Shalom! Israel

I have been wanting to write on my trip to Israel but did not get to do it.  Being busy with work was a convenient excuse. I am glad I am finally writing it.  This trip was made in December 2008 together with my sister and family.  It was a 10-day trip with a tour group led by a Christian guide.  We landed at Tel Aviv and went up north to Galilee, stopped by at the Dead Sea and ended the trip at Jerusalem, reliving the journey that Jesus took more than 2000 years ago.  Unfortunately, our visit to Bethlehem was cancelled as it was unsafe for tourist visit then.

Transit at Istanbul, Turkey

We took a red-eye flight by Turkish Airline with stopover at Istanbul in the early morning to catch connecting flight to Israel.  At the Istanbul airport, before boarding the connecting flight, we were being interviewed individually by the immigration officer.  As a Singaporean, visa is not required to enter Israel.

Immigration Check at Israel

Upon arrival at Tel Aviv in the morning, before reaching the immigration area, we were reminded by our guide to request the immigration officer not to stamp on our passport. Besides making the request in English to the immigration officer, I also gave the immigration officer a slip of paper written in Hebrew requesting the same.  The immigration officer checked my passport, took a look at me, check against my passport and let me past without stamping on my passport.  You may probably be wondering why we made that request.  This is because certain Muslim countries may reject entry into their country if the immigration officer saw that we have traveled to Israel.  This is just a precaution that we took to avoid future inconvenience.

We took a group photo at the Tel Aviv airport, then hopped onto the tour bus that brought us round Israel for our 10-day trip.  Join me in my journey as I relive my trip to Israel.

 

Thank you for stopping by

Audrey

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