Our Trip Begins

   If you've been following us for about two years you would know that Kaitlyn, Joshua, and Daddy went to Israel and really enjoyed it. We travel on American Airlines with Daddy's benefits and they are going to stop flying to Israel in January, so Daddy said that we should go now.  So plans began!

 

      Mommy flew out to Arizona with the youngest 4 children so they could stay with Kaitlyn when we were in Israel and then flew right back. Our flight to Tel Aviv left at 9pm Friday night. It was an 11 hour flight and a 7 hour time difference so we arrived at 3:30pm on Saturday.

 

    We got on a shared taxi which was driven by an Arabic "nascar" driver to go to our hotel. The streets of Jerusalem were empty because it was Shebbat (Sabbath), most Jews do not drive on Shebbat.  Even though we were tired (and wanting to be horizontal in bed) we made ourselves stay up to avoid jet lag.  The Sabbath (Shebbat) begins on Friday evening at sunset and ends just after sunset on Saturday. All Jewish holidays begin at sunset the day before.

 

We could walk on the streets on Shebbat but NOT on any other day because they drive bumper to bumper!  Daddy said they drive like that in some big cities in the USA but I guess I don't go to big cities a lot. (I like the country.)  

 

 

 

We walked through an souvenir market to get to The Western Wall. 

 

The Western Wall 

 

On the way back to the hotel there was a camel going down the road! As you can see there are cars on the road.  It was after sundown so they start driving again.

The next day as we were driving we saw lots of shepherds with the goats/sheep.

 Can you see the dog?

 

Masada

 Masada is on top of a rock cliff in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea.

 It was built as a palace, in the early Roman Empire, by Herod. After the destruction of the Second Temple, some Jew's fled Jerusalem and settled on the mountaintop. Then 15,000 Roman soldiers surrounded the 960 Jews at the top of Masada, and built a siege ramp 375 feet high. The Jew's on top of Masada threw stones at those building the ramp. The Romans than put captured Jewish prisoners to work on the ramp. The Jewish people on top of Masada stopped throwing rocks at those who built the ramp, choosing not to kill their fellow Jews. A giant siege tower with a battering ram was constructed and moved up the completed ramp. The night before the Romans got into Masada the Jew's cast lots to choose ten men to kill everyone in Masada, they then picked one to kill the nine then kill himself.  When Roman troops got into the fortress, they discovered that everyone was dead and that they had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze. They didn't set the food storerooms ablaze to show the Romans they did not die of starvation. This was a major defeat for the Roman soldiers that spent a few months all for nothing.  

 

 

 

 

 

 Some of the things found at Masada a pitcher, some oil lamps, and money!

 

The ramp

The Dead Sea

 

 

At the Dead Sea

We went to a swimming area made for the religious Jews but anyone can use it.

It had a separate area for women and men.

 

The Dead Sea has a fitting name because of the salt content nothing can live: no fish, no plants, nothing.  It is almost 10 times saltier than the ocean and is also the lowest place on earth 1,407 feet below sea level. Because of the salt content you float instead of sink! 

 On our way back to Jerusalem we went toward Beersheba  and saw wild camels on the side of the road!

"So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up and went together to Beersheba; and Abraham dwelt at Beersheba" Genesis 22:19