IMAGES
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DAY &
DATE
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WHAT WE PLAN FOR THIS DAY
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IMAGES
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Day 1
11 Mar
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Departured
from
Gulfport to Houston and then to Newark; overnight flight from Newark to
Israel.
LEFT: Sleeping on the transatlantic flight
RIGHT: Our means of conveyance (Continental Airlines)
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Day 2
12 Mar
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The group arrived in
Israel at Ben
Gurion airport in the morning; boarded a small bus for the trip through
Jerusalem and into the West Bank to visit Bethlehem's Church of the
Nativity and Herod the Great's mountain palace at Herodium. Returned to
Jerusalem to visit Gethsemane and the Tomb of the Virgin before
retiring.
AT LEFT
: Strange
atmosphere in the 6th century Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem
RIGHT: Some geeky professors on
a tower at Herodium |
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Day 3
13 Mar
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In a full day in the Old
City
of Jerusalem, we
visited sites around the Temple Mount, Jewish Quarter, Pools of
Bethesda/St. Anne's, and the
Via Dolorosa, with shopping and a memorable trip through the meat
market; overnight Jerusalem
AT LEFT:
walking along the rampart at the top of the Jerusalem Old City walls
AT RIGHT: making
sense of the ruins at the SW corner of the Temple Mount
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Day 4
14 Mar
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We began the
day with a sunrise visit to the Mt. of Olives for great views of
Jerusalem. After breakfast, the group got an introduction to ancient
tombs at theGarden Tomb (an
alternate to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) and St. Stephen's. Then
we visited Yad Vashem, the Israel
Holocaust memorial and museum. In the afternoon we returned to the Old
City for the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and other sites. Overnight in
Jerusalem was made more interesting by the extremely rowdy celebration
of Purim.
AT LEFT: Candace on the Mt. of
Olives with Jerusalem's Temple Mount in the early morning light
AT RIGHT: onsite explanation
outside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City
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Day 5
15 Mar
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In the early
morning, we visited the Tomb of Helena of Adiabene and
the City of David Excavations, capped off by a wade through Hezekiah's
Tunnel. We departed Jerusalem and drove to Caesarea, Herod the
Great's artificial
seaport on the Mediterranean and site of a later Crusader fortress
city. After a sunset at the picturesque aqueduct, it was dinner at the
local mall food court (!) and a night drive to Tiberias for
overnight.
AT LEFT: Sarah and Rachel
in Hezekiah's Tunnel
AT RIGHT: an impromptu lecture to our group at Caesarea by Ramy Degany,
an Israeli scholar on Christian history, who happened to be there |
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Day 6
16 Mar
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An early morning drive to
Akko/Acre culminated in exploration of the Crusader period remains
there and some time in the market. Next, we visited Sepphoris, the
"Jewel of the Galilee" in New Testament times, and the Jewish catacombs
at Beth Shearim. A late afternoon overlook of the Jezreel Valley from
Mukhraka on Mt. Carmel and dinner (another mall food court!) wrapped up
the touring;
overnight Tiberius
AT LEFT: Dana, Sarah, and Janet
at a Khan (medieval inn) in Akko
AT RIGHT: Rob
contemplates danger underground in Acre . . . . |
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Day 7
17 Mar
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The STEP group
drove to the
far north of Israel
for a visit to the medieval fortress of Qaalat Nimrud, on the slopes of
Mt. Hermon, Caesarea Philippi, and the beautiful setting of Tel Dan;
returned south
to visit the huge Old Testament city of Hazor, destroyed by Joshua,
then back to the Sea of Galilee for Capernaum and the Church of the
Loaves and Fishes. Sundown at the dramatic Cliffs of Arbel was followed
by a brief nocturnal visit to the tomb of Rabbi Akiva and a spectacular
meal at HaBayit (The House), one of the premier Chinese cuisine
establishments in the world; overnight Tiberius
AT LEFT, above: Browning from the keep of Qaalat Nimrud
AT LEFT, below: Sarah in
a loophole at Qaalat Nimrud
AT RIGHT, above: Ancient Dan? and not-so-ancient Dan
AT RIGHT, below: Candace,
Sarah, Sarah, and Felicia at the Cliffs of Arbel above the Sea of
Galilee |
  
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Day 8
18 Mar
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Before
breakfast, some took in the sunrise and view at the Anchor Church above
Tiberius. After breakfast and checkout, we crossed the
Jezreel Valley for an early visit to Megiddo, then moved down to the
Jordan Valley,
stopping at the impressive Old Testament and classical site of Beth
Shean. We continued down the Jordan Valley into the Dead Sea region for
exploration of the caves that yielded some of the Dead Sea Scrolls and
the
associated site of Qumran. After this, we continued to the region of En
Gedi and stalwart members of the group floated rather buoyantly in the
Dead Sea; overnight
at Metzoke Dragot overlooking the Dead Sea
AT LEFT, above: John
Blackmon postures for Seletha, Sarah, Jim, and Rob at the altar of the
"Anchor Church" above Tiberius at sunrise
AT LEFT, below: Aynsley, Sarah, Candace, Jim, Rob, Dana, John, Sarah,
Dr. Caldwell, and some goober in Qumran Cave 6, where the Copper Scroll
was discovered
AT RIGHT, above: the group in the "scriptorium" at Qumran
AT RIGHT, below: floating
in the Dead Sea |
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Day 9
19 Mar
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Our group made an early
ascent to heights of En Gedi, where a desert spring, wild ibex and
hyrax, and a temple from the 3000s BC overlook the Dead Sea. After a
drive south along the Sea, we rode a cable-car
to Masada, the
fortress/palace of Herod the Great and site of the last stand of the
Zealots in their rebellion against Rome. An afternoon drive up into the
Negev brought us to Arad, where there is an Israelite fortress and
"high place" temple rising above an extensive Early Bronze Age city
(about 2500 BC). Moving north through the Shephelah, we made an
off-road visit to the site of Gath (home of Goliath) and continued to
our overnight at Shoresh in the Judean Hills
AT LEFT, Above: John in the Chalcolithic temple (about 3200 BC) above
En Gedi
AT LEFT, Below: Rachel
at En Gedi, with Seletha coming up the slope in the background
AT
RIGHT, Above: the group in the great cistern at Masada
AT RIGHT, Below:: Aynsley,
Jim, John,
Sarah, and Candace at Arad
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Day 10
20 Mar
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On our final day, we spent
the morning in the Shephelah,
visiting Beth Shemesh, Azekah, underground complexes used by
rebels in the Second Jewish Revolt, Mareshah, Lachish,
and Gezer. The afternoon was used to see the Dead Sea Scrolls housed in
the Shrine of the Book and other objects of interest at the Israel
Museum in Jerusalem. An afternoon return to Shoresh for cleanup
and dinner was followed by a late transfer
to the airport for our return flight to
the USA
AT LEFT, Above: Father
and Daughter at Beth Shemesh
AT LEFT, Below: Caldwell and Wallace in hewn tunnels of the 2nd Jewish
Revolt (AD 133-135)
AT RIGHT, Above: (clockwise from top) Aynsley, Rob, Sarah, Jim,
Browning, Caldwell, Rachel, and Candace in a "columbarium" (probably an
ancient dove cote) in the underground complex dug by Jewish rebels
during the 2nd Jewish Revolt against Rome
AT
RIGHT, Below: Sarah stands in for Asherah in a Canaanite high place at
Gezer |
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Day 11
21 Mar
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Arrive at
home after overnight flight
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