First Stop: Ashdod, Israel...make that Rhodes

A typical bar, sans usual patrons sipping free drinks.

Just before midnight as we cruised from Athens, the captain startled us by making an emergency announcement over the PA directly into our stateroom, which rarely happens on a cruise.

After apologizing for waking us, he asked for any male with blood type O positive or O negative to report to sick bay.

Journey had multiple fireplaces.

Of course, we were confused by this.  O positive is the most common blood type, and O negative is the universal donor, which explains the positive or negative, but why male?  

The captain later announced that due to a passenger medical issue we would be making an unscheduled stop in Rhodes, Greece, to drop off that passenger, which could delay our arrival in Ashdod.

Because we had no major plans our first day in Israel, this didn't disturb us, but we both wondered, why male?  Julie said that question kept her awake for a couple of hours.  

The stop in Rhodes the next morning went off without a hitch, and we were soon cruising again beneath sunny Mediterranean skies, enjoying those comfy lounge chairs, port lectures and tasty meals followed by terrific live musical entertainment and another sumptuous feast.

All of Azamara Journey's lounges were comfortable as well as tastefully decorated for visual appeal, and we savored all the time we spent aboard the ship.

Palace of the Grand Masters in Rhodes, Greece

It occurred to me a few days later after spending a full day in Rhodes that it would have made a terrific first port, because Rhodes headquartered the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as Knights Hospitaller, who were a political and religious order under Papal charter.  These knights shouldered responsibility for the care and defense of the Holy Lands during the Crusades.

This would have been a stop for most Crusaders on their way to Jerusalem.

The fact that Rhodes happens to be a beautiful port couldn't be missed by anyone, and since it was obviously on the way from Athens to Ashdod, it would fit into the itinerary perfectly.  

I understand the philosophy of having a sea day in which jet-lagged passengers can rest in preparation for the trip, but I personally would much rather have had that day of rest a few days later.

In any case, we arrived in Ashdod on schedule. so no one missed an excursion start time or even a minute in the first port.

For Julie and me, this was to be a beach day, because she wisely foresaw how overwhelming the subsequent daily ports would be.  Following a lazy sea day, however, it might have been overkill in the resting up department for us.

Less than an hour away from Ashdod lies bustling Tel Aviv or the ancient port of Jaffa, which is mentioned several places in the Bible, including the story of Jonah.

If you're unfamiliar with the tale, God told Jonah to go to Ninevah and preach against the wickedness of its people.

Rather than take on this onerous task, Jonah tried to flee from God by going to Jaffa and sailing to Tarshish, in the opposite direction of Ninevah.

Jonah boarded a ship only to be cast overboard by the sailors hoping to stop a terrible storm and was swallowed by a giant fish, a whale of a fish if you will.

While spending three day in the belly of the beast, Jonah prayed and vowed to follow God's commands, so God took mercy and made the whale spit Jonah out on the shore.

Detail from Bronze Door Panel  of  Noah (not to be confused
 with Jonah) at Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth

Reformed, Jonah accepted his duty to go to Ninevah and tell its people that in forty days, they would be overthrown.

Unexpectedly, all of Ninevah, including the king, believed Noah and repented. They put on sack cloths and ashes (talk about what not to wear), fasted and prayed for forgiveness.

God forgave the Ninevites, which as far as Jonah was concerned made him look like a fool when nothing bad happened to them.

God told Jonah to lighten up, because it was no skin off his nose if God forgives those others just as God forgave him.

Lesson?  All of us rely on the mercy of God, because we're all sinners.  And whatever you do, don't try shirk your responsibility to serve God.

In retrospect, perhaps we should have gone to Jaffa, the oldest port in the world, but we went in the same ocean as Jonah, just a little ways up the shore, and as far as we know, that could have been exactly where the whale regurgitated Jonah.  It certainly is the same ocean in which Noah's ark floated.

Ashdod has a wide beach with very soft sand beside warm, salty water.

The sea was choppy that day my friend, like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli (that's a "Seinfeld" reference with the relevant link, because this is Israel, after all).

Church of All Nations located adjacent to
the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus spent
His last night as a free man before His crucifixion.

We enjoyed bouncing around in the warm water, but waves came too rapidly to ride, even for those optimists with surfboards.  Eventually, we headed over to a nice sidewalk cafe for a drink.

It still being early in the trip, we were hungry for free internet, and the cafe we visited served it up plentifully.

With an overnight stay in Ashdod, we could have spent the evening in town, and some passengers headed for a night on the town in Tel Aviv, but we happily returned to the belly of the ship, ready for an evening of repast and entertainment followed by a good night's sleep, knowing our 11 hour tour of Jerusalem and Bethlehem would arrive early in the morning.

Just to be clear, St. John and Dr. John are two different people.  The former was a disciple of Jesus and the latter a disciple of New Orleans Jazz.