This morning the last of the film crew packed up and left as we ate breakfast. Some of our tour members said they had a wild party on the terrace that night, but I didn’t hear them. And I still don’t know what was being filmed.
A point of correction to last night’s post. Gabriela, our guide on the Palestinian side in Bethlehem, is not Arab; her husband is. As I mentioned before, she is Romanian. That brings up something I would like to make clear. The time frame for writing these blog posts doesn't allow me to check all the facts before publishing online, even though I try to be as correct as I know. Sometimes the guides don’t get things exactly correct, or I make some “easy assumptions.” Being online in my blog doesn’t necessarily mean it is right! I just want to make that clear. Now that that is off my mind, onto the journal entry for the day.
After another breakfast buffet we left for a longish ride to Be’er Sheba driving through areas of the West Bank. Be’er Sheba in the Negev surprised us with its lovely, large buildings. I guess, at least in my mind, I expected dessert. Desert there was—all around the city. And hot! The Bedouin Market while interesting is no longer as exciting as it once was when the Bedouins would come to trade camels, goats, and household items. Today it’s more clothing, some food, and a few household goods. We did see men and women in Bedouin dress.
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| Traditional dresses for sale at the market. |
Arad, an important archaeological site, is only about a 30-minute drive from Be’er Sheba. Over several years, archaeologists dug the complete site. Generally, only selected portions of a site are dug due to limited funds. Because this site was excavated extensively, many discoveries were made. One of the most important was the discovery of an Israelite temple in the fortress--the first discovered outside of Jerusalem--and many ostraca, or pottery sherds (or shards) with writing on them.
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| Reconstructed entrance to the Arad Fortress |
An ancient settlement from Canaanite times in the fourth millennium B.C., Arad was occupied by the Israelites beginning in the 11th century B.C. Around the 2nd half of the 10th century, Solomon caused a fortress to be erected there which continued until the destruction of the First Temple in 586 B.C. Some of the inscriptions found at the Fortress were communications from or to the commander of the fort regarding food supplies. The Israel Museum exhibits one of these shards.
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| Temple in Arad Fortress |
The fortress overlooks a large valley, part of which now has a winery. This area produces excellent grapes. Almond trees also flourish in what used to be desert.
Lunch time and we are in the desert. Where do we eat? At McDonald’s of course! Next to that ubiquitous fast food chain was an Israeli coffee shop/restaurant that has been most successful in Israel. Lyle and I shared a Shawarma in pita bread from the Israeli shop.
Our next site on the agenda was Herodion, a site King Herod had built very near Bethlehem. We traveled back up the highway and byways seeing camels, Bedouin settlements, desert, and remains of Roman roads, and more desert, but also many hills and terraces.
Herodion is a circular fortified palace built in 24-15 B.C. While archaeological work began here long ago, it was only in 2007 that Herod’s tomb was discovered. The Israel Museum currently has a special exhibition about King Herod with highlights from this magnificent find.
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| Model of Herodion |
Today the winds on this made-made hill blew anywhere from 50 to 60 or more miles an hour! Walking up and down to visit the site was most precarious! We had to hang on to hats, eye glasses, and anything else not attached. Yossi, our guide, said he’d never seen it so windy before. We were thankful to we all made it back down to the bus.
We returned to our hotel in good time, and at last I had a little time to explore the grounds. The British constructed Saint Andrew’s Scottish Guesthouse soon after the British government received the mandate over Palestine in 1917. The church includes a “hotel.” Check out their website that gives a history of the guesthouse.
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| Rose Garden at Guesthouse |
The lower and upper terraces of the guesthouse have wonderful views of the Old City, and the tombs we saw yesterday abut the foundation of the church. They are visible from the steps leading to the church portion. See the photo in yesterday’s post.
Tomorrow’s itinerary appears to be packed tightly with many sites in the Holy City. It should prove challenging! Until tomorrow evening…….
