Israel & Jordan 2023: Yardenit and Yigal Allon Center
Now that the Holidays are over, it's back to regular programming here, which means back to the documentation of my Israel and Jordan trip a year ago. I really must double down and triple my efforts in finishing this series.
Anyway, this whole day is definitely not over, not by a long shot. I remember how we were able to squeeze as much sites to see as possible. So after the interesting visit to the Nazareth Village, it was a stop at the Jordan River, site where the baptisms have taken place. Not really an expert in Biblical knowledge, I found out there that this site was not the site where Jesus was baptised. It was still worth a visit, though.
Once we entered this door, I was face to face with what was a huge gift shop filled with people. That was discordant with what I expected. I don't know what I was expecting, but definitely I wasn't prepared for this touristy scene. The whole thing was just weird in my opinion.
The key is to find your way through the throng of shoppers to go in the back to the Jordan River. In the back, there were people getting baptised, many with their pastors/priests, etc, and some on their own. There were cats all over the grounds, and more shops. Don't hate me, but I did a little shopping here, for little vials of Jordan River water to gift to family and friends.
We did not spend a lot of time here, and this awesome day continued with a visit to Ginosar, which is a short drive away. My husband found this intriguing 2,000-year-old boat that they preserved and is on display at Yigal Allon Center. Honestly, I was just going with the flow and I had no opinion about this, although I was really curious about this centuries old boat.
The only purpose of this brief stop here is to look at the boat. And so we made a beeline to to room where the boat was exhibited. There was a film showing about the history of boat but at that time the documentary was in Spanish language, and we didn't have time to wait for the English language film, so we only went to look at the boat.
After seeing the boat, we walked out back to find the Sea of Galilee.
We saw that there was a boat ride. We wanted to experience it, but apparently you have to get must get tickets somewhere else before riding the boat. We were so pressed for time that we did not even inquire where to get the tickets.
Stay tuned, this incredible day is not over just yet.
Once we entered this door, I was face to face with what was a huge gift shop filled with people. That was discordant with what I expected. I don't know what I was expecting, but definitely I wasn't prepared for this touristy scene. The whole thing was just weird in my opinion.
The key is to find your way through the throng of shoppers to go in the back to the Jordan River. In the back, there were people getting baptised, many with their pastors/priests, etc, and some on their own. There were cats all over the grounds, and more shops. Don't hate me, but I did a little shopping here, for little vials of Jordan River water to gift to family and friends.
We did not spend a lot of time here, and this awesome day continued with a visit to Ginosar, which is a short drive away. My husband found this intriguing 2,000-year-old boat that they preserved and is on display at Yigal Allon Center. Honestly, I was just going with the flow and I had no opinion about this, although I was really curious about this centuries old boat.
The only purpose of this brief stop here is to look at the boat. And so we made a beeline to to room where the boat was exhibited. There was a film showing about the history of boat but at that time the documentary was in Spanish language, and we didn't have time to wait for the English language film, so we only went to look at the boat.
After seeing the boat, we walked out back to find the Sea of Galilee.
We saw that there was a boat ride. We wanted to experience it, but apparently you have to get must get tickets somewhere else before riding the boat. We were so pressed for time that we did not even inquire where to get the tickets.
Stay tuned, this incredible day is not over just yet.
You went to a different location on the Jordan than we did. The water looks so much more clear and the river wider at the site you visited. But we ran into the same touristy mob scene. It's a bit disconcerting, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteThe spot on the Jordan where we were was narrow and shallow with people on each side of the river, It looked like you could practically walk across the river into Jordan. I had expected a much wider river.
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Wow that was a realy old boat!
ReplyDelete...it turned out for the better that you visited last year!
ReplyDeleteThese souvenir shops likely help keep the museum aspects monetarily viable. During my trips I, too, was surprised to see trinkets (often made in China) sold in places such as at the Vatican and in Assisi while visiting the Basilica of Saint Francis.
ReplyDelete