Frank's Christian Thoughts: Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza

Saturday, 29 November 2025

Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 50.

The Real Reason behind our 2000 1st Anniversary trip to Israel.

A year has elapsed since our wedding in 1999. Just after Christmas of that year, it was not only the beginning of 2000, but also the start of a new century and a new millennium. Therefore, of a generation that saw a triple phenomenon that occurs every one thousand years, New Year's Day, a new Century, and a new Millennium, all three converged onto one day. Yet, there was no thunder, no phenomena in the sky, no earthquakes, nothing out of the ordinary. It was just another day like all those that preceded it.

The next day, January 2nd, we boarded a train for an afternoon trip to London. It turned out to be a waste of time and money. Never before have we seen the West End major shopping precincts, Oxford Street, Regent Street, and Piccadilly Circus, devoid of people and all the shops closed. Indeed, the city looked as it did during the 2020 Covid pandemic, when all trading ceased during the lockdown.

During the spring of 2000, Alex kept expressing her wish to see the Holy Land after hearing my stories while I was there during the nineties. I thought it was a good idea to make peace with Stella Carmel, the Christian Conference Centre and Guesthouse in the village of Isfiya, on the summit of the Mount Carmel ridge.

The two months I spent there as a volunteer in 1994 were a disaster. I was looked on as a pariah by other volunteers, especially by the women. To them, I was an Italian Neanderthal who had not kept up with modern culture and education, the rise of the domesticated New Man, and female leadership. Instead, I believed in the old adage that men should be men and women should be grateful. The result was that I was dismissed as a volunteer after just two months, when I should have stayed for a whole year. My Christian faith was also affected to the point of falling into apostasy.

A full blog on this 1994 experience is found on Week 54 of the main Biography, where I detail in full exactly what happened. I have provided the link below, and instead of directing you to the Index, as I normally do, this week, the link takes you directly to the blog itself.

So, in the spring of 2000, we returned to London. At Trailfinders, we booked a flight to Tel Aviv, with take off scheduled three days before our first anniversary. What I wasn't aware of was that it was the week of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It was also the week that commenced Sukkot, the feast of tents. A couple of months later, we discovered that Alex was pregnant. I had to do some research on whether she was still safe enough to fly in her condition.

We found out that she would be 18 weeks pregnant at take off, and twenty weeks on our return flight home. Both fell within the 28-week limit. I was relieved that we didn't need to cancel the trip.

The flight was an overnight one, quite unusual for Tel Aviv. As I sat by the window, the night sky was clear as we flew over southern Germany. On the velvety blackness beneath us, the city lights gleamed bright, resembling illuminated diamonds glistening. It was a fascinating sight. It was already daybreak when we landed at Ben Gurion Airport.

A Menorah, symbol of Israel, at the Cardio, Jerusalem.

We spent a couple of nights at a moderate hotel in Tiberias, on the west bank of the Sea of Galilee. Here, bicycles were rented out to the public, whether the hirer stayed at the hotel or not. I already knew about the bike hire from 1994. Back then, on one of my days off, I took a sherut to Haifa, then a bus to Tiberias, rented a bicycle, and rode the entire circumference of the Sea of Galilee, a distance of 68 km, or a little over 48 miles. On the route, I stopped at Capernaum, Ein Gev, and Yardenit, before the final leg to Tiberias.

And here was my first big mistake. I wrongly assumed that Alex could do the distance with me in 2000, as, like me, she was a keen cyclist. But her pregnancy proved otherwise. When we hit a hill, between two to three miles into the ride, she collapsed and confessed that she couldn't go any further. I let her rest by the roadside, and a car pulled up. The driver offered to take her to a hospital, but we both declined his offer. The ride was aborted, and we slowly and gently made our way back to Tiberias.

On the third day after arrival, we boarded a bus to Haifa to catch a sherut to Stella Carmel. I knew where the pick-up point was from 1994. But when we entered the city, we found it to be deserted and all the shops closed. Furthermore, I was stuck with a wedge of traveller's cheques and no cash. I was expecting to find a bank in Haifa and cash a cheque before proceeding to Isfiya. Before the start of the journey, the banks were still open. Closing time fell during the journey. How could I be so thoughtless? Now we were stuck in Haifa with no money. And I was supposed to be an experienced backpacker!

I quickly found out that this early closing was on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and a national holiday. There was a path through a housing estate built on the east slope of Mount Carmel. With a heavy rucksack on my shoulders, we made our way up by foot. When we arrived at the summit, the view of Haifa and its harbour was fascinating.

I expected a short walk from where we were to Stella Carmel. We were at Merkaz Hakarmel, a handsome town on the mountain's summit. Halfway from the town to the Conference Centre was a tall skyscraper which was part of the University of Haifa. When I saw it, it was much further away than I was expecting. Stella Carmel was twice as far. I knew that with our luggage and her pregnancy, we couldn't make such a long distance on foot.

We saw a nearby bench, and we sat on it, feeling gutted and realising that we were stranded by the main roadside. I felt so helpless and distressed, although Alex seemed to have taken the situation in a better stride.

We sat on the bench for quite a while when a car, heading in the opposite direction towards Merkaz Hakarmel, stopped in front of us. The driver leaned out and shouted across to us in English whether we were all right. I called out that we were heading for Stella Carmel and found ourselves stranded. The driver then instructed us to wait where we were and drove off.

Soon afterwards, he returned on our side and told us to get in. We did, luggage and all. He then explained that he was a pastor of a church in Haifa, and he knew Stella Carmel well. He then paid us ten shekels to tide us over until the banks opened. We passed the university skyscraper and drove on, quite a distance, to the driveway leading to the Conference Centre.

We spent three days at Stella Carmel. During that time, I was 'reconciled' to the guesthouse. Of the permanent staff, three were still there from 1994: Trevor, who married Margaret, who was the cook, and Andrew, who was in charge of Maintenance. The other two members, Patricia and Heather, had long gone, along with the manager, Peter, and his wife. However, there was one big difference. The Keliat Ha-Karmel Congregation, which met every Saturday, had their own D-shaped church built in the grounds once occupied by the waste bonfire. On the Saturday after we arrived, we both attended their Hebrew/English service.

Click here to be directed to Week 54 of the Biography.

Click here for the Index to the link of this 2000 trip to Israel as a couple, Weeks 123-128.

Photos of our 2000 Trip to Israel to celebrate our 1st Anniversary.