Heading to and Staying in Jerusalem: The Jesus Boat, Island of Peace, Belvoir National Park and 14 Aminadav Street

On the way to Jerusalem, which took about 2 ½ hours from the Galilee area, we made a few stops.

The Ancient Galilee Boat a.k.a The Jesus boat was discovered in 1986 by two brothers living on a Kibbutz. The Sea of Galilee was low because of lack of rain. This boat had been buried in and protected by the sediment. The boat was rescued after an 11-day evacuation. Fiberglass and foam were put around the boat to protect it and floated it to Yigal Allon Center. At the Center if went through a conservation process that took many years.

The boat is 26.9 feet long. Based on experts and various criteria it was decided that this boat dates back to the first centuries BCE-CE. This was a fascinating look at ancient times. I do believe it existed then. Things like this made me rethink religion during my three-weeks in Israel.

Next we went to Naharayin Island of Peace from which you can take a tour by car to the Island of Peace in Jordan or walk to various observation points. What is here is an electricity plant, one of the biggest in its time (1927). In 1948 Naharayim was captured by Jordanian solders and the plant was shut down. In 1984 a peace treaty was signed between Israel and Jordan thus the name. Unfortunately in 1997 seven girls on a school trip were murdered here. Picked Flowers Hills is a memorial to them.

Kohav Hsyarden (Belvoir) National Park had some really interesting ruins. You will be given a map of what to see and in what order. Some of what you will see dating back to the 12^th century includes towers, a bathhouse, a courtyard, the inner and outer fortresses, and the vaults.

There is no realistic way to get to Jerusalem other than going through what the map said is Palestinian territory. Signs saying not to walk on the grass on the side of the road because of possible mines confirmed this. Still we drove this route many times and had no problems. It is a highly traveled route and there is nothing to be afraid of.

We rented an apartment in Jerusalem for six nights which we found on vrbo.com (Vacation Rentals by Owner). We have done this many times with great results. This apartment was the least desirable of any VRBOs in which we have stayed; however, for $100 a night and a great location it might be something that works for you. The address is 14 Aminadav Street.

Pros: The apartment was in a residential neighborhood abutting a park. The American owner lives next door with her husband and two young children. The location is great. We could walk to the Old City and a minute a way was a small but adequate 24-hour store. There was room for four, an oven and stove, and a washer and dryer. There was free parking and we never had a problem getting a space.

Cons: There were no lights for reading in the bedroom. The kitchen table was small and although it seemed like it opened apparently it was broken. There was no iron. There was no toaster. (These are items normally found in a VRBO rental. There were no curtains on the living room windows. We were told that our car might get broken into! The washer sort of worked; the dryer sort of didn't. The worst part was the bathroom. The shower needed to be cleaned as did the entire bathroom and in fact the whole apartment needed some Merry Maids. Personally I wouldn't stay there again, but if the owner reads this and gets her act together, it has a lot of good qualities going for it.

Some of this information has been culled from literature I have.