Blogs from Jerusalem, Jerusalem District, Israel, Middle East - page 22

The other day, my family and I went to Soreq Cave. It was fantastic, because of the stalactites and stalagmites and their varieties in shape, size, and color. Stalactites/stalagmites are created when water starts dripping from a crack in a cave wall. A chemical reaction occurs between the water and the rock and a tiny ring of calcite is deposited by the falling water droplets. If the stalactite or stalagmite is white, than it has stopped growing. If it is orange, it is still growing a little. If it is red, it is growing a lot! There were a lot of crazy ones and the tour guide made up stories to go with them such as these… Romeo and Juliet. Romeo is a stalagmite and Juliet is a stalactite. They are exactly one centimeter from ... read more

We began today in remembrance. We arrived at Yad Vashem under skies of cloudless blue, and we walked down the Avenue of the Righteous Among the Nations. Every tree planted here represents someone who risked their life and the lives of their family to rescue Jews during the Shoah (This is the Hebrew term for what most people call the Holocaust, and it used because the meaning of the word “holocaust”, which is “a burnt offering or sacrifice”, is considered to be an inappropriate way to describe the tragedy suffered by Jews during World War II). There are many names listed here. Some you will be familiar with like Oskar Shindler and Irena Sendler, and others you will have never heard of like Raoul Wallendorf. All of them did something heroic in time when barbarity was ... read more

We started the day at the Jerusalem Archeological Park. We entered the park through the Davidson Center, where we were able to see some of the artifacts discovered in the area. We were also able to look at on overall model of the City. We watched a movie presentation about what the Temple may have looked like in the time of Y-shua. Then we entered into the park near the southwest corner of the Temple Mount. We were able to see the remains of the street and some of the buildings from the time of the Second Temple period. We were also able to see the corner piece that archeologists believe may once have been where the Levites stood to blow their silver horns based on a fragment of an inscription that was found on these ... read more

Got up early this morning about 6:30, had breakfast with Neill, Noa & the kids.then off to Jerusalem with Neill. Less than an hours drive from tel Aviv and rural scenery between the 2 cities; Tel aviv the main lively cosmopolitan contemporary city and Jerusalem the spiritual and political Israeli capital. We arrived in Jerusalem around 9 and parked just at edge of the old fortified city and entered through the Jaffa gate by david's citadel. We walked straight through the bazars towards the temple mount as we had an arrangement to meet up with Neill's conserator employee Rami's father kallareb sahalmi. Kallareb just 'happens' to be the director of museum of Islamic foundation and library on the temple mount which are both located right beside the Dome on the Rock. I couldn't imagine a better ... read more

Today is our last day. Following breakfast, packing the bus, and checking out of the hotel, we left for our final activities around Jerusalem. Our tour host surprised us with a visit to the Israeli Holocaust Museum which was something many in our group wanted to do. But first off to the Garden Tomb. The Garden Tomb is the place where Jesus' body was laid and the stone rolled over the entrance. Some believe the location is inside the church of the Holy Sepulechre which in in the Temple and inside the walls of Old Jerusalem. Others believe that the site is outside the walls of the city and this site was uncovered in the late 1800's. Now we aren't 100% certian that this is the place but it is surely near here and many signs ... read more