Tuesday, March 25

We arrived an hour early into Tel Aviv due to strong tail winds, the flights were smooth and excellent. All of our luggage arrived and apart from an eccentric male flight attendant everything was gloriously uneventful. We felt the hot and moist air immediately, along with the wind and haze-filled air. We were led to the tour bus and met our guide, Aladin (but he goes by Aladdin to westerners). He is an Israeli Arab Muslim. Yes, this combination is possible! (so is Israeli Arab Christian). We later heard from the E.O. Host that our assigned Tour Guide (Israeli Jewish) was called up into the Israeli army and so Aladdin was at the last minute assigned to us. Our bus driver is Eddie (actually Adnam), also an Israeli Arab Muslim. At first I thought having an Arab Muslim would be a drawback, but in the course of the tour we came to see the Israeli – Palestinian tensions from a Palestinian perspective, whereas two years ago with our Jewish guide we had the Israeli slant. Aladdin was a very good guide, very kind and personable, and knew the sites and history and Biblical passages very well. He was born and grew up in Jerusalem, south of Potter’s Field (It would be interesting to have an Israeli Arab Christian guide, to round out the perspectives).

On our drive into Jerusalem took 45 minutes and our only stop was on Mt. Scopus on the northern end of the Mount of Olives – the weather was warm, in the 70’s, but was a condition that blew hard little dust bits causing the air to look like smog, hazy, so the line of sight was very limited. The hotel was nearby and it is very nice. We enjoyed the many choices of the fresh and pickled salad buffet as well as the main course buffet of beef, fish, chicken, or interesting Middle Eastern dishes that were new to us. Then it was sleep to counter the jet lag.

In His Service,

Randy