In 2007 our big trip was to Israel and Jordan. It's always somewhat fraught to plan a trip to this volatile region, but although peace was not exactly breaking out at this time, it was a bit less explosive than usual. In 2006 Elderhostel canceled all trips to Israel due to the war with Lebanon. In 2007, although we were accompanied by an armed guard (and paramedic) during our travels in Israel, our guide in Jordan told us that we were the first tour he had led in a while that was NOT required to have a guard. Even so we were required to go through metal detectors to enter our hotel in Amman, which had been the site of coordinated suicide bombings at three hotels in 2005.

We did not encounter any hostilities anywhere during our travels.

We spent two weeks in Israel – one in Jerusalem and one traveling within the country. We only had a week in Jordan. More time would have been welcome – especially in Jordan.

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