The Past Month or So

I haven't really posted anything in a month so I have a lot to say about where we have been (which is a lot of places. This first series of pictures is from the first time we visited the Old City. The picture above is the view from the Tayelet, a hill overlooking most of Jerusalem, especially including the Old City

A picture of the Ottoman walls that surround the old city of Jerusalem

The view from the City of David (Ir David), the original part of Jerusalem that the Jews conquered and built in c.1000BCE

The Old City from the City of David

Inside the Hezekiah Water Tunnels under Jerusalem. They were dug by King Hezekiah around 700BCE to provide water to Jerusalem while being sieged by the Assyrians

 

Two pictures of the Kotel

The Dead Sea looking into Jordan

 

Sunrise at Massada

 

We had a week long trip to a kibbutz recently. Kibbutz Ketura is an hour north of Eilat in the Arava Valley. We spent the week relaxing and learning about Kibbutz life. A traditional kibbutz is a socialist community (they were originally based on agriculture). Most kibbutzim have become less traditional over time (you are allowed to own property, money isn't distributed equally, etc.) though Kibbutz Ketura is considered traditional. The picture below is a view of the kibbutz and its date tree fields.

These two views are from a mountain overlooking the Red Sea and Eilat. This place is the only location in the world that you can see four different countries from one location (Israel, Egypt, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia. After going hiking we cooled off by snorkeling in the coral reefs of Eilat, the northernmost coral reefs in the world.

After the kibbutz we began to learn about Christianity. The church below is the Church of Visitation, where Mary visited Elizabeth while she was pregnant with John the Baptist.

The two pictures above are views from Mt. of Olives, the only place overlooking the Temple Mount. The picture below is Dormition Abbey, where Mary supposedly went into eternal sleep.