First impression of Israel
If you read my previous article about visiting Egypt, then you understand how we ended up in Israel. If you have not read it, then I will say in a nutshell: my wife and I went to rest on the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt. Choosing excursions in Sharm el-Sheikh, they became interested in the proposal to visit Israel, which they subsequently carried out. I offer you a short essay about this journey.
It all started on Naama Bay in Sharm El Sheikh, where we met a representative of a local tour company named Ahmed. He offered us a tour to Israel with a visit to the Dead Sea, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. Initially, the quoted price was $80 per person ($160 for two), but after half an hour of bargaining, we settled on $67.5 per person ($135 for two). We left an advance payment of $ 25, in return we received a paper with inscriptions in Arabic and numbers that we need to pay extra. The rest of the amount of $ 110 was already given when boarding the sightseeing bus the next day.
No visas were required for citizens of Ukraine to visit Israel, just as there was no obstacle indicated by us earlier in the “Only Sinai” migration card, why, I can’t explain, perhaps there are some agreements between the countries.
If someone had told me a week ago that I would go to Israel, I would not have believed it. I’ll make a reservation right away that the trip is quite tiring, since for almost two days you are on the move, whether on foot or in a bus. But let's go further in order.
Departure from the hotel was at 20-00 pm. As usual in such cases, small minibuses collect tourists who have booked tours from all coastal hotels and take everyone to an agreed place. Three large Mercedes buses with drivers and a guide were waiting for us there.
The guide checked the presence of all those registered for the tour, each passport for a mark on crossing the border with Egypt, and after a short briefing, we went in a slender column towards the checkpoint on the border with Israel. The bus was attended by Ukrainians (the vast majority), several Russians, Armenians, Poles. In the course of the journey, everyone was given badges with the inscription in English “Holy Land. Trips. Day tour. The distance of 230 km was overcome in about three hours. There was one stop along the way for refueling and visiting essential places. By the way, visiting a latrine costs 3 pounds per person, or 5.4 UAH. with our money. The roads in Egypt are good, the move did not cause much inconvenience. As we approached the border with Israel, the number of police posts and checkpoints on the road gradually increased, parked armored vehicles and fire cells dug in the ground were visible through the bus window.
We arrived at the checkpoint about 24 hours and went on foot to cross the border. Before we got off the bus, the Egyptian guide in broken Russian made a short speech about the fact that some might not be allowed into Israel, and if there are any, then let them cook $ 70 for a taxi back. This alarmed us a little, since when buying a tour, no one said anything about the possibility of not getting to Israel. I want to note that before the trip I studied a little information on the Internet and came across a number of messages stating that all people who visited Israel and have Israeli marks in their passports will subsequently not be able to travel to a number of countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia Arabia, Libya, Sudan and Iran. In addition, there may be questions when visiting the Persian Gulf countries, such as the Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Yemen.
Allegedly, these countries formally support the boycott of Israel, however, in practice, cases of denial of entry to these countries due to the presence of Israeli seals are extremely rare. At the same time, such Arab states as Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Morocco, Oman, Bahrain and Qatar do not prevent the entry of tourists who have Israeli visas and stamps in their passports. One of the comments even gave advice: when visiting Israel, ask the border guards not to put a mark in the passport, but to put a stamp on a separate piece of paper, supposedly this is done everywhere at checkpoints. It seems that this subsequently excludes the possibility of close attention to your person when crossing the borders of the above countries. So far, we have not been going to Libya, Sudan, Iran, Kuwait and the other countries listed above, so we were rather skeptical about this information.
Subsequently, we were convinced that, most likely, the Israelis, in order to attract tourists to the country, found a way to circumvent these restrictions, which will be discussed a little lower. Israel tries not to let the Egyptians in under any circumstances. Of course, they can try to enter the country, but they will have to submit documents to the visa center, wait for an answer, and if there are good reasons, they will issue a visa. But just like that, on a tour package, they are not allowed. As our Israeli guide later explained, the Egyptians have nothing to do in Israel, they have a very low level of income and life, except for illegal work and an increase in crime, they do not expect anything from them.
The Egyptian side let everyone through pretty quickly. There was a hitch on the Israeli side. I had to wait about half an hour for passport control to start.
Finally, several girls and guys approached the counters, and our company, a little tired from the move, began to go through the passport check procedure one by one. Approaching the counter, I handed the girl my passport and a migration sheet filled out a little earlier (reminding once again - take pens with you so as not to stand in the pose of a beggar), briefly reviewing which she allowed to go further. A little in the depths is the second echelon of control, to which they were also invited one at a time. I submitted my passport through the window, the border guard girl looked through it, clicked something on the computer, looked at me and asked: “Are you visiting Israel for the first time? ". I answered yes. "Good, " she said. On this, in principle, they finished with me and I followed further. However, he did not go far, since my wife could not move away from the next counter and was talking animatedly about something with the border guard girl.
The total time of her stay at the check was about 15 minutes, after which she went further, explaining that she was interrogated on many issues: “The purpose of the visit, with whom did you come, where do you live in Egypt, what do you work in Ukraine, how many children, where do you live at home where your husband works? ". After all, they demanded to show a voucher from a hotel in Egypt and photos in the tablet (phone) of the hotel room. Finally, the border guard arranged everything and we were together again already on the territory of Israel. I tell you this in detail so that you understand all the nuances that you may encounter when making a tourist tour to Israel, since there is little such information.
Of the 28 people traveling in our bus, the Israeli security guards "Betakhona" (the common name for the Israeli security services) detained 15 people for a conversation, and 7 of them were denied entry to cross the border (mostly girls from Odessa and Kyiv) without explanation for any reason. Therefore, before passing control, prepare printouts of air tickets for the return flight, certificates from the bank on the availability of funds in the account (there are no specific requirements for the amount of money in the account), proof of accommodation at the hotel, calmly answer any questions posed to you and without jokes, they are not understand, and to the question “Do you have a weapon”, if you receive a comic answer, you will simply be denied entry. So, keep in mind that "betahons" will easily cut off your trip that has not yet begun if there is any suspicion of your person.
I learned that citizens of Ukraine who previously worked legally in Israel and left on time after the expiration of their visa will not be able to enter the country for 1 year after the date of departure from the country. Those who were deported from the country are prohibited from entering for another 10 years after deportation. The fact is that when buying a tour, no one told us anything about it, I didn’t see it on the Internet either, I share my experience. I don’t know the further fate of people who were not allowed to enter Israel, just as I don’t know whether the money for the tour was returned to them or not.
The procedure for crossing the border began: instead of a stamp in the passport, Israeli border guards printed out a pass to enter Israel in a bluish color (when returning the same only purple) with my photo with inscriptions in several languages "(except Russian) pass to Israel.
Here I make a small digression about the passport, our usual passport of a citizen of Ukraine - at the end of the trip to Egypt and after visiting Israel, my passport had four stamps of Egypt and not a single stamp of Israel. That is, for a normal sane person it is a little incomprehensible and not easy to find an explanation for the presence of Egyptian stamps in such a quantity and in such a short time interval. It turns out that I drove into Egypt (entry stamp), wandered there for a couple of days, left no one knows where (exit stamp) and a day later drove in from nowhere (entry stamp), and at the end of the trip another exit stamp. A total of four stamps. Well, let it remain on the conscience of Israel. According to data collected later, such measures apply to everyone visiting the country of Israel, due to the large number of foreigners who stop by, including on tourist packages and remain in the country illegally.
According to the guide, the average income of a working person in Israel is about $ 2.400 per month, in principle, there is something to strive for.
Finally, all the formal procedures at the border were completed, border and customs control was completed, and we ended up on the other side of the checkpoint, waiting for the bus. The bus didn't want to come to us. We waited for him for about an hour. The guide who provided the meeting was already here and constantly called somewhere, finding out the lack of transport. Meanwhile, the "betahons" continued to interrogate the detained tourists from our group.
Our bus has finally arrived. We were a little lucky, we got into the second bus and immediately left upon its arrival. No one said the reason for his delay, but an unpleasant aftertaste remained. The rest of the group of tourists was waiting for the end of the proceedings with the detainees at the border. As we were told later, when returning to Egypt, they spent about 4 hours at customs.
We, 48 passengers, sat comfortably in the bus and started moving. The meeting guide stayed at the border, and we, on the way, in the city of Eilat, picked up our new guide Anita (as she introduced herself), with whom we were until the end of the tour. Distance from Eilat to Bethlehem is 320 km. The driver is an Arab who does not speak Russian at all, but according to the guide’s characteristics, he is an excellent and kind guy, a wonderful driver who responds to the home nickname “Yo-yo” (as it turned out later, “Yo-yo” is really a good driver: how did he manage to driving a huge bus on the narrow streets of Israeli cities, littered with cars from all the roadsides and not ramming a single one of them, is still a mystery to me). Subsequently, “Yo-Yo” behaved quietly, constantly drank coffee while driving our vehicle, did not enter into discussions, and we did not pester him.
Setting the cruise control to 100 km/h, Yo-Yo directed the bus with us towards the Holy Land: Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The guide immediately warned everyone about the consequences of standing up - a fine of $ 170, which is paid by the perpetrator. The road is good, to say the least: no holes, no potholes, it was a little unusual for us to move without shaking, we even managed to take a nap. During the entire journey, we never once passed through any village or settlement, so the bus slowed down only when stopping at a gas station. After 100 km from the border, we made the first stop at a local gas station to refuel the bus and visit places necessary for travelers. There was also a small shop in the direction of which passengers jumped out, hoping to have a cup of good coffee with fresh pastries.
I also headed towards him and watched with interest how people lost their desire that had arisen earlier after they found out the price - a cup of coffee, the kind that we prepare in a coffee machine in any cafe, at any gas station, and stands in Ukraine 18-20 UAH, it turned out to be in a rather interesting price range - neither more nor less than $3 (54 UAH). With sour faces and lost hopes, everyone returned to the bus, except for the "Yo-Yo", who after a couple of minutes was sitting in his driver's seat with a glass of coffee. The price did not bother him at all, and he was probably used to it, not like the inhabitants of Nezalezhnaya. Near Jerusalem in some cafe I saw coffee for $ 2, but basically the price is around $ 3. Currency - shekel. One dollar costs 3.5 shekels. I want to make a small digression and tell you that in Israel there is no “Stop” sign in our understanding.
There is a red octagon, similar to our sign, but instead of a white rectangle, the hand of the Lord is drawn on it, with this, allegedly, the Lord warns all drivers of danger. There is another version that explains this - Hebrew assumes reading from right to left (as in Arabic). But if the word STOP is read from right to left, then the word POTS (in Russian - pots) is offensive to people who know Hebrew. This word in Hebrew means the same as in Russian - the well-known word of three letters (i. e. , male genital organs). It is for this reason that the Israelis allegedly abandoned the word STOP on the signs and replaced it with an outstretched hand. At the price of fuel - one liter of A-95 gasoline in Israel costs 6.2 shekels, or $ 1.77, for our Ukrainian hryvnias it is about 47 hryvnias.
Let's finish the retreat and move on. The first scheduled stop is the Dead Sea.
Even 10 minutes before the entrance, our Israeli guide Anita began the story that there is an unusual store near the Dead Sea, which contains all the color of Israeli cosmetology, and in it (the store) we can buy amazing and unique creams and masks that will further brighten up our hard life for many years, and will allow us to die in old age with very smooth, wrinkle-free skin. Having some experience in traveling, all these unexpected stops near a store or cafe involuntarily bring a smile. Business dictates its own laws, one can only imagine what needs to be done and how much to pay so that buses with tourists stop unexpectedly near your establishment. And this is not particularly hidden, although the guide says that he does not have a penny from this.
So, the bus came to a smooth stop near the “color of Israeli cosmetics”, which was a shabby shop similar to a beer bar, of which we have a large number on every corner, with broken tiles on the steps, two female sellers with a greedy look, decorated in cosmetic light with different shelves and racks with creams. After crossing the entrance to this “miracle of Israeli cosmetology” by travelers eager to immediately purchase unprecedented overseas creams and masks, they expected a small room in which a lot of tubes and jars, incomprehensible to many men, were displayed in various baskets, shelves, racks. The price joyfully announced by the sellers was a little stunned: something around $ 150 for a package, but it's not at all expensive for this cosmetics, almost for nothing.
Immediately, they were offered some bonuses and a promise to return the tax when traveling abroad in the amount of 25 percent of the purchase. One of the sellers, uttering this tirade, was already putting some kind of cream on the hand of one tourist woman, who unexpectedly turned out to be closest to her, on the hand of some kind of cream, which has a color and texture very similar to our usual yard mud after a light rain, praising her product and constantly asking : "Well, you feel how your skin changes, it becomes smoother and pinker. " In response to this, the smeared woman clipped her eyes and mumbled something, not realizing her happiness to be smeared free of charge with a very cleansing and nourishing foreign cream. Not many people made purchases, to be more precise, only a couple of people. I won’t say that this is bad cosmetics, I don’t understand it much, but the declared price, in principle, is not childish.
Immediately, in a nearby cafe, we had breakfast with dry rations brought with us, received by prior order at the hotel - I’ll tell you rare rubbish, I had to throw more into the trash can. Now the Dead Sea was waiting for us. The guide gave it to us to be torn to pieces for an hour. Everyone was anticipating, including me, how I would plunge into this legend of Israel from a running start, my skin and the whole body would immediately begin to absorb all the beneficial substances that are in the water of the sea and, until they absorb in the right amount and excess, sufficient for the next long life (when you get to Israel on the Dead Sea) I will never get out on the shore. However, even here the guide poured not only a fly in the ointment into a barrel of honey, but completely, dispelled all our dreams and undermined faith in humanity.
It turned out that there can be no talk of any acceleration swimming, diving and all kinds of diving, since this is associated with a mortal danger for any living organism. Due to the high concentration of minerals, the Dead Sea water is quite caustic and unsafe. There are rules for swimming in the Dead Sea: it is recommended to enter once a day for no more than 20 minutes. In some cases, if health permits, it is allowed to dip 2-3 times a day with an interval of at least 3 hours. You need to plunge and get out of the water without sudden movements, very carefully, in no case do not splash water on yourself. Under no circumstances should you dive. Do not rub your eyes and nose with wet hands during and after bathing. The water of the Dead Sea is so dense that if you go up to your waist, the water itself will push your body out, and you can safely lie on its surface.
I, of course, went into the sea - to be there and not try this water, even in a limited time mode, it's just not serious. The water is about +28 degrees, warm. He lay on the surface for about 10 minutes and went ashore. Since he behaved carefully and carefully, he left his waters unharmed. After swimming in the Dead Sea, it is imperative to take a shower. Take a gel with you, as the soap does not lather, it has been personally tested on the skin covered after bathing with some sort of oily film. Everywhere on the beach and the surrounding area is dirty. The dressing room also did not shine with cleanliness, I had to change clothes, jumping on one leg, since it was not possible to sit on the benches due to their utter crap. Several hotels for vacationers have been built on the shore. People mostly walk along the coast and breathe in the healing sea air.
After taking a shower and removing the invisible film from ourselves, we headed towards Bethlehem by bus.
Bethlehem is the city of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. The road ran like a narrow snake along the coast of the Dead Sea, bordered on the other side by the sea, on the other side by light brown limestone mountains with no signs of life. Once these lands were the bottom of the sea, now it is dry land. Lonely trees came across very rarely - just scorched and dried earth. Sometimes, in the direction of the bus, not far from the road, in the valleys between the mountains, one could see some kind of huts: “The camps of our Bedouins, ” the guide said proudly. After some time, low buildings made of light stone began to appear in the windows - we were driving into Bethlehem. After winding through the narrow winding streets for a bit, the Yo-Yo parked the bus right next to a shop selling church utensils.
Seeing the joyful smiles and smirks of the sellers towards the Yo-Yo and the guide, the thought of visiting this shop by chance disappeared instantly. The price of all goods in US dollars from 1 to ..... For any wallet. At the same time, it constantly poured into our ears that the prices here are the cheapest, in Jerusalem it will be three times more expensive. People don't care what they bought, what they asked the price. We bought several magnets (well, where without them) for $ 2 each, a rosary for the youngest son from olive pits with a cross for $ 5 and several bundles of candles of 33 pieces. $1 each for their subsequent coverage in Jerusalem. The proposed goods did not cause much excitement among the travelers. Going out into the street, he immediately found himself surrounded by Arabs with packs of magnets. One of them came up to me and forcibly shoved a package of magnets into my hands saying: "Gift. " Before I had time to come to my senses, a memorized Russian with an accent escaped from his lips: “Quickly, give me money! ".
He probably did not fully understand all the absurdity of the uttered phrase, he simply learned the sounds and pronounced them to the point. After refusing to buy magnets addressed to me, he uttered a phrase in which he spoke of the need to help the citizens of Palestine, although I did not understand what they had to do with me, or I with them. Suddenly, out of nowhere, on a scooter with a flashing light, a policeman appeared, a plain-looking young boy. However, his appearance somewhat reined in the Arabs. The policeman did not leave us until the very departure, he probably understood what danger the uncontrolled Arabs posed for tourists. There are really a lot of Arabs here. There is also a lot of garbage and dirt around. To the question to the guide: “Why is it so dirty? ”, followed the answer: “These are all Arabs who throw out all the garbage next to the dwelling. We Israelis are not to blame for this. We cannot educate them or influence them, as protests about the oppression of the Arabs immediately begin.
Everything that happened next was like a slow motion movie: a large fat snake, consisting of thousands of people, was slowly but surely drawn into the front door of the temple. And you, being right in it, in this snake, no longer belong to yourself, you follow the general movements and go in the direction given to you by someone and at a set speed. You are simply carried along. You only have time to look around, noting for yourself some of the details that arise before your eyes: here is an icon, here are blacks, here is a mosaic, here is some other church utensils. When visiting the temple and the birthplace of Jesus, where the Silver Star is laid out on the floor, everyone could leave a note for health or peace to Father David, who was standing nearby. When submitting a note, money must be given: $ 5 for one day of prayers, $ 10 - for a week of prayers, $ 100 - they will pray while the temple is on the ground.
This surprised me a little: I imagined what size this paper should be with a list of all the names, or a bag in which all the pieces of paper are stored, how many names should be said at this prayer and how much time it takes to simply read all these names at least once. I don’t consider myself a blasphemer, but what I heard and saw bundles of money in the hands of various holy fathers led me to think about the complete shameless commercialization of holy places and the name of Jesus as such by people who consider themselves close to God. It became disgusting and unpleasant, and this thought does not let me go until now. Everything in Bethlehem, and in Jerusalem too, is aimed at getting money from pilgrims. Business has penetrated into this sphere of human life. Immediately Father David, regardless of whether you gave money or not, gave each pilgrim a paper icon. I have kept it with me ever since.
Then we made a quick inspection of a part of the preserved floor mosaic of the Byzantine emperor Constantine, two chandeliers made of pure silver, donated by Nicholas II in honor of the birth of his son, each weighing 350 kg, icons and, bowing to the shrines, we left the temple.
The direction to Jerusalem. After getting comfortable in the bus and making a roll call, the guide gave the command "Yo-yo" to start moving. From Bethlehem to Jerusalem about 10 km, so the journey was not long. The road is gently sloping at first, closer to the final point of arrival, it began to rise rapidly. Jerusalem stands on the Mount of Olives, 793 meters above sea level. No wonder they say that you can climb to Jerusalem, and not come, because in almost a couple of kilometers the height rises by 1300 meters. Arriving in the city, we slender tourist group went to the Church of the Nativity.
No wonder they say that Jerusalem is one of the most mysterious and unusual cities in the world, a city of three religions. Thousands of people on the streets, different religions and skin colors. The stone pavements are polished by millions of feet. These stones remember Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate. I will not go into the details and details of the emergence of Jerusalem, the subsequent ruin and revival - there is a lot of information on the Internet. On the way, the guide gave out a lot of information, but all of it was not deposited in the head, as the head was constantly spinning around its axis, absorbing the indescribable atmosphere reigning there through the organs of vision and hearing. Around some streets and turns, sharply leaving somewhere sideways and down, all kinds of workshops and shops, churches. Immediately, the sounds of prayer are heard over the city.
The bad thing is that our entire pilgrimage took place in an accelerated mode and we didn’t manage to wander through these narrow, winding streets ourselves, slowly, slowly absorbing all the local flavor. All sewer manholes are stamped with the silhouette of a lion, very reminiscent of the modern symbolism of the Peugeot company. The locals say the firm should pay them to use it. It turned out that this silhouette of a lion is an ancient symbol of Jerusalem and adorns the coat of arms of the city. Here is the Church of the Resurrection of Christ (Church of the Holy Sepulcher). A lot of people. A quick visit to the Kuvuklia - the cave of the Holy Sepulcher (it is forbidden to take pictures and make videos inside, the priest is vigilantly watching this), where the Holy Fire descends on the Easter holiday. They burned the candles from the descended blessed fire in a nearby candlestick. Ascent to Calvary, where, according to legend, Christ was crucified.
Inside the temple, opposite the entrance, lies the Anointing Stone, covered with a polished red marble slab. They lit candles on it. Next is the Wailing Wall. This is part of the ancient wall (485m long) around the western slope %B2%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B0">Temple Mount in Old Town Jerusalem that survived the destruction Second Temple by the Romans in 70 CE e. The Arabs called her so, seeing how the Jews come to her to pray and cry. Men and married women are required to cover their heads when approaching the Wall. Tradition requires that, moving away from the Wall, the departing person moves backwards. On Saturdays, it is forbidden to appear in this zone with electronic devices - including cameras, this allegedly violates the sanctity of Shabbat. Near the wall you can see many praying Jews at any time of the day.
The wall has become a place of prayer, where Jews mourn the destruction of the Temple and pray to God for the rebirth of the people of Israel in their country, a place that symbolizes Israel's former greatness and hope for its future. Also, a large number of prayer notes from people who cannot visit the wall on their own are put into the slots. According to the guide, twice a year the wall is cleared of notes, which are then buried in a specially designated place on the Mount of Olives. Since the time of our visit fell on Friday, before the Jewish holiday of Shabbat, a huge number of Jews began to arrive at the wailing wall in the afternoon, most likely for the pre-holiday prayer. Dressed in festive costumes, fur hats, hats. There was something to see. We took a few pictures and headed back. "Yo-yo" was already waiting for us in his bus, completely blocking the narrow road to the Temple.
Therefore, our departure was swift in order to calm all the furiously honking drivers who want to take their places in nearby parking lots and join the prayer at the Wailing Wall.
The way back was no different. The same cruise control at 100 km / h, a small dinner in a cafe (according to the guide, the cost was included in our vouchers). It is a pity that we could not visit the Jordan River due to the unwillingness of most tourists to purchase shirts for washing for $ 10 per piece. at the guide. This condition was put forward by Anita - either shirts are bought by at least half of the tourists (24 pieces) or we do not go to the river. Those wishing turned out to be only 4 shirts and the trip did not take place. Commerce in its most direct expression. Although, according to members of another group traveling with a different guide on a different bus, despite a 4-hour delay at the border with Egypt (written above), and people buying only 8 rubles, they managed to visit the Jordan River.
Let it remain on the conscience of our guide Anita, God bless her. By the way, some pilgrims who have already visited Israel and the Holy places more than once, and who have previously encountered Anita, did not speak very flatteringly about her. During the trip we asked her a variety of questions, some of which were answered, and some were not answered at all. Or did not know, or did not want to touch on this topic. One of our questions was about stray dogs, which we did not see in Israel. There are street cats of all stripes, but not a single dog. Answer: “You will not see them in our country, because the owner is subjected to criminal prosecution for the fact that the owner kicked out the dog. All dogs are microchipped, certified and vaccinated. Establishing their identity is not difficult. Those who are tired of the dog or for other reasons want to get rid of it, give it to a dog shelter, where no one is refused.
There, those who wish can choose a four-legged friend without any problems. Also, rather big duties were imposed on the owner of the dogs, which are controlled by the authorities. For example, the fine for non-compliance with cleanliness when walking dogs (you know what I mean) is 700 shekels, which is equal to $ 200 or 5400 UAH. (at the rate of 27). Dogs are free to use public transport, but a muzzle is required. Israel's Animal Rights Law provides for criminal penalties for cruelty to animals, including throwing them out on the street. Such a crime can be punished by imprisonment for up to a year or a fine of up to 76.500 shekels. Public organizations for the protection of animals are actively monitoring these moments. To our question: “Is Israel a nuclear power? ", followed by the answer: " This is a state secret "Although there is information on the Internet about the possible presence of Israel's nuclear weapons.
Also, she does not mention the responsibility of the Israeli people for the crucifixion of Christ at all. The emphasis is on the sole decision of Pontius Pilate, but in no way on the people.
When approaching the border with Egypt, Anita suddenly announced that to leave Israel, each tourist must pay $30, otherwise they would not let her out. We had not yet had time to process this information in our minds, as she stated that the company had already paid this money for us and we had nothing to worry about. Why it was said, I did not understand. Again the border, crossing, checking for weapons and prohibited items. After the border, two buses were waiting for us, but our third one was not among them. His arrival was expected at about 1.5 hours. Finally we left for the hotel. We arrived at the hotel around 2 am, tired but satisfied. Ahead was a couple more days of relaxation on the beautiful Red Sea with coral reefs and colorful fish. They did not regret the trip to Israel at all.
