In the spring of 1974 my husband and I decided to travel to Israel. We booked a two-week trip with the Golden Circle Tours. In our reservation packages we received necessary practical information concerning travel within Israel, our itinerary and an orange and white yamaka to wear so our tour guide could keep track of us. From years of Sunday School I felt I had some idea of the places we would visit. To learn more I read James Mitchner’s The Source. In order to learn something about contemporary Jewish people I read Chaim Potok’s excellent novels. My readings left lots of space to experience the Israeli people, their culture and their history that I would encounter on my journey.
We flew to Israel on El Al with a stop-over at London’s Heathrow Airport. Flying El Al was our first taste of Israel. The crew members were Israeli, they spoke Hebrew and our meals were Kosher. In the aftermath of the Yom Kippur War in October of 1973 security was tight. When we landed at Heathrow we were surrounded on the tarmac by security vehicles and armed guards and not allowed to leave the plane. We flew on from London to Tel Aviv, our final destination. As the sun was setting and we began our long descent over the water toward Lod Airport, people on the plane began singing the Hatikvah, the National Anthem of Israel. Forty years later I still get goosebumps remembering.
poetrybyheart.me 
Awesome, glad to hear that you had a good trip in Israel that you are able to remember and cherish years later.
It is amazing to discover that I have clear visual memories from a trip I took half a lifetime ago. Writing this series of stories will be a rich experience for me. Thanks for your comment.
Impressive memory, I can hardly remember the names of places I’ve visited in the last decade in such detail š
Thanks. As I begin writing a series of posts on my time in Israel things are coming back, mostly visually in my mind. I don’t remember all the place names either. š
Oh, yes!! More please. I like the beginning a lot.
Thanks, Janet. I have lots more to write. It is fun to discover I have so many memories and figure out how I want to organize them.
Really enjoyed this. Most likely I will never get to Israel, so I will enjoy going with you vicariously.
Thanks for your comment. I’m glad you will “travel” with me.
A precious experience I know you’re all the richer for.
Yes it was. And very rich to go back and remember details now so I can write about it.
Interesting memories Ina, I can imagine the singing would have been very powerful.
Yes. It was an amazing way to land in Israel.
An orange and white yamaka? Did the trip originate in Tennessee? That’s a joke that could probably only be appreciated by those who were not born UT (Tennessee, not Texas, which uses more kind of a burnt orange color) fans and migrated to this state!
The trip originated in New York City as far as I remember. The yamaka was made with alternating white and orange triangular-shaped segments. I looked up the Golden Circle Tours to see if it still existed but had no luck finding them. I am embarrassed to say I don’t get the joke. š¦