If only the Israelis could read the inside cover of my passport then all of this would have been avoided... "Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of state requests and requires in the Name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary" Upon leaving Egypt they stamp your passport saying you left by car from Taba, and as Israel is the only country which you could visit with that, they may as well just say you are going to Israel. They also insist on stamping your passport so that they can demand a fee to re-enter Egypt; this is one of the many times where Egypt abuse tourists and constantly steal money from them. After my Israeli interrogation they asked if I wanted them to stamp my passport and because I already had the Egypt stamp I just said yes as it will make it easier to get a new passport. My first impression of Israel was... jeepers this place is cold. I travelled in a t-shirt and jeans with suntan lotion at the ready expecting to be roasted all day in extreme heat. When we arrived in Jerusalem it was very cold, windy and threatening to snow and there was everyone else wearing the coats which their tour reps had told them to bring. We received no such advice from Thompson as we booked the excursions in advice and the rep hadn't mentioned anything over the phone about it being cold... or needing to ask the hotel for a breakfast box. The blotch on the top picture is a drop of rain/sleet which landed on my camera lens as I took the picture. Our tour guide took us through the Stations of the Cross and the four quarters of Jerusalem. He told us the back stories behind the various things but there just wasn't enough time to see even part of what there was on offer. The strangest place we were taken was to the Wailing Wall... Men and women are separated and each have their own area in which to worship. Everyone is allowed to visit the wall but you are expected to wear a cardboard hat so not to offend the people inside. There is a short video below which shows what it is like inside the male side, one of the girls on the tour said that all of the women were screaming on the female side of the Wailing Wall. Very strange place indeed. |
