Justin's HIV Journal

Thursday, November 1, 2018

Justin's in Israel





Israel is beautiful.  I had a blast.  I visited a lot of places while staying in Tel Aviv.  Jerusalem was one of my favorites, I was able to see all four corners (Jewish, Christian, Armenian, and Muslim).  We went to Jaffa and that was beautiful as well.  You could see Tel Aviv off in the distance and it was beautiful.  Zippori National Park was amazing with ruins and mosaics.  My absolute favorite was the Dead Sea.  The mud covering with my friends was fun but also it made me closer to Israel in a way, closer than I ever thought possible.  Walking into the Dead Sea and floating out on my back was as peaceful as I have ever been.  Praying to the Wailing Wall made me weep because it was so powerful.  I don’t want to go on and on about my experience.  So here is a brief description of places I went to.

Mona Lisa of Zippori

Zippori is a village and an archeological site located in the central Galilee region of Israel.  It lies 286 m above sea level and overlooks the Beit Netofa Valley. The site holds a rich and diverse historical and architectural legacy that includes Hellenistic, Jewish, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Crusader, Arabic and Ottoman influences.





The Western Wall in Jerusalem, Wailing Wall, or Kotel, known in Islam as the Buraq Wall, is an ancient limestone wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. It is a relatively small segment of a far longer ancient retaining wall, known also in its entirety as the "Western Wall"

Ein Gedi, just aside the Dead Sea in the Judean Desert, not too far from Jerusalem, is one of Israel’s premier hiking spots, featuring spectacular beauty, varied landscapes, and botanical gardens. 

Masada is an ancient fortress in southern Israel’s Judean Desert. It's on a massive plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. A cable car and a long, winding path climb up to the fortifications, built around 30 B.C. Among the ruins are King Herod's Palace, which sprawls over 3 rock terraces, and a Roman-style bathhouse with mosaic floors. The Masada Museum has archaeological exhibits and recreations of historical scenes.

The Sea of Galilee, Kinneret or Kinnereth, Lake of Gennesaret, or Lake Tiberias, is a freshwater lake in Israel. It is approximately 53 km in circumference, about 21 km long, and 13 km wide. Its area is 166.7 km² at its fullest, and its maximum depth is approximately 43 m.

Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo, or in Arabic Yaffa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical stories of Jonah, Solomon and Saint Peter as well as the mythological story of Andromeda and Perseus, and later for its oranges.








Tiberias is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Established around 20 CE, it was named in honor of the second emperor of the Roman Empire, Tiberius. In 2017 it had a population of 43,664.

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