Israel

In the Garden of Gethsemane

(Sami here) All the time we were in Israel, I felt a kind of tension in the air. There were armed solders here and there, and we went through metal detectors entering the old city of Jerusalem.

These guy's guns were not the biggest ones we saw.

 I also felt a certain stress from our guide, or perhaps it was just tiredness caused tension. I never felt nervous or threatened personally because I know I face much more danger behind the wheel of my car at home.

Our guide was born in Israel of German Jewish Zionist parents. She seemed to know everyone we encountered.

The tour focused on all of the Christian and Jewish elements of what was there, almost ignoring the Muslim elements which were all around. Much of what we saw had a strong Eastern Orthodox element, and little attention was paid to that. Things went flying by so fast and the crowds were so thick, I am still trying to process it all. The two days we spent in Israel saw so many landmark things and such a variety of people. It was mind-boggling. We were so tired out after the first two days that we decided to stay on the ship and rest for the third.