Immigration Departure Experience in Israel Ben Gurion Airport

fearless face-off on the World's most strict airport immigration security

10 November 2013 Sunday

Jerusalem city trip 5th part; inside the old city

As on my experience, I confirm below paragraph is 100% correct because this was the process exactly happened to me. Honestly, I just know only the fact exiting Israel is more difficult than entering when I was already on my Day-2 inside Israel. In this regard, the impact given by the immigration officers on arrival has not been diminished and the worry has been striking in my mind constantly .Though I have nothing to hide, reading about other experience especially by western travelers made me more to be on-guard at all times with my stuff and the way I respond to their interrogation. Despite the strict security, I still continue how I perform my usual travel style like walking alone off the streets, bringing my tripod everyday and going home at night by just walking only.

Ben Gurion airport prides itself in being one of the most secure in the world. It achieves this through a number of means. On joining the queue for this security check, a security official will ask you several questions. Based on these (and what appears to be racial profiling) and a brief inspection of your passport, you will be assigned a number from 1 to 6. 1 signifies the lowest security concern and 6 the highest. Foreigners will typically get between a 3 and a 6. Age, appearance, stamps from Arab countries, evidence of visits to the Palestinian territory and other vague factors will be taken into account. Depending on the number you get (stuck on your passport and luggage), the security check is more or less thorough. Travelers who have visited the Palestinian territory will almost certainly receive a 5 or 6 (but this is not exclusive to this cohort; you can get 5 if you have never been to Israel before, and are of European descent). With a 5 or a 6, you can expect every single item of luggage to be taken from your bag and inspected in detail. Security officials have been known to check individual bank-notes. With a 6 (but sometimes even 5 if they have time), you can also expect to be taken to a cubicle and asked to remove your belt, shoes and have a personal inspection. If your clothes contain any metal that would set off a detector (such as studs in your jeans or a zip) even if plainly visible on the outside, you will be asked to remove the item of clothing.

http://wikitravel.org/en/Jerusalem

Israel exit permit visa card (front)

Jerusalem City Trip 5th part; Inside the Old City

8-days Pinoy solo backpacking in Winter Israel

November 02 to November 10, 2013

Jerusalem city trip 4th part; Inside Mount Olives

The Old City is a 0.9 square kilometers (0.35 sq mi) walled area within the modern city of Jerusalem. The Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and its Western Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians, and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims. It was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site List in 1981. Traditionally, the Old City has been divided into four uneven quarters, Muslim Quarter, Christian Quarter, Jewish Quarter and the Armenian Quarter. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_City_%28Jerusalem%29
 
Muslim Quarter is the largest and most populous of the four quarters extending from the Lions' Gate in east, along the wall of the Temple Mount in the south, to the Damascus Gate route in west. Christian Quarter extending from the New Gate in the north, along the western wall of the Old City as far as the Jaffa Gate - Western Wall route in the south, bordering on the Jewish and Armenian Quarters, as far as the Damascus Gate in the east, where it borders on the Muslim Quarter. The quarter contains the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Christianity's holiest place. Armenian Quarter is the smallest of the four quarters of the Old City. Although the Armenians are Christian, the Armenian Quarter is distinct from the Christian Quarter and their Patriarchate remain staunchly independent and form a vigorous presence in the Old City. Jewish Quarter stretches from the Zion Gate in the south, along the Armenian Quarter on the west, up to the Cardo in the north and extends to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount in the east. The quarter has had a rich history, with a nearly continual Jewish presence since the eighth century BCE.

Muslim Quarter (Dome of the Rock, photographed from David's Tower)

Jerusalem City Trip 4th part; Inside Mount Olives

8-days Pinoy solo backpacking in Winter Israel

November 02 to November 10, 2013

Jerusalem city trip 3rd part; strolling Mount Zion

The Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge east of and adjacent to the Jerusalem's Old City. It is named for the olive groves that once covered its slopes. The southern part of the Mount was the necropolis of the ancient Judean kingdom. The Mount is central to Jewish tradition since it has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years and holds approximately 150,000 graves. Several key events in the life of Jesus as related in the Gospels took place on the Mount of Olives, it is described as the place from which Jesus ascended to heaven.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_of_Olives

Landmarks on the Mount of Olives include Yad Avshalom, the Tomb of Zechariah, the Church of all Nations, the Church of Maria Magdalene, Dominus Flevit Church, Chapel of the Ascension, Gethsemane, Mary's Tomb, Church of the Pater Noster, the Seven Arches Hotel, Augusta Victoria Hospital, Orson Hyde Memorial Garden and Beit Orot. At the foot of the mountain lies Emek Tzurim National Park and the Temple Mount Sifting Project.

strolling Mount Olives (Church of all Nations & Mary Magdalene Church)

Jerusalem City trip 3rd part; Strolling Mount Zion

8-days Pinoy solo backpacking in Winter Israel

November 02 to November 10, 2013

Jerusalem city trip 2nd part; underground cave of old city

Mount Zion is a hill in Jerusalem just outside the walls of the Old City. Mount Zion has been historically associated with the Temple Mount. In the Bible, Mount Zion is synonymous with Mount Moriah, the site of the binding of Isaac and the Jewish Temple. Important sites on Mount Zion are Dormition Abbey, King David's Tomb and the Room of the Last Supper. Most historians and archeologists today do not regard "David's Tomb" there to be the actual burial place of King David. The Chamber of the Holocaust (Martef HaShoah), the precursor of Yad Vashem, is also located on Mount Zion. Another place of interest is the Catholic cemetery where Oskar Schindler, a Righteous Gentile who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews in the Holocaust, is buried.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Zion

inside Mount Zion (King David's Statue)

Jerusalem City Trip 2nd part; Zedekiah's, Underground Cave of Old City

8-days Pinoy solo backpacking in Winter Israel

November 02 to November 10, 2013

South Israel tour last part; short visit to Ein Gadi Reserve

9,000 square meters of secrets and legends beneath the Old City.

Some of the most fascinating archeological discoveries in the Land of Israel were the result of fortuitous circumstances. In 1854, an American Biblical Scholar working in Jerusalem was taking a walk outside the Old city walls with his son and his dog.  The three of them were enjoying a sunny winter day, when suddenly the dog vanished. The dog was nowhere to be found. Suddenly, in the midst of drainage at the foot of the wall, the boy came upon a deep cistern created by the flow of water from recent rainfall. Peering inside, he was surprised to hear the sound of barking emanating from the depths of the earth. Gazing into the sewage, the Scholar spied a huge dark cavern. The dog lifted out and all three returned home. Thus, that adventurous dog is credited with rediscovering one of Jerusalem's most fascinating ancient site; the largest artificial cave ever to be uncovered.

Entrance fee cost 16ils ($4.6), admission is up to 1600H only. Anyone strolling through the alleyways of Old City, between the Sisters of Zion convent and the Herod's Gate, cannot avoid, when walking along certain streets, treading on sections of this huge cave.

Zedekiah's Cave, Jerusalem's largest cave

Knights Festival in the Old City; a Jerusalem Nights Specials

8-days Pinoy solo backpacking in Winter Israel

November 02 to November 10, 2013

Jerusalem city tour 1st part; Israel Museum and the Dead Sea scrolls

Scores of knights and other figures in full dress, jousts, tales of heroism and an array of performances await visitors to Jerusalem's Old City on Thursday evenings from late October through November 2013, ensuring a unique and exciting experience for visitors of all ages. Jerusalem invites us to stroll within the Old City's Ancient stone walls and along its picturesque and mysterious alleys on the enchanted festival evenings and view and participate in traditional dances, knightly battles, acrobatic and fire performances, street theater, medieval fashion shows, story-telling sessions, colorful pageants, horse-drawn carriages, stirring musical performances, a medieval knights pub, and other spectacular shows and surprises!

The festival format is that of self-guided tour in which visitors navigate among the various theatrical events taking place along a marked route in Jerusalem's Old City. The route is circular, beginning and ending at Jaffa Gate Plaza. The route winds through the old City's alleys and cannot accommodate baby carriages/strollers. Admission is free.

Jerusalem Old City's Knights festival 2013 (Medieval Dance)

Jerusalem City Trip 1st part; Israel Museum and the Dead Sea Scrolls

8-days Pinoy solo backpacking in Winter Israel

November 02 to November 10, 2013

Bethlehem tour 2nd part; Church of Nativity and Milk Grotto

From Old city Jaffa gate, I just walked by myself going to this place with the aid of asking the local Jews at any point I felt lost. Entrance fee cost 50ils ($14.3).

Since opening in 1965, Israel Museum has built a collection of nearly 500,000 objects representing the full scope of artistic creativity and the world material culture. The galleries at the top of the campus contain permanent displays from the collections as wells as temporary exhibitions. In addition, the Museum offers its local and international visitors a dynamic youth wing, a serene art garden, and the Shrine of the Book, home to the 2,000 years old Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Shrine of the Book is home to the world-renowned Dead Sea Scrolls, archeological artifacts, and rare medieval manuscripts of the Hebrew bible. The upper level of the Shrine introduces visitors to the story of the Scrolls and the Judean Desert sect. At the her of the Shrine is a presentation of original Dead Sea Scrolls - examples of sectarian texts and the oldest biblical manuscripts in existence, from the eight most complete scrolls ever discovered - surrounding a full-scale facsimile of the magnificent preserved Great Isaiah Scroll.

Israel Museum (Dead Sea Scroll)