To be home again

A moment of reflection at the kotel...

Sechar Park near the Knesset building in Jerusalem, and the Wohl Park nearby...

Minyanim begin to form as the sun grows lower in the sky...

Climbing up a hill from the park through the woods, you come to the Knesset.

Another minyan meets for mincha in Wohl park across from the Knesset

Looking to the east... America is 6500 miles over that hill...

Knesset building... There is alot of construction going on around the building.

What could possibly intrigue 30 kids?

Answer:  Tsav.    A turtle.  Good thing for him he's not kosher!

Beautiful park.  But its starting to get late and dark...

When I get home it is dark, and the moon is rising above Maale Adumim

Some photos taken from the givah.  A scenic lookup near Mitzpe Yericho.

The city in the foreground far below is Jericho near the Jordanian border.

The last few photos are from the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi.

And now some shots of the Dead Sea

Just past Mitzpe Yericho you see the following marker in the middle of the desert.

By the time you get to the Dead Sea you will have gone down another 400 meters below sea level, which is about the crush depth of a good WWII submarine.

The mist is from evaporation that takes place.  There is no other place for the water to go here.  It is the lowest place on earth.

And a few shots of Ein Gedi nature reserve again.  Nothing like a day off spent taking a nap under a waterfall.

An afternoon in Beitar Illit..   A wonderful community in the Judean Hills south of Jerusalem.

Lag B'omer in Maale Adumim, with singer Chaim Davi. Below is the view from Maale Adumim to Jerusalem.  Jerusalem is on the other side of the ridges (Mt. of Olives and Mt. Scopus) of Har Tzetzim and Har Tzofim.  The next view is a moonrise looking at the new part of Maale Adumim which is called Efes Sheva meaning Zero Seven, the plan number, since no name has been selected yet.