Saturday Bonnie and I hired what we thought would be a guide to take us to Bethlehem and then Jericho. What we got was a very nice and competent driver but not a guide. When we asked him questions he told us to look it up on the internet when we got back to the hotel. At least he was safe and only conned us out of a few shekels when he got us some figs.
We visited the holy Christian sites in Bethlehem and were fortunate to be at Shepard's Field at the same time as students from Bethel College, a Mennonite school. They were singing in the chapel and sounded professional. We also visited an acquaintance from my Rabbis for Human Rights trip in 2008, the family of Ghaida' R. Rishmawi where Puah, Yocheved and I stayed while visiting Bethlehem and Beit Sahour. It was a nice meeting; we had a snack and saw some of the interesting art work that her mother is doing. I will send a picture when I can.
After Bethlehem we traveled to Herodium, Herod's fortress. I know there was indication that Bar Kochba's rebellion ended there in 136 CE but when checked it out I could not find anything to verify that. If anyone has any additional information, leave a comment.
We then traveled south to Jericho, the oldest city in the world, whatever that means. Follow the link if you are interested. I am glad we got there but it was not a remarkable experience. There was a 6 Century CE synagogue mosaic that I wanted to see but it was in a locked building. It was locked because some Jews tried to go there to pray and the locals got angry. I could have gotten in if I went to the Department of Interior in Jericho and got a permit. Needless to say, I did not bother. But I wish I had.
We passed some refugee camps in the Jericho area but could not see much. They looked just like crowded, poor towns.
That's about it folks, not much to say. Getting tired again.
L'hitraot.
No comments:
Post a Comment