A cruise to Israel and Egypt

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A cruise to Israel and Egypt

5/23/2017

Six years ago, we left Atlanta for a cruise on Crystal Cruises that started in Athens, Greece. We stayed in the Athens Gate Hotel which had a rooftop bar and restaurant. The Acropolis was about 1/4 mile away and was a beautiful sight, both during the day and at night. Athens is a great place and easy to get around to all the historic places. After we left Athens, we made a number of stops, but our favorites were Israel, Egypt and Malta.

In Israel, we went to Jerusalem for a day and had a fantastic tour guide for two days with a group of eight people. We to the walled city and all the sights around there. We went to Bethlehem and toured the Church of the Nativity. It was awesome to be there on the site that Jesus was born! The next day, we went to see Masada, the hill were the Jews tried to hide from the Romans and were eventually killed. After that, we swam in the Dead Sea. Try keeping your feet on the sand! It is hard to do. We floated a lot. After other sights, Our Crystal Cruise ship headed for Egypt.

We landed in Alexandria and went by bus to Cairo in a caravan of buses, with police escort. The country is very protective of tourists and we felt very safe. After lunch, we had a short drive to the Pyramids. Sandy and I rode camels named Mickey Mouse and Michael Jackson. Afterwards, we found out that those seemed to be the names of all the camels! Then we walked around the Pyramids and the Sphinx before going to the Egyptian Museum. It is at the square where the revolution started two months later. We went back to the ship and the next day, we toured Alexandria and saw the reincarnated library, the Bibliotheca Alexandria. This is a phenomenal building. After riding and walking around the city, we sailed to Malta.

We were told to rise early for the sail in to Malta. It is home to the Maltese Cross, the Knights of St. John and has been held by the French, British, the Moors, the Romans and others. The old walls still stand. We enjoyed the steep climb into the city (right!). We went in St. John's Co-Cathedral and saw where all the knights were buried under the church. In fact, we walked on the plaques that covered their graves inside the church. To think of all the history about this church and the things that happened here!

Our cruise ended in my favorite city in the world, Rome! We have been there many times and have shared experiences with many of our clients. For more information, please contact us!