Israel

Israel We flew to Israel for the February school holidays

On our first day here, we walk through the Blumfield gardens towards the old city.		First view of the old city!


Archeological sites are everywhere. This was on our walk to the old city.


		Many stands had pomegranates, they're juiced just like oranges


		Jaffa gate


Back at the hotel. In the summer, hanging out on these hammocks would have been nice! It was a little chilly, though.		Walking on the old Ramparts


		You get a view of the police stables from the ramparts


And...whatever the heck this is! Dummies for training purposes, I guess. Creepy.		Peter assiduously picked every flower he saw





Just outside the ramparts was another path that looked interesting too








Some kind of abandoned school		Again - ruins and excavations everywhere


We walked past a huge group of orthodox kids playing some very energetic games on this playground.		Later on we saw a guy guarding them, further along on the city wall.


		More ruins...


At the Western Wall, formerly known as the Wailing Wall. The women's section and men's section are separate, and I have to say, NOT at all equal - the women's section was about a quarter the size, and of course much more crowded.


The kids and Eric borrowed some yarmukes.


The wall between the women's and men's section of the Western Wall. There were lots of plastic chairs to make it easier for groups to talk across the wall. You can also see the walkway leading to the Dome of the Rock.


		Lots of Bar Mitzvahs were happening


		In the streets of Old Jerusalem.








Coke, in Arabic.		The church of the Holy Sepulchre





		People lined up to see Jesus' tomb


Waiting to get into the Temple mount area (Dome of the Rock). The hours were VERY restrictive, we only had about 20 minutes there before they closed for a long lunch break.		The walkway to the Temple Mount


Excavations are taking place right next to it


These riot shields are inside the walkway, just outside the Temple Mount area		Inside the Temple Mount. Unfortunately we were only able to stay there a short while before we were ushered out with all the rest of the tourists.








Just outside the Temple Mount area, there was a group of pilgrims from Sri Lanka walking the Way of the Cross


Soldiers everywhere


		Lots and lots of christian tourists were around. This is a group of nuns from the Philipines


The Church of the HOly Sepulchre		We went through all the stations of the cross. Number 9 was the most difficult to find, but we finally did, after asking a few people.


The northern part of the Ramparts Walk





Around the Damascus Gate








This is the Muslim quarter		On our way to the Dead Sea and Masada. This is just as we were descending below sea level





At the En Gedi nature reserve		We ended up taking one of the shorter waterfall hikes








		Thank goodness we were already on our way out when a HUGE group of school girls came up. There must have been about 300 of them


We had lunch at the McDonalds at Masada! There's a huge food court there at the base, because eating isn't allowed up top.		The view from the top of Masada. The square you see is one of the many Roman camps around the base, when Masada was attacked.


		We took the easy way and went up on the cable car





A close-up of the ruins from one of the old Roman camp		The Dead Sea off in the distance


A shelter on top of Masada where you can drink some water and escape from the sun.		About to enter one of the cisterns on Masada. Very large and impressive.





There was so much dust in the air that the camera focused on the dust instead of us!


There's another cable system to bring up equipment and supplies.		The Romans built a ramp up to Masada, to lay seige to it. This is what's left now.


The defenders of Masada rolled these rocks down on the Romans		Another of the largest Roman camps


Peter got a boo-boo on his tongue		Making shadow pictures on the wall of another cistern


A demonstration of the water caching system at Masada


		The upward bound cablecar as we went down


A beach park on the Dead Sea. It was a little disappointing, since the water level has gone down so much that you almost have to go down a cliff to reach the water		The long walk down to the water





Touching the water to feel the slippery/slimy water		At the Israel Museum


		One of the many water fountains all over the place


A fancy cut-rock wall


A huge old model of Jerusalem, as it was in the time of the Second Temple.


		Back in the Blumfield gardens


Did I mention that there were soldiers everywhere?		The next day we went to Caesarea, an old Roman city, on the coast. This is the first time I've ever seen a vending machine for sun lotion.


		The old Roman columns were apparently used to make game boards


		The water level has changed, and part of the old city is now underwater. This would make a nice swimming pool on a warm day...





The kids gathered loads of seashells at the beach		The hippodrome, where races were held


		You can see in this dig the various layers of debris from the occupants











		Eric always manages to find a cat


		Lunch at a cafe


Caesarea was also occupied in the middle ages - these arches look Gothic


Old city walls





		Loading cranes off in the distance


		< Old aquaduct near Caesarea





		All of these are pieces of ancient pots. They're everywhere in the sand.


We rented bikes in Tel Aviv, and biked around the waterfront





		It was very windy and almost stormy, but luckily just a few short sprinkles of rain


We stopped at an exercise area, with equipment designed to be outdoors








A bit further down on the walkway was a big dance event


		In the Jaffa area





		Kenny made himself and his teddy some yarmukes from some tissue at our hotel


On our last day, I got some good pictures of the amazing breakfast buffet at our hotel.