ceremonies were held and they joined us in the buffet, for traditional prayers and celebration. On an interesting note, since this is their Sabbath, no work can be done, even the pushing of elevator buttons. Sooo there is an elevator designated as the Shabbat elevator..if it is on the ground floor you get on and it stops at every floor going up, then reversed going down.

We met our tour guide Sam, and our bus driver Bassam. They are delightful. Sam is a young Christian Israeli who lives in Jerusalem. He is knowledgeable, scriptural, and spiritually prepared for his job. We are so looking forward to tomorrow, as we track the Mediterranean Sea northward to Caesarea, Mount Carmel, Meggido, and ending up in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee.

Key Spots today:

1. Lod - the Airport

2. Tel Aviv- Israel's commerce center and largest city

3. Joppa (Jaffa)- Jonah's seaport to the whale, and

the harbor where Solomon received the Cedars

of Lebanon for the temple.