Экскурсии в Израиль/Иорданию Excursions to Israel/Jordan

Welcome all.

I want to tell you about a two-day excursion to Israel/Jordan. Traveled 25/26 January 2010.
The cost of the tour at Pegasus is $410 per person, $5 discount. Additionally, when we left Sinai, we paid 75 pounds (about 15 dollars) at the checkpoint.

There was no other alternative to excursions at the hotel, and we did not think of pre-ordering an excursion from local companies advertised on the website. But given that in fact the trip to Israel was the main one for us when choosing this tour (and Taba in particular), we decided that saving is not appropriate here.

Our tour started at 1:30 am. We left the hotel, met the Pegasus group, led by the accompanying guide Irina (big hello and many thanks to Irina), who arrived from Sharm on three "pasiks" (other tour operators do not save like that, groups came on large comfortable buses).
The group gathered ...and stomped on the Egyptian-Israeli border of Taba-Eilat, since it is 100-150 meters from the ring of our hotel.


Egypt let us out quickly… But on the Israeli border, the search was long and meticulous… Ladies of any age traveling without men were especially meticulously examined. More than half of the personnel at the checkpoint are young girls.
The guides told stories that they didn’t let people through without explanation… but thank God our group was spared…
The crossing of the border by the group took more than an hour ...
We sit on the bus, it is more or less comfortable ...but without a bathroom ....

Our guide is joining us...Let's go! At around 3 am...
The guide reports that at first we are not going to the Dead Sea (as Pegasus usually goes), but immediately to Jerusalem.

First stop around 6 am. Toilet, smoke break, coffee… Very decent car camping. And pouring rain!!!!
The guide (sorry, I forgot his name, I don’t want to name it wrong - he emigrated from Tallinn in the 80s) says that it was because of the rain that the tour schedule was changed. Jerusalem is an hour away.

Seven in the morning. We are in Jerusalem. The city met us with low hanging clouds, gray haze and monotonous cold rain. We are on the observation deck near the university. The wind is piercing. And suddenly, the rays of the sun broke through the clouds. The city immediately came to life. Flashed. It is a pity that the camera did not capture these moments ...
But the mood immediately improved !!!!!!!! ! We are on holy ground!
We also admired the panorama of the old city, the temple mount, on which the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Rock Mosque are located.

The tour of the old city for us began from the Jaffa Gate. From them, through narrow streets, literally less than 2 meters wide, we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher was erected on the site of the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, on Golgotha.
Fortunately, it was raining, we were practically the first group, so everyone was able to see and even take pictures. In one place there is a very strange interweaving and coexistence of Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Further, walking through the Muslim quarter, we came to the holiest place for Jews in Israel - the Wailing Wall.

True, before getting there, we went through a very thorough inspection of us and things, then the men were recommended to cover their heads (they gave me a cardboard cap to cover their heads, I preferred the hood of the jacket), the women went in one direction, the men in the other ...After all wishing, left the notes they brought with them in the Wall, we went to our bus - further Bethlehem.

Going to Bethlehem, you need to understand that you are again passing the border ...of Palestine (Palestinian Autonomy). The border is visible both by the concrete wall and by the military at the checkpoints, everything is quite serious and not friendly.
The guide begged him not to extradite him… supposedly he is also a simple pilgrim… This secret of his behavior has not been unraveled by us!
In Bethlehem, we were first brought to a souvenir shop, to buy souvenirs of a pilgrim (naturally, on the street in a neighboring shop, they were half the price ....But ...we didn’t forget which country we came to ???? )

So we arrived at the birthplace of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem - the Church of the Nativity.
Several groups had already gathered here, so we stood at the holy cave for about an hour ...
As the guide promised at first, we were able to bless the candles, our souvenirs, and the pectoral crosses at the Christmas Star…
Feelings can not be described ...I just advise you to follow the same path.

I draw your attention to the fact that the entrance to all the temples, which are traditionally guided tours, is free.

Dinner. The third floor of the shopping center...Everything is satisfying and quite edible...especially since it's already 14:00. Then we returned to Israel again.
Again there was a checkpoint, armed young people (including a girl), they smiled sweetly at us, no one checked anything, the bus slipped through the checkpoint quickly. True, the guide did not go across the border with us, he was brought by the car of the store where we stopped by (another secret, it seems that Israel does not approve of pilgrims traveling to Bethlehem).


Retreat. In the evening, in Eilat, at the hotel, we met with the second group of Pegasus. During a smoke break, my wife heard a story from them that when leaving Bethlehem, at the checkpoint, they were urgently forced to leave the bus (what they were wearing), and let me remind you that it was raining all the time that day ...and they kept them forty or forty-five minutes outside, in the rain wind. They also checked several buses. Reason not known

Now our road lay in the direction of the Dead Sea. We drove for three hours. Sometimes I came across oases, date groves, beauty ...So the sea appeared. We stood on the observation deck - the view is a feast for the eyes…………
The next stop is a few hotels, a huge cosmetics store, a gently sloping seashore with a beach. Stop for 50 minutes. The sun is setting. There is no rain. But the wind is very, very fresh.
The Dead Sea lives up to its name - nothing floats there, nothing grows, salt is 33%. Water is stagnant and has a very peculiar chemical structure. In no case should water get into the eyes or ears, not to mention the mucous membranes - mouth and nose. You can’t swim there, you can just go in, sit down or roll over on your back, make a float out of yourself. The maximum time for swimming is 15-20 minutes.
Then the body must be thoroughly washed with soap and water (shower on the beach).
It was quite pleasant in the water, the feeling of cleansing and relaxation.
But to get out of the sea ...+ shower with cold water - this is already extreme.

Then the store. Everyone was talking about the VAT refund -16% and that there are the best prices.
To get a VAT refund, you need purchases worth more than $150, it is returned when you leave the border according to special documents...In practice, it actually turned out that about 11% of the purchase amount is returned.
The wife, by the way, highly appreciated the quality of the creams ....Probably how I cost them ($60-100 bank)

That's it...shopping is over. We are going to Eilat to spend the night. The hotel is good, near the airport. We arrived immediately for dinner. I really liked the grilled lamb. Real jam!!! ! The room has everything you need ...except for the hair dryer.
We got out at 21-00 for a walk. The shops were still open...But they don't take dollars!!!!!!! ! So no souvenirs were brought from Eilat. And so - an ordinary resort town on 10 km of territory ....

Day two. Walking the borders!


Morning. 7 o'clock. Breakfast. At 7-30 a bus picks us up… It takes us 7 kilometers to the Israel/Jordan border.
Again on foot we move over the border ....
Israel releases quite quickly...but the Jordanian customs officers conjure with passports for an hour...We finally passed.

New bus. New guide - Isam. Very fluent spoken Russian. Then it turned out that he had lived in Kharkov for almost two years. Very pleasant impressions about the person. Jokes, jokes - fun started the day.
The road is very high quality, goes through the desert. Periodically very beautiful sandy rocks on the sides. The target is Petra.
We stopped at the observation decks a couple of times ...The photos are magnificent. We reached Petra in 4 hours.
Then a walking tour through the canyon to the City of the Dead, this is a unique combination of natural and human efforts…
You can ride a horse ...or a donkey ....
The descent along the canyon took about 1.5 hours with stops and the guide's stories (then we went out on our own in 45 minutes).
Here is the City of the Dead ...like in a movie about the legendary Indiana Jones. A majestic spectacle. We go down behind the amphitheater ...We walk ...
Wind, sun, rocks…. Eternity!!!!
Regularity…. The further you go, the cheaper the souvenirs…. Were stingy ...It's time to return. At 15-00 general meeting at the top.

Then lunch at Movenpick on the outskirts of Petra. The hotel stands on a cliff, behind it is a cliff. Loved the service and cleanliness. …

Then we go back to Aqaba ...to the border. Our Jordanian guide says goodbye to us warmly, we pass the border of Jordan...Israel met us again methodically and meticulously...An hour to the border...Bus...10 km drive in Eilat...And we are already on the border of Israel and Egypt. We walk through them again. We get taxi-free, then everyone rushed to the Israeli duty-free ...I highly recommend ....I liked it (especially the service in pure Russian and the provision of discounts)
The border of Egypt....And you can see our Hilton Taba Resort. Time 20-00 …. Just like dinner.


Drinking beer bought in duty free, we said goodbye to our group, which still has 3-4 hours to get to their hotels in Sharm, with guide Irina ....
"Bye everyone!!! ! Thank you for the warm and sincere company!!!!! ! »
And we've already arrived!