We decided to head to Israel for the weekend and catch the holiest places on Earth. We drove up to Taba the border crossing from Egypt to Israel. We spent about 2 minutes exiting Taba at the tune of 2LE. We spent a good hour waiting to get into Eliat. We were all cattle, queued in the stalls, waiting in this unmoving line. I noticed a few intelligent members of the flock broke right and escaped into Eliat without passing GO and being harassed. I mowsied into that line and asked to go through, with a wave of her hand she let us enter the empty terminal. We passed through into the security check and placed our nags on the conveyor belt which took about 20 minutes to scan our small packs. UGH!
On the other side we took a cab to the bus terminal to catch the 10AM bus to Jersualem. This was the highlight shot of the 4.5 hour bus trip. McDonald's sign written in Hebrew.
Bedouin housing for the "homeless" Palentisines
Roaming around Old City of Jerusalem in the pouring rain!
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, also called the Church of the Resurrection within the walled Old City of Jerusalem. The ground on which the church stands is venerated by most Christians as the Hill of Calvary, where the New Testament says that Jesus was crucified. It is said to also contain the place where Jesus was buried (the sepulchre). The church has been an important pilgrimage destination since the 4th century. Today it serves as the headquarters of the Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem.
Damascus Gate
MasadaMasada (Hebrew for fortress), is an isolated rock cliff at the western end of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. It is a place of gaunt and majestic beauty.
On the east the rock falls in a sheer drop of about 450 meters to the Dead Sea (the lowest point on earth, some 400 m. below sea level) and in the west it stands about 100 meters above the surrounding terrain. The natural approaches to the cliff top are very difficult.
The only written source about Masada is Josephus Flavius’ “The Jewish War”. Born Joseph Ben Matityahu of a priestly family, he was a young leader at the outbreak of the Great Jewish Rebellion against Rome (66 CE) when he was appointed governor of Galilee. He managed to survive the suicide pact of the last defenders of Jodfat and surrendered to Vespasian. Calling himself Josephus Flavius, he became a Roman citizen and a successful historian. Moral judgment aside, his accounts have been proved largely accurate.
According to Josephus Flavius, Herod the Great built the fortress of Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. Herod had been made King of Judea by his Roman overlords and was hated by his Jewish subjects. Herod, the master builder, “furnished this fortress as a refuge for himself.” It included a casemate wall around the plateau, storehouses, large cisterns ingeniously filled with rainwater, barracks, palaces and an armory.
Some 75 years after Herod’s death, at the beginning of the Revolt of the Jews against the Romans in 66 CE, a group of Jewish rebels overcame the Roman garrison of Masada. After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple (70 CE) they were joined by zealots and their families who had fled from Jerusalem. With Masada as their base, they raided and harassed the Romans for two years. Then, in 73 CE, the Roman governor Flavius Silva marched against Masada with the Tenth Legion, auxiliary units and thousands of Jewish prisoners-of-war. The Romans established camps at the base of Masada, laid siege to it and built a wall. They then constructed a rampart of thousands of tons of stones and beaten earth against the western approaches of the fortress and, in the spring of the year 74 CE, moved a battering ram up the ramp and breached the wall of the fortress.
Josephus Flavius dramatically recounts the story told him by two surviving women. The defenders – almost one thousand men, women and children – led by Eleazar Ben Ya’ir, knew the fortress was breached and the Roman’s would be there in the morning. They decided to end their own lives, rather than be taken alive and made slaves.
The head of the family killed his family and then himself. The Zealots cast lots to choose 10 men to oversee the killings. They then chose among themselves the one man who would kill the 10 overseers. That last Jew then killed himself.
Masada symbolizes the determination of the Jewish people to be free in its own land.
The higher northern side of Masada was densely built up with structures serving as the administrative center of the fortress and included storehouses, a large bathhouse and comfortable living quarters for officials and their families.
This faint line represents what was left of the original buildings. Above the line has all made remade.
That square is where the Romans made camp.
King Herod’s residential palace. On the northern edge of the steep cliff, with a splendid view, stood the elegant, intimate, private palace-villa of the king. It was separated from the fortress by a wall, affording total privacy and security. This northern palace consists of three terraces, luxuriously built, with a narrow, rock-cut staircase connecting them. On the upper terrace, several rooms served as living quarters; in front of them is a semi-circular balcony with two concentric rows of columns. The rooms were paved with black and white mosaics in geometric patterns.
Bird
To maintain interior coolness in the hot and dry climate of Masada, the many buildings of various sizes and functions had thick walls constructed of layers of hard dolomite stone, covered with plaster.
Three narrow, winding paths led from below to fortified gates.
Two thousand years have passed since the fall of Masada. The climate of the region and its remoteness have helped to preserve its remains to an extraordinary degree. Today, a modern cable car carries the many visitors to the top of the rock with its breathtaking view across the Dead Sea, where the last Jewish stronghold against Rome stood.
Beanie's for sale
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Dublin" Pub shamrock stain glass
We walked the
ramparts of the old city and saw some interesting things.
Orange trees everywhere
Poinsettia tree
Dome of the Rock Mosque
Before you enter a mosque you need to be clean so there are all these fountains around to wash the feet and hands and head.
Pretty cool dead tree.
Built in the seventh century, the Dome of the Rock Mosque is the oldest surviving example of Islamic architecture and today remains one of the most beautiful. The outside of the mosque is octagonal, with a door and 7 windows on each side, while the inside is circular. The building is made of marble and richly decorated with tile, mosaics, gilded wood, and painted stucco. The dome was made of gold and stretches 20 meters in diameter.
The Dome of the Rock Mosque gets its name from the massive rock located at its center, upon which, according to Islamic history, the prophet Muhammad stood before he ascended to heaven. This rock is equally important in the Judaic tradition, which considers it the symbolic foundation upon which the world was built and the place of the Binding of Isaac. Non Muslims are not allowed in the Mosque. You need to read correctly from the Quran to prove you are Muslim.
Church of Saint Mary Magdelene
Date tree
Jewish Quarter entrance with incredible mosaics.
Israelis aged 18-20 serve in the military. They were everywhere.
This dude is long.
The girls born to be paleontologists!
If you could see it better you would see where the teeth that looked like saws where.
Cool stuff petrified to the rock.
Ain't she a poser!
It takes 3 of them to figure out what we are looking at.
Looks like the Sphinx with his head turned.
A giant sea slug?
Sameh had the man measure out each liter and then pour it into the car.
Son in training, hoping one day, to inherit this fine operation.
Younger sibling is fascinated by the cameras.
Lookie that another customer!
