A trip to Israel from Sharm el-Sheikh
My wife and I have long dreamed of going to Jerusalem to visit the Holy Places. Getting directly to Israel, not through Egypt, is expensive, although in my opinion, this is the best option to get to know Israel, its specific rhythm of life, local customs, nature. This is especially important in order to fully absorb the atmosphere of the holy places, because the sightseeing day trip is very small. Therefore, I would very much like to go to this wonderful country for a few days in the future and dive deeper into everything that I managed to see, not see, just hear, but not touch.
Our trip coincided with my wife's birthday. We have wanted to go to Israel for a long time, but with a small child, I am very sure, it is impossible before and after the trip. Well, it's rather difficult, because I have no right to say, because we were accompanied by tourists with very young children. It was a pity for both parents and children. Because it's a really hard journey.
We drove from the Sharm Dreams Hotel from the tour operator Join Up, from which we went to Israel. The trip cost $ 130 per person. We left around 20:00. We were given lunch boxes from the hotel. By the way, coming back is very late, so make sure you have something to eat in the room. We were taken by small minibus to the outskirts of Sharm and taken away by a large bus. By the way, at Sun international, this is how I understand the cooperating company on this side with Join up, the new Mercedes buses, which meet at the airport.
We had a very "hurried guide", thanks to which we were at the border in Taba in 3 hours. There was one stop near Dahab (toilet, coffee, smoke break). 2 more buses followed us. Crossing the border from Egypt is a mere formality - up to 10 minutes. And here is the passage of the Israeli ...A wonderful border crossing. Clean, with light music and the sound of the red sea surf under the windows.
By the way, many people went to the toilet at the Taba checkpoint and probably well, because I have not seen toilets on the Israeli side, although I think if you ask the workers, they will point and start, so I will not say.
Eilat checkpoint. First, check the passport and glue the tags with the barcode on the bags. Go to the speech hall. Things are passed through X-ray scanners, and a frame for people. And then a snake from the turnstiles to the post, where they will say whether you stood in vain, and in our case about 4 hours, or say, as we say - "enjoy".
Unfortunately, with the number of people from three buses, which is about 160 people, 2 windows worked, and with varying degrees of success, because they constantly came and went, so it worked faster than 1 window. By the way, 34 men did not miss. And so the wife went to the window first. They asked in English where he worked, with whom he went, whether Israel was going for the first time, how much money he had with him. Missed.
Then I, the same, and missed. Hooray! In the next hall we were gathered in groups and also put in a brand new Irizar bus. Among the travelers were 2 Armenians, 4 Belarusians, 2 Russians, and more than 40 Ukrainians. A little further in the city of Eilat, our guide Mykhailo approached us. Two words, turned off the light and the road to Bethlehem. An hour on the road about 3 hours.
We drove through the Dead Sea in the morning, but the guide decided to postpone the water treatments to end the trip to be warmer. It's cool at night, you need to take warm clothes, especially since they will bring you back to the hotel at night. The temperature in Sharm at night is about 14-16 degrees. Somewhere such a temperature was every day in Jerusalem. We were lucky, because two days before it was raining, and according to the forecast for the next day it will rain. We stopped in Bethlehem where they told the Church of the Nativity. It was morning and there were very few people. Then the guide took us to the store, the "pilgrimage center", which on that street, if you go further - full.
There you can buy candles, crosses, icons and much more. By the way, they bought candles for lighting in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (they and everything else can be bought in the narrow streets of Jerusalem on the way to the temple). Then we went to one of the entrances to Jerusalem, a wall built by Sultan Suleiman (Roxolani's husband, at her request).
After passing through narrow labyrinths of streets, we came to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where again there were few people and we could safely go in, bow down, pray on the grave. Then they lit candles from the Blessed Fire and leaned against the anointing stone (after reading, hearing that he is constantly pouring myrrh and this is a fact and a great miracle, he is all wet from the world that smells good). By the way, the edges of the stone have cracks and there is the most emitted and collected myrrh. With a small influx of people, we were able to bow, pray and attach the purchased icons, candles and crosses.
Emotions overflowed and waiting in the yard of other participants of the tour and was drawn to lean against the stone again.
When we had all gathered, we went to the western wall of Jerusalem, that is, we passed through it. There are many people crying in front of the Wailing Wall or the Western Wall. Such a mixture of orthodox Jews, police with machine guns, tourists. Women approach the wall on the right and men on the left. As our guide said, "women always need something and that's why the right side is more crowded than the left" : ) When approaching the wall there is a transparent plastic box in which you can take a disposable pile to cover your head and remember what I did. Speaking of requests and notes. I had written notes in advance about health, the memory of deceased loved ones and a small personal note. They can be inserted between the stones and asked in person.
As for the notes on health and peace to be read or just in the church during the liturgy, the guide said that they are accepted only in the Church of the Nativity (I do not know about the others, because we unfortunately visited only two). He handed out papers on the bus to those who did not have any notes written with them, and offered to apply for health and peace for one-day service, forty-year service and one-year service. Up to 10 names can be submitted for a $ 5 one-day service.
When we arrived at the temple, we gave notes and money to Armenian priests. Leaving the city in a hurry, we were shown the Garden of Gethsemane, the Church of the Assumption, the olive trees that saw the Cross, the ancient Jewish cemetery. Therefore, I believe that it is necessary to go to Israel longer to get deeper, and not just to see on the go by the window without understanding where the garden is and where the olive trees and so much.
The next stop was the Jordan River on the way to which the guide offered to buy bathing shirts for $ 10. On the spot near the river they are 9. The place for entry is well equipped. Parking, changing rooms, toilets, sheds, benches. Good sunset and cold water, and cold wind. By the way, there were people who wore shirts on their naked bodies and when they came out of the water, wet shirts actually exposed their bodies. That's why many people had swimming trunks and swimsuits under their shirts.
The next stop was lunch at a roadside cafe. You can eat: soup, potatoes, meat, bread. From drinks water in decanters. Tea, coffee is not free. Packed large dates are sold at the entrance for $ 15 per 2 kilograms. In stories about agriculture and looking at date plantations from the bus window, we arrived at the Dead Sea. We were immediately given discount coupons and given a lecture on swimming in the sea, cosmetics store products.
A trip to the store and buy a delicious plate for $ 4 at a nearby cafe. The weather was getting worse by evening, the wind was getting stronger, so it was extremely unpleasant to get out of the sea. After swimming, everyone got on the bus and tired half-asleep went to the border.
Before Eilat there was a strong wind with sand, the bus had to slow down and we drove a little. Crossing the border back is a quick step. Several times they showed their passports, once they went through the frame with a speech check on an X-ray scanner and that's it. By the way, the passage is through duty free (though more expensive than at Lviv airport: a martini in Lviv is 8 euros, and the same amount here is 19 dollars). By the way, the Israelis do not put a visa in the passport, give a blue piece of paper with a photo scanned from your passport, data and dates of arrival and departure. We arrived in Israel on January 7, and had to leave by January 9.
When going back, they give the same piece of paper, only pink. Visa papers are losing their memory, and you don't seem to have gone to Israel with your passport. The border on the Egyptian side is again a formality (at least it seemed so) and here we are on the bus. Three hours and on the outskirts of Sharm are transferred to another bus to deliver to the hotel.
Exactly at 12 o'clock at night we were at the hotel. Tired but extremely happy. Was it worth so much to drive, stand, get nervous (about ignorance or pass to Israel)? Obviously, YES. Still, there is a desire to return to this very interesting and specific country to see more. Stay there to live? Probably not, well, in my opinion, this country is specific. Photos are few, because I prefer to shoot videos, and those that are, are personal. Why did you write about this trip? And on a smartphone (he was shocked that he wrote so much on the on-screen keyboard)?
Because according to fresh memories and the most important thing is that he was looking for information about a trip to Israel from Sharm. And I would like my story to help someone decide whether or not to go.
