Wednesday 8/15 -- Our Last Full Day in Israel

We met in the dining room for another hearty Israeli breakfast & discussed our plans for the day. BJ & Turk had left very early for Tel Aviv to visit friends, so I was part of the Israel family for the day. Later I became "cousin Leni" at a point when it was important that we be a family unit. We wanted to see Ben Yehuda Street which is famous for it's shopping. This is outside the old city and we decided to walk the 40 minutes; we were told that we would see how an average Israeli lived in these streets and neighborhoods.

The walk was largely uphill - I came to believe that all Israel is uphill. We passed through some interesting neighborhoods with apartments and shops; we saw schoolgirls in their uniforms and people on their way to work. I loved this sign advising modest dress -- long sleeves and skirts. I don't know how the Hasidim -- both men and women tolerate the heat in their black coats, and long dresses. Click on the image to see all the restrictions.

W e passed some beautiful architecture. Like many European cities, people walk more than drive and city life is very livable, full of friends and conveniences. Ben Yehuda Street area is pedestrian, with many little alleyways with more shops. I felt pretty shopped out and I had done enough packing to realize I wasn't going to get much more stuff in the suitcase, so I mostly people-watched. I did buy a Book of Psalms, which was covered in wood and medieval-styled paper and lacquered. It's more an art object than a book.


This is part of Ben Yehuda Street, where I sat on a bench in the shade.






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The Bethlehem Adventure

At the dig we were strongly advised not to go to Bethlehem, which is in Palestinian territory. Apparently restrictions in recent months have increased and it's costly and difficult to go. Still, people in Jerusalem thought it was quite safe and possible to go, so Bob arranged through the hotel for a taxi/guide to take us. It cost $60, which I thought was quite a lot for the couple of hours we stayed and the short distance involved.

A Jewish cabdriver with Israeli license plates picked us up at the hotel promptly and drove us the 20 minutes or so to the border.
He warned us not to say that we are Jews. Then a young woman met us and walked us through this DMZ border where we had to show passports; she took us to another taxi on the Palestinian side. It really seemed to matter to them that we were a family, so I became a cousin. After crossing, another man drove us to the Church of the Nativity (the birthplace of Jesus) where another guide, with the Biblical name Esau, took us all through the church. It was really interesting -- the church is shared by Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenians.
I'd really hoped to be free to walk around Bethlehem, walk around freely, maybe have a falafel in the town square. Apparently this is no longer possible.

Returning to Jerusalem was done the same convoluted way. We got caught in a roadblock before crossing back and they took our passports for about 15 minutes. I really wasn't worried because I'd had the same thing happen at the Bosnian/Serbian border once and we arrived back safe & sound. We had dinner in the lovely garden of the American Colony Hotel. This is the place where western journalists hang out, especially in times of trouble in Israel.

Tuesday August 14 -- Jerusalem on my own

Tuesday I needed some time to recuperate so let Yehuda, Bob, Merilyn and the boys go on to Hebron without me. Turk & BJ went to museums early, and not feeling well, I had a slower start. About 11 AM I took a taxi to the Jaffa Gate; my plan was to wander the old city -- shop and take in the sights of the Armenian, Muslim and Jewish Quarters my own leisurely pace.

It was lovely just to wander, with no agenda and take in all the sights, sounds and smells of this city so unchanged by time. The profusion of colors -- merchandise of all descriptions hanging everywhere, the sounds of shoppers and shopkeepers, the smells of restaurants and spice shops -- it's overwhelming and somewhat disorienting. While I didn't take this picture of the old city - August morning - it perfectly captures the ambiance of that day.

I stopped at one shop in particular near this Mosaic Doorway which sold everything from jewelry, to inlaid boxes, to oriental rugs. The young shopkeeper plied me with bottled orange juice and Bedouin mint tea, while we talked about politics, places we'd been, our families. Of course I bought a few things from him, and from his "cousin" while I sat on a hassock and relaxed. This was the experience that I'd come for: just to soak up the sense of old Jerusalem while shopping and chatting. Of course I do know that this is part of his sales pitch, I really didn't care.

By the time I returned to our hotel about 4 PM my fellow travellers were returning from their own adventures. I enjoyed a swim in the hotel's roof-top pool, and then we regrouped and all went out to dinner together at a nearby Lebanese restaurant. Flatbread grilled in herbs was served in a lovely garden, where, for a nominal fee, you could also smoke a hookah. Another splendid day!

Pictures 8/13 -- Masada Ein Gedi & the Dead Sea

Masada





Bedouin camel




Ein Gedi
David's Waterfall




Dead Sea looking towards Jordan

Monday 8/13 -- Masada, Ein Gedi, the Dead Sea

I am continuing this narrative after the disruption of jet lag and a persistent gastrointestinal microbial invasion. Monday our guide, Yehuda Rubin, picked us "the Sinai Seven" up at our Jerusalem hotel for a day which turned out to be one of the most physically grueling, but rewarding days of the trip. We headed through the Judean desert towards Masada. But first we stopped at the side of the road where a Bedouin man had a camel and sold handicrafts.
When we arrived at Masada it was just a short time till the deadline for walking up; the lady at the gate sized us up and strongly suggested the cable car. Masada is a high plateau where an abandoned Herodian fortress was the site of the last siege and defeat of the Jews by the Romans about the year 73 CE. Herod had set up this garrison, supplied it with ample food and water supplies; it was empty for years until the Jews retreated there after the destruction of the second temple in the year 70. After a long siege and surrounded by thousands of Roman troops, the 967 men, women and children chose death over the atrocities awaiting them at the hands of the Romans. We hiked all over the site, and climbed down a huge water cistern where in 1943 a Zionist youth group wrote, on the walls, their saga of hiking through the Judean desert. This day was the hottest I've ever been. When we got back into the comfort of the air-conditioned van, Yehuda told us it was 43 or 44 degrees Celsius - at least 114.

From there we doubled back to Ein Gedi National Park. On this site Herod had his precious balsam crop, and it is the place where David spared Saul's life. We hiked and climbed to David's waterfall, an amazing site in the desert. Just when I thought I couldn't walk another step in that heat Yehudi found us a little swimming hole to cool off. We saw little ibex goats and the trees which produce the "manna" described in Exodus. At the edge of Ein Gedi there is an old 4th century CE Byzantine synagogue with fascinating patterns of mosaic floors - signs of the zodiac & names of the patriarchs.

The Dead Sea was our next stop, and I hoped that even the salty water would be cool and refreshing so was really disappointed: it is very warm. But you really do float to such an extent it's nearly impossible to swim. The beach also had a sulphur pool (also very hot) and a cool water pool. I tried everything except the mud, which didn't appeal to me. On the way back to Jerusalem we made a scenic stop overlooking the Dead Sea all the way to Jordan. What a way to end such an adventurous day!

Sunday the 12th in the City of David & old Jerusalem

The dig-sponsored tour was cancelled, but BJ arranged for Marian to be tour guide for us -- the Sinai Seven. We started our day early at the City of David, conceived over two thousand years ago to be a capital to unite all Jews. Excavation still goes on continually, but it is home to many people of various faiths. At that time it was on the border of the lands of Judah and Benjamin, divided by parallel hills and the Kidron Valley. To be a city, some-times at war, water was imperative and it had to be safe to obtain. Here I am in the conduit below the city of David. We made our way through ancient water tunnels and peered down steep shafts searching for the necessary water. The rainwater-fed pool (discovered accidentally in 1995) was inside the original city walls and the narrow passageways were used by women to fetch buckets of fresh water. At this spring Solomon - son of David & Bathsheba was anointed king.

From atop the City of David one can see Mt Moriah- the scene of Abraham's intended sacrifice and the Arab town across the valley. You can see the modern city of Jerusalem, of which the City of David is a part. It seems everyone knows Marian, our guide, and we stopped at an excavation area where Ismail, the assistant director of the project showed us many ancient coins from the Iron Age to the Byzantines.

From there we wandered into the old part of Jerusalem, through the Jewish, Muslim and Armenian quarters. The narrow streets with shops and merchandise everywhere is a visual montage of color -- plumbing supplies next to silks and spices. We stopped to eat at a Falafel restaurant in the Jewish quarter. After lunch we visited a Byzantine processional road, which is now one level below the current street, the shopping area of the Cardo, the Muslim market. We finished our day with a view of the Western Wall.

Saturday August 11 - Tour to Acre, Haifa & Caesarea.

A bus-full of dig participants took this optional day-long tour along the Israeli coastal plain, where most of Israelis live. Driving to the northernmost city - Acre (also called Acca or Acco) we began our tour at this Crusader site. After the earliest days of the crusades, most crusaders came by sea and entered the middle east at Acre; they conquered the city from the Muslims in 1104. As many places in Israel, they built their palaces, hospitals and homes on top of older Iron age sites. The ruins of the Muslim city beneath were extensive. Acre is right on the Mediterranean and was an easily defensible fortress. We toured tunnels, the dining hall at right, churches with our our now familiar guide, Marian.

Acco served more as a commercial center than a religious site and provided easier passage of goods and people to and from Europe. Much of what remains was built by the Knights Templar, who became very wealthy through trade, before becoming a monastic community. We saw their jail, huge dining hall with original columns, the crypt and tunnels throughout the area. The tunnels enabled the knights to travel throughout the city without encountering rival crusader factions.

Acre is built on a peninsula where Arabs, Christians and Jews now live together amicably. It has some narrow and ancient streets and a beautiful view. From this northernmost point of this tour we traveled 45 minutes south.

Haifa,the industrial seaport, is our next stop. Our main point of interest is the Baha'i Gardens. They were intended to replicate or rival the gardens of Eden and Babylon. The Baha'i broke off from Islam around 1900, whose faith is based upon total equality and peace. The gardens are truly spectacular -- built with money secretly appropriated from a oil deal by an overzealous follower who was later beheaded. Thomas, our fellow digger from India, got us all saying "sa baba" meaning "very good" until we all got pretty silly.

Our last stop this day was Caesarea -- a Mediterranean resort dedicated to Caesar Augustus-- especially associated with Herod, King of Judea under the Romans. Herod accomplished a lot of building projects here: a palace, gymnasium with colonnades, baths, amphitheatre, fortified seaport, swimming pool and gladiator arena. Caesarea was later overtaken by Crusaders, and in the early 20th century Bosnians emigrated and built a small town on the beach to escape persecution in their own country. Much is still here and some reconstruction has taken place in recent years.

We arrived back at Ramat Rahel tired, but with lots of photos, shared conversations and memories. We have to pack because the next day our group of seven from Temple Sinai moved into Jerusalem at the Grand Court Hotel, but BJ convinced Marian to take us on another tour the following day.

After -- Wall is gone!

C1 South Before (wall intact)

Dig day 5 Friday

Our work began at 5:30 as always, even though we were having an eminent Tel Aviv archeology photographer come to document each area. He came by helicopter at 6 AM and each site was swept clean; not a footprint or a loose pebble anywhere. The biggest thing that the wall separating "my" little area got pickaxed and hauled away. I spent a couple of hours on my knees filling buckets and a couple more wielding the wheelbarrow. We got down lower where the soil was harder, but there were a lot of artifacts. I found my best thing all week which was hidden inside a big clod of dirt & chalk. It's an iron age pitcher handle with part of the pitcher wall still intact.

We went to a reform synagogue for Shabbat tonight and it was lovely: a beautiful a new building & welcoming (English-speaking) people. The entire service was sung, in Hebrew of course, with a lot of songs and prayers not in their little book. And all the melodies of prayers and songs that I do know were different. I jumped in from time to time, and even though I was confused I thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Tomorrow we're going on a dig-sponsored tour of Northern Israel - Masada, Acca and a couple of other places. Sunday at noon we move to the Grand Court Hotel in the heart of Jerusalem. We have an Israeli guide to accompany us on day trips from there.

I don't know if I'll be able to continue the blog after Sunday, because I'm uncertain if there's an Internet Wi-fi or other hook up at that hotel. It will be sad to leave Ramat Rahel -- I've met a lot of really great, interesting people here and it's been just a great experience.

Dig day 4 Thursday

A very busy and productive day for me! Shetel, one of the staff, pickaxed my area and I found dozens of pottery shards including a couple of handles, rims and large pieces. We dig a tour of the entire Ramat Rahel dig sites, and staff filled us in on their progress and finds. There are quite a few man-made waterways and tunnels. Some found remnants from the 1948 war for independence.

We have powerpoint presentations so this is necessarily brief. Thinking of you all. I will have lots of stories to tell.

Dig day 3 Wednesday

The 5 of us in our small C1 South site were joined today with a teenager - Hodie. He helped Sabina & Merilyn in their larger area, and they brought the level down a good 8-10 inches; it's slow going even in the best of circumstances. I found some interesting things in my little 4 x 12' "grave" -- I found a strange worm-like pottery object which got catalogued because they must identify it, I found a pottery shard with a small pattern incised, and another with a hole which was made nearly 2,000 years ago to patch up a broken pot.

I enjoyed pottery wash. Each bucket of shards has a catalog tag which we transfer to a basket. So we sit there with two buckets of water and wash the shards with a nail brush. It's a very social time and we talk about what people in other sectors have found. Also everyone is in a good mood because the manual labor is through for the day. The find of the day was an intact chain for an oil lamp found under the Byzantine church.

At 6 PM we had a lecture on Jerusalem under Persian rule and what texts in the Old testament said about that period of 600 years.

Jerusalem on Tuesday

Jerusalem was wonderful; our guide was delightful & knowledgeable so we had a fabulous, but thoroughtly exhausting time. First we stopped at an ancient tomb as in the time of the second Temple and Jesus. She showed how the circular stone works and how it would take several very strong people to roll is away. Leaving there, the driver dropped us off at the Dung Gate and from there it was all on foot.
Damascus Gate

The Davidson archeology Center was our next stop. The exhibits explain the growth of the city from Iron Age (Old Testament) times through its destruction in 70 AD. It was a good orientation for the walk. We visited the Western Wall, and I managed to fall off a platform while attempting to place a prayer in the cracks.

We proceeded through metal detectors to a huge piazza area. We followed the stations of the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus carried the cross to Calvary which is inside Holy Sepulchre Church. The Church is divided between six Christian denominations, and a Greek Orthodox monk chided me to cover my legs. ( I borrowed a scarf from Merilyn) It was all very fascinating. What I take with me from that tour is the overwhelming melange of colors, smells, cultures, foods -- words are insufficient.

Leni w/ a macouchon

Ramat Rahel Dig day 2

I overslept so the day started of badly -- no coffee and running late. I was given a site of C1 not much bigger than a grave. I evened out all the sides, finding a lot of pottery shards along the way, including a fragment of a Byzantine pot. Narit, our supervisor, told me that it was out of context there and said I could keep it. So I have a unique souvenier. Then I pick-axed a soft (with a macouch) rock made of dirt and chalk. So it was a full day from 6 AM to 1 PM.

At three 20 of us from the dig went to Jerusalem which I will write about another time. It was fabulous, of course, and we had a terrrific guide. I did manage to fall while tucking a prayer at the Western Wall. More later -- its late and I do not want to oversleep again tomorrow!

Jerusalem View - our breakfast site

Sector C1 South

First Day @ the Dig August 6th

The six of us from Temple Sinai arrived yesterday, Sunday in Tel Aviv. We took a van past Jerusalem to Ramat Rahel Kibbutz where we're staying at the hotel. My luggage didn't arrive & they hotel misplaced my reservation so that was upsetting, but it's all resolved now.

At 5AM local time all the participants (about 40) met for coffee & walked out to the dig site -- maybe 1/4 mile away. I am assigned to section C1 south where we're digging next to a wall. There are five of us (including Merilyn) at this site and this area was quite prolific.

Were digging by 5:30 and worked till 9 when a hearty Israeli breakfast was served overlooking Jerusalem. We are on the top of a large hill which was at times a fortress and a palace -- the site chosen because you can see for many miles in any direction. It was an important site from the Judean kingdom era 700 BCE till the Byzantine rule 1,400 years later. It's a great dig site because it's relatively cool and there's usually a breeze.

We recovered a bucketful of pottery shards, the adjacent site found a clay seal - emblem of Jerusalem. The "prize" for best find given by Liona, the pottery expert, was for an intact Byzantine oil lamp found in site D4. We use pickaxes to start, then hand pics and then hands and flat trowels to unearth the artifacts. I found dozens of pottery pieces, most small but one about 5" across. I also found 3 partial jar rims, which are important because an expert can date the rims by its characteristics.

After a much-needed nap, I went swimming at the hotel pool. I have to tell my fellow Perinton Rec guards about Israeli lifeguards -- for one thing they smoke on duty. I must take a picture for Barb.

I just caught up with the rest of the group for the 5PM lecture of Prof Manfred Oding about Jerusalem's history in relation to King Solomon. After a light supper (all the food is excellent) I met one of our group and we walked up to the Ramat Rahel Monument, which has olive trees growing op top. Soon I will go to bed. It's only 9PM now (2PM for you) but after my reading I will be tired again.

Dig Gear

We received a list of things to bring.

Garden gloves, knee pads, insect repellent,

sunscreen, hat, water bottle, foot powder

and a voltage converter top my list.

Desert Footwear

For those of you who were subjected

to my long search for the proper, yet

affordable desert boots, here is what I

finally chose.

Getting Ready for Israel

With more than two weeks to go before our August 4th departure, I'm going over the "to bring" list, assembling clothes and gear and test-packing the duffel.