Jerusalem part 2

More pictures of Jerusalem.....


-


In the tunnels











The Israel museum- the dead sea scrolls exhibit


The model of Jerusalem during the second temple period


Almond tree




Olive trees


At the market-shuc


k


She is picking through dates to find the best ones


Mound of spices


You must be in Israel





We bought yummy pastries here



At the wailing wall(western wall or Kotel) at night


Purifying by washing hands before going to the wall to pray


The Jewish Quarter


Rebecca in Hebrew is Rivka...she found her store!

Location:דרך פעמי השלום,Eilat,Israel

Jerusalem - the holy city

There is something different about Jerusalem than any other city In the world. Besides the amazing religious history and beauty, there is a overwhelming sense of peace and amazement as people come from all over the world to pay homage to this city of wonders. I felt this the first time I was here in 1977 and again in 2006 and now in 2010. it's hard to describe this feeling of peace , but nevertheless, it returns each time I return to this holy city.It truly is a beautiful city with it's stone walls. It has grown so much since I was here 4 years ago, yet it feels totally familiar and a true sense of comfort and ease surround me as I walk through the city. Sara continues to be a wonderful guide, enriching us with history, stories of the past and present, and allows us to use our minds to contemplate what may or may not have happened in this city thousands of years ago or last week. So for me it seems that the more I learn ,the more I question , the more I ask. We started off going to the City of David which was had not been discovered in 2006. We saw the uncovered ruins of this 3000 year old part of history when king David ruled.They continue to dig finding more each day. We went into the Hezekiah tunnels , a system of underground tunnels beneath the city of David that carried water as well as escape routes for soldiers and warriors of that time.Following this we saw the new Israel museum with the Dead Sea Scrolls and a wonderful model of the city during the second temple period before the destruction, 66A.D. we went on to have a delicious lunch in a place with great home cooked Israeli food.We then went to a large outdoor market where locals get everything from spices to fruit to wonderful baked goods. It was another wonderful day as was the weather.


The entrance to the City of David








Views of Jerusalem















An Arab community








Going into the tunnels

Hotel Mizpe Hayamim

Beautiful hotel...more like a guesthouse among the trees..amazing. here're some pictures


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Rebecca's Israeli family

Today was a bit of everything,from hiking to visiting.We started out going to Mount Merion .We hiked to the summit( about an hour) for some beautiful scenery.We are having beautiful weather every day. Not too hot and not too cold, and sunny ! After our hike we went to a pomegranate winery . The only one in the world. Did you know that ALL pomegranates have 360 of those icy seeds? I didn't know that fact, but it is true. The wine was delicious and I don't like wine. I also liked the Jam they made there . I bought some to take to my office staff and some for Rebecca too.Tonight was a big night. We met Rebecca's host family. They invited us for dinner( actually they wanted us to spend a few days there )They were delightful people, very hospitable and nice. We met their children and grandchildren too. We all had a delicious dinner together, a huge smorgasbord of Israeli foods.A great night!


Summit of mount Merion











Lunch in Safat







All of us with Rebeccas Host family


Rebecca clearing the table

Hula Valley

Our day started with a 4am wake up call. We are headed for a hot air balloon ride at dawn.We left the hotel in the pitch black,and our guide got very lost. He had a bit of a meltdown over this and we all quickly realized we were going to have to get another guide. He was not what we had in mind or needed. But I don't want to blog about bad things so suffice it to say the sun began to rise and we were still lost. However, we did eventually find it and they actually waited for us. We were about an hour late. The Ballon was up and away we went over the villages and fields of crops. It was beautiful and smooth. We had champagne after the ride, then on to breakfast. Then off to Hula Valley, a bird sanctuary which we discovered on bicycles.We saw thousands of cranes here from Africa for the winter. flamingos, ducks,pelicans and some type of muskrat or otter. We also called the tour office and discussed our guides issues ( gets lost constantly - not a good thing for a guide) and we are getting a new guide tommorow . we got back to the hotel in time for a nap before dinner . Rebecca went swimming in the indoor pool.This hotel is magnificent . It's like a large guesthouse with a spa,indoor pool, beautiful big rooms with jacuzzi tubs( not common in Israel) , an organic farm which supplies all their produce. Weate in their vegetarian restaurant which was a huge buffet if soups, salads, homemade breads and multiple dishes made from veggies and grains...it was all delicious. amazing what they did ! Desserts were awesome, I liked the chocolate fondue.I haven't taken any pictures of this hotel yet, but we leave tomorrow , so I will in the morning so I can include them in another blog.







View from balloon

















Hula Valley


What is that?