Israel Study Tour 2012

The first day of my tour was a mess. I was waiting for my friends to pick me up at the airport, but no one came. As I called their hostel, the receptionist told me no one was about to pick me up. Though I waited until midnight in exhaustion, I decided to hop on a van with some strangers. Being afraid whether if I would make it or not, I was lucky enough to befriend a Jew named George, who happened to be a jewelry shop owner and an Italian mormon. Gladly, the van stopped at my destination and the old Italian mormon with a hairy long beard was nice enough to stay with me at the hostel lobby. He eased me with his warm words while I was waiting for my friends to come out.
I heard some footsteps coming down to 1st floor, and there I found my friend. As soon as I was about to jump in the room and get some rest, I was gasped by their plans - sightseeing tour around Jerusalem.
Even though I was so ready to take a shower and get some sleep, 15 minutes later, I found myself in the tour bus with my friends to go on an adventure.

Our first stop was Ein Gedi and Masada.
It was like hiking on a huge rock, nothing to be seen around, just land. We saw the Ein Gedi, the oasis from the top of Masada. It had a beautiful scenery.

Went to the Old City, walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem that has a deep significance to the three monotheistic religions. Once passed Via Dolorosa (the way of grief), we found a caved wall where the Jews place their hand on. According to the guide book, this remark is where Jesus stumbled upon from carrying a cross on his back and walking on the way to crucifixion.

As the final stop, we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.