Israel: Confession, Conflict and Confusion in the “Land of Milk and Honey"

The Kotel
If you are still there, you might want to take the time to take the tour of the tunnels that lie adjacent to the Western Wall. Isreal started to excavate them shortly after they gained control of Jerusalem after the Six Day War. You can see the original street leading to the original entrance to the Temple Mount - it's absolutely fascinating. Go to thekotel.org for more info, or see my blog "The Western Wall" which has some pretty dreadful pictures I took while underground.

Minefields everywhere
Great job of treading through the Political and Religious minefield that is the holy land. You confirmed my suspicion that it would be sensory overload and beer would be needed to cope with it. Still stuck in Iran at the moment so those photos of beer are making me very jealous. Hope your next blog comes with a sound file so we can hear that yodelling.

Weapons and Puppies
Ok, so maybe it and I are being a bit sacrilegious, though it seems this juxtaposition is appropriate for the confusion you felt with all the religious differences and antagonism--no wonder you're now going to have a holiday among chocolate, beer and mountains. Good for you for visiting and trying to get a grip on this very conflicted part of the world. I generally like cultural mixes--how amazing if they could get along here--a model for the world. Loved the kibbutz and winery visits, the Church of the Nativity with decorations by three branches of Christianity (but, I mean really, how do they know where the manger was?), and seeing the Dead Sea from another perspective. Whew, what a week!

Informative
Very informative blog with the politics and religion of this holy country.