Twice around the world in 40 days

[RooFlyer]

After that rocky start, I got some good sleep, to 9:30am so woke up quite chipper, and things got better when i found out that breakfast was on until 10:30 .

I observed some of the morning traffic out the hotel window, and after a problem with Sygic GPS freezing (that was scary in the heavy, quite aggressive traffic of central Tel Aviv) and sending me the long way round to the highway, I was on my way north.



First stop was Caesarea, about 40 mins north. This was a Roman town built by local King Herod in about 20BC named after Augustus Caesar, and served as the administrative center of Judaea Province of the Roman Empire. It was occupied by the Byzantines, the Crusaders, the Arabs, Turks etc etc.

This was the hippodrome (think chariot races, hurtling around the bend ...).



Another view of the hippodrome, and a contrast between old and new (a gas fired power station just to the south of the old city).



There was a 10,000 seat theater. Its been 'restored' for modern use as a concert venue. Personally, i like my ruins unrestored (like me )


After several cycles of invasion and destruction, French King Louis IX built the fortifications presently seen , in the 1200s after the 'Crusader' invasions. The whole lot sits attractively on the Mediterranean
coast.



A major re-build under way. One of the things you notice in countries with abundant history is that they don't always treat it with the respect that many do, and it comes as a bit of a shock. Like this building of a restaurant over the top of a fortification/bathhouse.

 

[RooFlyer]

I arrived at my destination, the historic town of Acre (also known as Akko) just after lunch. I had a booking at the Akkotel which I was looking forward to. Its built into the old city wall as well as occupying the old Turkish admin offices which is the bit on the right, next to the only land gate into the old town. I think it is a family run hotel, and the people i met were very friendly and accommodating. I'd recommend this place, but there is only about 8 parking spots. I got in early!



The lobby area of the hotel - it has about 16 rooms on 2 levels. RH pic is where they have cut through the wall



My room. Pretty plain, but again, I'm not here to luxuriate in the room. It had good aircon, double glazing and electric shutters over all the windows which helped keep out the noise of the street.



Acre has one of the few natural harbors on this coast and has been occupied since about 4,000BC. Its UNESCO World heritage listed.

After the Romans and Byzantines, the Arabs/Muslims ruled from the mid 600s. In about 1,000 the First Crusade came to Acre and the city fell to Crusader King Baldwin I of Jerusalem. Saladin briefly regained control in the late 1100s before the Second Crusade retook control, ceding it to the Muslim Mamluks a century later, and became incorporated into the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s.

All that is to say that there is a lot of history here, and most of the old town today dates from the Crusader period, from abt 1,100AD.

A few years ago they discovered a long Crusader period tunnel under the city - quite low in places, hence the padding in the LH pic.



Many old lanes and winding streets - easy to get lost. If you got right into the town, you got away from the tour groups, temporarily.

 

[RooFlyer]

Undoubtedly the most impressive structure is the Citadel, or Crusader Fortress. The parts most obvious today were built by the Ottomans, but underneath and only recently fully excavated is a complex of Crusader halls and tunnels. This is one place I regretted not getting a guide; a maze of really impressive structures.

The Refectory:



A symbol of the Crusaders, and some impressive vaulting!






The land walls, near the hotel, which you can see at the end of the wall in the RH pic. You can also see the thickness of the wall!!



View from the end of the wall - the old town off to the right, and the city of Haifa across the bay.



The sign in the LH pic says no climbing on the walls - right next to the conveniently located steps up onto the wall top!!

 

[Pushka]

I really like it when ancient ruins - in this case the amphitheatre, are rebuilt and reused. Creates a link to the past for me.

 

[OATEK]

Great stuff RooFlyer.

 

[clipped_wings]

Loving this report, I almost feel like I'm travelling with you.

 

[RooFlyer]

Towards the evening, back into town for dinner. two places had been recommend to me, both near the marina. The first was the lower place in the RH pic, but this I ruled out as the jet boat rides had a guy on speakers really, REALLY loud, touting for business, so I went for the place above it,



Fantastic position over the bay on a warm evening. Tried my first Israeli beer - thoroughly deserved after the hard touring today



Hummus and some other tasty things, and sea-bass.



Those are ships ff the port of Haifa, as the sun sinks slowly in the west over the Med.



Complimentary coffee and a little dessert I';m not sure what it was .. sort of sago?? The jet boats were still in business, with lights on now. My camera brightened the light from what it was at the time.

 

[VPS]

Fantastic TR. I’ve got very itchy feet atm. Thanks for the history and the photos

 

[RooFlyer]

Next morning, bright and early, a pic of the town from the top of the wall in the early light. Its another gorgeous day, high 20s and blue sky all around.



Today's plan has me heading east to Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee, then south down the Jordan River Valley via several Roman sites, into the 'West Bank' (ie 'Palestinian territory'), past the Dead Seat to the Crowne Plaza Dead Sea resort.

I had previously checked the Smarttraveller web site and it advised 'Reconsider your need to travel' in respect of the West Bank. I asked Avis, and they had no qualms about it, and I couldn't see any good reason not to go, so I went as planned.

First stop was Tsipori/Zippori/Sepphoris a Roman town, just north of Nazareth. I found it was run by the Israel National Park service and as with all of their sites I visited it was well laid out, with maps on admission, cafeteria, toilets etc.

As with most of these sites, there are overlays of all the various civilisations that have occupied the area, but the site's main claim to fame is that it was the birthplace of Mary, mother of Jesus.

As usual, I'm there early and in fact the ladies hadn't finished setting up their stalls. The main site is around a small hill, with good boardwalks linking the key areas/buildings.



I loved this Roman road, with wagon wheel ruts ground into the limestone. A Crusader (c.1,100) fort at the top of the hill.




One building (ruins) is known as the 'Nile House' because of the fantastic mosaic there, with scenes from the Nile River. As readers of my Trip Reports know, I just lurrrrve a good mosaic.


This is the 'Nileometer' in Egypt, used since Pharonic times to measure the flow, and therefore the potential flood (and crop success), of the Nile River. Love all the little by plays in this part.






A Centaur



Some general ruins (I think this is of the church that was built over the site of Mary's birth), and the theatre, of course:



A nice view of the surrounds from the hill top.

 

[juddles]

Say hello to Jesus for me

 

[RooFlyer]

There is a villa, with more mosaics. This one is known as the 'Mona Lisa of Zippori'. Gorgeous.



A synagogue with a mosaic zodiac:



Next stop (briefly) Tiberius, on the Sea of Galilee. Although I'm a heathen, this was a must-see for me on this trip. A bit mystical, something you wonder if you'll ever see in person, like the pyramids or Machu Picchu and when you are there, its a gaze-in-wonder job.

Its a fresh water lake, and at ~210m below sea level, its the second lowest feature on earth after the salty Dead Sea, down the road. Its fed by springs and the Jordan River and only about 40m deep at its deepest. The reason these lakes are so low is that the Jordan Valley is a rift valley - the Jordan and Israel sides (plates) are pulling apart.

Jesus was said to have conducted much of his teachings there - a number of apostles were fishermen at the Sea of Galilee. The Sermon on the Mount, miracles of walking on water and the 'loaves and fishes' all occurred at or near here.





Couldn't linger - things to do, places to see ... you know ...

That's the Jordan River, with Jordon on the other side. I visited Jordan in 2013 and did a Trip Report: Dubai & Jordan by EK/QF First; from Moses to Lawrence of Arabia and lots in between

Next stop was the Bet She'an National park (Roman town). Again, a well laid out with good support facilities and shady parking.



The inevitable theater (7,000 capacity, built 200AD) (and this time, like me - unreconstructed)



Streets, cisterns, bath houses, the usual collection of a Roman town. First built about 200BC, a lot of it was torn down/reconstructed in the Byzantine and Islamic eras (600 & 700 AD). A big earthquake in 749 AD toppled anything that was still standing then.



A large mound immediately behind the town is called the 'Tell' and excavations have shown settlements starting at about 5,000 BC here.



Now accessible by a staircase for fine views.



Next stop, the Dead Sea, but first I had to enter the West Bank. You can brush up on its history here, but for now suffice to say that its controlled by the Israelis and you have to pass through checkpoints to go in and come out. Smarttraveller says 'Reconsider your need to travel' here. Coming in from the north, there's no stopping, and only a small queue coming out.

 

[craven morehead]

Arrived LHR at T5 for a transit only. I think I'd only been to T5 once before, but it was pretty familiar, especially the security experience. Virtually no queue for Fast Track when I walked up, put my things out and walked through the portal. Then I noticed nothing was moving. there was no-one at the X ray screen point and about 10 carry-ons on the 'secondary screening' belt and as many anxious pax waiting for them. But nothing happening. A couple of staff faffing around, but not doing any actual security screening. Memories of every time I go through LHR.

After a few mins, some-one sits at the x ray screen and the belt proceeds. Miraculously, all my stuff comes straight through. The 10 or so carry-ons waiting for secondary screening were still waiting when I took off, as fast as I could.

I recalled the Lounge, but unfortunately I hadn't taken into account my fall from Plat to Gold, so it was up the escalator to the Business lounge for me. Many AFFers have probably been here, but a few pics for the record. It was crowded, (boy, was it crowded)with pretty basic food and very ordinary bev, but it was better than the crowded concourse - I guess.

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BA167 LHR-TLV boarding at 3:45 on BP, 3:55 according to the screens. Crew arrive at about 4:00pm and I think we boarded 4:20pm. Eventual push-back at 5:15pm, after 'late bags'. Its a B777, 2-4-2, with the notorious BA lay-out of you facing your seat mate. 2-4-2; compare QR with 1-2-1 (herringbone).

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I can't recall why I chose the aisle seat. Its a shocker - no privacy, narrow and awkward to deploy to bed mode. Basic amenity kit. my seat mate arrived and promptly went to sleep, with deep snores.

Mildly amusing when the seat belt sign went off - the charge of the middle aged men to the loos; half the cabin went up in the first 15 mins. Now, I'm no spring chicken, but I'm happy to say I don't have such a short cycle

My first ever J flight was in 2008 on BA SYD-BKK upper deck with this terrible seating layout. Aisle seats completely exposed and when trying to have a sleep you feel like you're going to roll on to the floor . Luckily I was travelling with the bride in regards to the yin yang situation. The seats had absolutely no wow factor and I have avoided them ever since !!

 

[craven morehead]

Oh, one thing that annoyed me on this flight. I would have thought that the FAs would have served my seat-mate, on the window, via their little access walk-way, behind me. But no. We had the privacy screen up and anytime the FA came to ask for an order or to deliver it, they just pressed the screen down button and, in the case of delivering a tray, or taking an order simply lent over right in front of me. No pardon me-s, just pass the tray over at about my nose level, forcing me to jerk back in my seat and stay pinned there, until conversation, order taken/delivered etc.

You can picture it here; the FA would be occupying the entire area of this view, from right to left.

View attachment 124008

Now, I guess it turns out to be the most practical way to serve the other seat, but not once was there an 'excuse me'- just a barging through my personal space. And not once was the screen re-deployed up when they were finished. It was left to me or my seat mate to awkwardly re-do the screen again .. and again.

What do you think? Am I being too much of a DYKWIA? To me its just manners.

What a shambles !!

 

[Straubs]

Arrived late, but loving it. Thanks!

 

[RooFlyer]

After winning through to the West Bank, my target was the "Baptism site" on the Jordan River.

In planning this trip, I was looking for a hotel or resort on the shores of the Dead Sea, but found only a kibbutz to the south, and then a major collection of hotels in the drying ponds south of the lake proper. When I started driving down the Sea, I learned why this was the case. Historically of course, Israel was at war with all the Arab states, including Jordan, across the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. Although Israel and Jordan have ?normalised relations (certainly they are not bad), it appears that there is still a km or so of 'no mans land' between the border and the highway. Hence the lack of hotels!

There is still a cleared barbed wire fence corridor the entire way down next to the highway. Occasionally the highway swings west a bit and some agriculture is squeezed in between no mans land and the hills at the side of the rift valley. On the Jordan side, the towns and hotels go right down to the sea, and I stayed at the Marriott at the north end in 2013. A report on it here: Dubai & Jordan by EK/QF First; from Moses to Lawrence of Arabia and lots in between



The 'Baptism site' name is a bit cute, as the implication is that its the place of Jesus' baptism, but as far as we know, he wasn't baptized there, but plenty of people now days are. I turned off route 90 and the first impression wasn't good. But I got waved through the checkpoint and crossing the 'no mans land', soon came up to the site. In the RH pic, the busses etc are on the Israeli side of the Jordan River. the buildings are on the Jordan side.



There were a lot of pilgrims and worshipers here; I felt a bit out of place. White was the costume of choice for most, who dunked themselves in the muddy Jordan waters in the enclosure, within a very short distance of Jordan territory (the more rustic structure on the other side). In fact, my mobile phone welcomed me to Jordan



The reason I was so keen to visit here was that in 2013 I visited the Jordanian side of this place (RH pic), and also the actual baptism site of Jesus (as far as they can ascertain - LH pic).



I carried on down Route 90, and it was an ethereal experience, with the Dead Sea perfectly calm. The sign hasn't come out, but basically its saying, at a place where there is no 'no mans land', that it is forbidden to remain out of car and by the lake after dark.





Oh, I'm bound to point out that that dark stuff is a lava flow. Recall I said that the Jordan River valley is a plate rift? These are places where the earth's crust is thin, so its not uncommon for little volcanoes to pop though. Gotta love the dynamic earth.

 

[RooFlyer]

Carrying on .. lots of stops to take more-or-less the same picture which I'll save you from here ... LH pic looks back down the escarpment. RH pic is the southern check-point out of the West Bank. There was no exit queue and I was flagged down by an Israeli soldier, one of several with large guns. My God, just a child (I can say that .. at my age .. ). Anyway when he clocks that I'm a tourist, he only asks where I'm from, then waves me on, with 'have fun'.

So much for DFAT and Smarttraveller 'consider your need to travel'. Yes, in the Palestinian settlements up in the hills to the west, it would/might be a different story, but driving down highway 90 by the Red Sea was a non-event, danger/security-wise.






I left the Dead Sea and passed the Masdada site (back tomorrow) and kept going south to where both Israel and Jordan concentrate the Dead Sea brines to extract salt and other minerals. Here is a cluster of resort hotels at a place called Ein Bokek. There's about 4 large and a couple of smaller hotels, and it appears that my destination, the Crowne Plaza Dead Sea, was the biggest, in the prime-est position.



Lets cut to the chase. The hotel was awful. If you were from Tel Aviv or maybe some tour group here for 3-5 days, it might be OK but for me it totally sucked in almost every respect.

First experiences count. Mine was when i pulled up at the front and asked the guy there about parking. He just pointed down the side of the hotel. No words. Well, for such a huge hotel, this is the sole extent of parking. It was pathetic, and no space available; backing up from the far end wasn't easy. After a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with the font desk (useless), I was lucky enough to catch someone leaving and get a park. I really wanted to hang around in a hot car after driving for most of the day .

Check in was a trial - the guy's English was poor. I get that English is Israel's probably third language, but at the Crowne Plaza, I hoped to be basically understood.

Next stage was a plus. view was great!



Room was good too:



But other than the view, that's the end of the positives. Staff were untrained (could not operate tills, could not pour a beer); the dinner buffet was really horrible - in presentation, organisation, taste. Table clear-ers were having an argument among themselves. My fellow patrons (few under 50) were behaving like pigs. EVERY staff member I encountered for my entire stay were uninterested and down-at-mouth. Can't remember when I came across such an obviously badly run major hotel. I got a survey post-visit and responded exactly how I felt. THAT got a follow-up e-mail as to why, and I gave them an honest reply, apologising if I, as a visitor to the country, offended in saying so. I think that got some-one's attention, as a few e-mails later I'm a bit up the food chain.

The saving factor was the view from my room:

 

[Pushka]

Your photos are excellent of course. A technical question. How are you managing to display them like that? Eg two across same size, then a panorama style, two together but one slightly larger. It makes it so interesting. And I will be copying next month so if you don’t want to release your IP then that’s fine.

 

[RooFlyer]

Thanks Pushka. No probs, I've been asked before.

I paste 2 images side by side in a Word doc, (landscape, narrow margins) and separate the 2 with some spaces #, then I take an image of the two off the screen using Windows' snipping tool and save it. This loses quite a bit of resolution of course, but it gives an image of abt 400kb which is easily uploaded. For the full images, because they are too big to upload (6+ MB), I open them in Paint and re-size to 1200x900 px (for landscape) and re-save.

# I use 'show formatting', so you can see the 5 dots (for spaces) between the 2 images in each shot

 

[Pushka]

Thanks Pushka. No probs, I've been asked before.

I paste 2 images side by side in a Word doc, (landscape, narrow margins) and separate the 2 with some spaces #, then I take an image of the two off the screen using Windows' snipping tool and save it. This loses quite a bit of resolution of course, but it gives an image of abt 400kb which is easily uploaded. For the full images, because they are too big to upload (6+ MB), I open them in Paint and re-size to 1200x900 px (for landscape) and re-save.

# I use 'show formatting', so you can see the 5 dots (for spaces) between the 2 images in each shot

Res is still very good!

 

[JohnM]

Res is still very good!

With the only exception being that I post the odd pics from my phone (usually 'View from the Office') direct, I always use the Word/snipping tool method, especially for image-laden TRs. I think the resolution is perfectly fit for purpose and the huge advantage is the much smaller image size and much faster loading of pages.