![\"Mahane](\"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/mahane-yehuda-market.jpg\")
<\/a>Mahane Yehuda – Jerusalem Market – Photo by Ian Norton<\/p><\/div>\n
Church groups that are planning a tour of Israel should begin with the Department of Tourism and plan the voyage of a lifetime well in advance. There are times when almost the whole world seems to go to Israel and hotels and vacancies become booked rapidly. Although the streets of Jerusalem are often bustling with locals, IDF men and women protecting everyone, the mix of Sabra and Arab citizens and genuine pilgrims and tourists with cameras, holidays and annual events make crowd control a priority. Being willing to take advice on predictions of shortages of rooms and accommodations, predictions of volume of visitors and other traffic-jams and how and when to travel is a good idea that will guarantee the best success.<\/p>\n
Faithful tourists will also request that the best guides be hired. These guides will open up new doors to knowledge and not merely repeat what the hearer wants to hear. Israel is constantly discovering its buried past. Everyday a new discovery either reinforces a Bible verse or adds a new question. Many archaeological sites are seasonal and often someone from the \u201cdig\u201d can introduce the visitors to what is being done and what has been found. These exchanges often lead to financial and moral support for the project and a mission of accomplishment for the group as they adopt the project. You just never know who you might meet at an archaeological dig.<\/p>\n
A large number of academic and archaeological foundations host volunteers to gain experience at sites. The Bible Archaeological Society has published lists of digs that are seeking volunteers yearly along with contact information. These are not luxury cruises for sure. Archaeology is hard, dirty and detail oriented work. Indiana Jones had it good. The sense of achievement, friends made for life and the possibility of a \u201cfind\u201d is always present. Digs are seasonal, it gets very hot in many parts of Israel so working around the weather is a necessity. Other organizations that conduct digs and just about every major university in the world conducts some type of work in Israel, and checking with them can often translate what was going to be a tour into an experience.<\/p>\n
Israel sees an envelopment of tourists, travelers and dedicated pilgrims each year, year round. Good public relations are important. There is so much about Israel we really don\u2019t know that good listening skills are essential. The mix of languages heard: English, Hebrew, Yiddish, Arabic, every European, Slavic and tongue known to humanity will be heard here. The common denominator is Hebrew. It will be good to catch up on some courtesy words before coming, just to show appreciation and open up doors. The best way to learn is the \u201cimmersion technique\u201d. Here there is no introduction; it\u2019s Hebrew all the way. You will learn a new way to think, right to left so to speak. Western culture is progressive left to right and full speed ahead. Eastern culture seems to see \u201cthe end from the beginning\u201d, this is a Biblical precept and will help you understand how the ancients viewed their world, and their descendants mostly do the same.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Jaffa Rd, Train – Photo by Ian Norton<\/p><\/div>\n
Having some dependable guide books, looking at maps and some study are important so the journey will help to fulfill expectations, but be willing to be surprised. Israelis are an energetic and vibrant people. Many work in high tech and live among their past.\u00a0 Many Israelis who are recent immigrants are multiple degree holders and Israel has some of the highest educational achievement statistics of any nation. Israel\u2019s contributions to technology, agriculture, computer science and overall research and development are beyond comprehension in many ways.<\/p>\n
Faith tourists will hear many opinions here in The Land but the Bible and archaeology are known for bringing out the debater in the shyest of all persons. Deeply held opinions often change when presented by physical evidence, such as Gordon\u2019s Calvary and the Garden Tomb. According to sources, General \u201cChinese\u201d Gordon, hero of Khartoum, was a student of Scripture and considered that Golgotha and the tomb were really in a different location from its 4th century Constantinian church. Many Protestants visit this different location to at least get a sense of what was found on Resurrection morning. However, the skull shaped rock enfacement and tomb are within an area that was within the city walls in the 1st century and no executions could take place within the city or nor could burials.<\/p>\n
Remember that Israel has as many recreational and leisure opportunities and Jerusalem is a world of its own. There are shops full of hand made and unique treasures, try learning to haggle with vendors in the souks. Sidewalk cafes echo with spirited debates, laughter in many languages, deep dark teas and serious espresso. Try falafel and other foods with a set of traditions and ingredients that do not come from cans. Try people watching and be amazed at the depth of variety of persons our Creator made, \u201cawesomely made\u201d and who are all special to Him.<\/p>\n
A journey to Jerusalem is best taken in faith and on faith. The best preparations, planning, and being ready to be surprised and probably amazed will be a good start. Touring starts with contact with Israel\u2019s State agency and you can depend on a welcome like no other to a Land like no other. You will know the true meaning of Shalom!<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/div><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Tom Brennan One of the safest, most visually contrasting and historic destinations in the world is Israel. El Al Airlines has a record of safety that is literally unsurpassed. Israel has mountains, deep deserts, a sea coast on the beautiful Mediterranean, luxury resorts and the cities with exciting nightlife like Tel Aviv and Haifa. more \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1249,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[195,196,625,194,629,125],"class_list":{"0":"post-1429","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured-stories","8":"tag-archaeological-digs","9":"tag-el-al","10":"tag-israeli-news","11":"tag-israel-tourism","12":"tag-jerusalem","13":"tag-news-from-jerusalem","14":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1429"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1429\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1434,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1429\/revisions\/1434"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thejerusalemgiftshop.com\/israelnews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}