I was nine years old when my grandparents took the family to Israel. I was young, but I still remember so much about the trip. Israel is a significant country, to all people, so being able to travel there was incredibly memorable as well as a privilege. Traveling to the Middle East wasn’t like going for a ski weekend or a four day stint at the beach which was our usual vacation. This trip was about culture, religion, exploration and a great vacation all rolled into in one. And since we spent two weeks there, we were able to have quite the adventure.
The flight to Israel was very long. I remember walking around the El Al Boeing 747 that flew directly from New York to Tel Aviv. I think we were in the air for over eleven hours, and we were supposed to sleep through part of it, but I had trouble doing that. The movie they showed was “The Deep” with Nick Nolte. One of the underwater action scenes had scared the heck out of me, I was only ten, so I stayed up, wandering the plane. Unfortunately, getting up and perusing the aisles is no longer an option these days. Lucky for me, though, it helped me get through the flight, but as I mentioned, this was 1978, and the rules and regulations were not as stringent as they are now post-9/11. The advice I can give you now is to bring a lot of reading material, games for the kids, a portable DVD player and maybe a sleeping pill for those who have trouble.
Once we arrived in Israel, we spent ample time in Jerusalem, and stayed at the famous King David Hotel. We also wandered Tel Aviv and traveled to many of the surrounding areas of these two cities at famous, ancient sites such as Mt. Carmel, Masada, (where Roman troops had slayed locals,) and The Western Wailing Wall (called only The Wailing Wall when we were there.) The Western Wailing Wall is considered to be one of the holiest of Jewish reliquaries, and my family, including myself, left notes for God inside of the cracks in the rocks. Experiencing The Western Wailing Wall is a definite must when visiting Israel, even if it’s just to see all the people praying and telling stories to each other while touching the wall.
Israel is beautiful. I think a lot of people don’t realize that with all of the turbulence they hear about on the news. The Dead Sea is a gorgeous, baby blue, and with all that salt in it, we could actually float, without a raft, for miles. From certain points at the Dead Sea, you could clearly see the lovely coastline of Jordan. We also swam in the Mediterranean Sea as well, which is also fantastic with it’s deep, dark blue hues.
We saw and did many things such as reading the The Dead Sea Scrolls (found in the 1940’s and believed to be part of a Hebrew bible), visiting the John F. Kennedy Monument and Memorial, touring a Kibbutz (a way of communal living) and eating Falafel at outdoor cafe’s. It truly was an amazing experience. And one of the most vivid memories is that of soldiers, everywhere, walking around with guns which seems scary, but I always felt very safe and comfortable.
Israel is a wonderful place for everyone and anyone because all religions are thought to have started there. It’s a great place for families to go together as well as individuals who want to feel closer to God, want to see fabulous ancient ruins, or have a spectacular vacation.