John Eight Thirty Two
• Jul. 17, 2007 - The weekend that was
First things first, let me get the 'bad' stuff out of the way. Do you remember that our camera was smashed in April and we got a new one in May? Well, on Friday, we lost the new one.  So, the sad news is that I don't have pictures to share and of course we don't have a camera. Let me give you the update and hopefully I'll be able to paint a picture with my words. 
We left really early on Friday morning and traveled North and then inland due east. Our first stop was Tel Megiddo. We have been there before. You can read about it here. It is amazing how different it looks now that summer is here. It is brown and dry. The last time we were there it was crawling with black millipedes, this time it was lizards. It wasn't the holiday season so it was much quieter. It still creeps me out knowing that all those sacrifices went on there. The Jezreel Valley is still so fertile and it changes colours with the seasons, yet it is still pretty with its different crops spread all over like a patchwork quilt.
We left there and headed north west to a Necropolis (from the Greek - city of the dead) called Beit Shearim (House of gates). It amazes me how much time, effort and expense people devoted to dead bodies. It was not my favourite place to be, but the trees were pretty and there was a lovely breeze. We sat under some trees far away from the tombs and had a picnic. It seems that this venue is used for various catered functions, we saw people arriving for a party. We left Beit Shearim and carried on in the same direction to a Tel called Sepphoris. It was there that we discovered that we had lost the camera so we really did not even get to see this place. We will have to go back because it really looked quite interesting. Sepphoris is Greek actually. The Hebrew is Tzipori, from the word tzipor which means bird. According to tradition, it was so named because it is perched high up on the hill like a bird. The view from up there was absolutely spectacular. It was a very hot day but there was such a lovely breeze. While we were trying to find the camera, the children explored a massive water cistern and played with a perspex model of the whole underground water system of the city. In both these places, what interested me was the pagan influence that had seeped in to the society by the time these cities were destroyed. They think that Tzipori was destroyed by 363 AD.
So, we left there without even seeing the place, as I mentioned, and headed towards our destination, just north of the sea of Galilee. We spent Friday evening and most of Saturday with our family on the kibbutz. Both nights our sleep was disturbed because the alarm was set off at my dear A's place of work and the alarm company called to alert him. Poor man, he really needs a rest.
On Sunday, we left really early and went north to the Golan Heights to a 'self-picking' farm. WE PICKED BERRIES  !!! Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and red currants. I have never, never had this experience before. Where I grew up in Africa, we had strawberries and mulberries but those other ones I only ever saw frozen or in cans. What a great experience it was! We traveled around with berries in our cooler box. We just had fresh raspberries in vanilla icecream for dessert. I will make jam with the blackberries and I plan to use the blueberries in a cheesecake, what do you think I should do?
After the berry picking, we headed further north. We went to Nimrod's Fortress. It was very impressive but what I think the children loved the most was the bats.
We then went back to Caesarea Philippi. This too has changed so much since we were there in April. The water is hardly flowing now and even though there are fig trees growing everywhere, the other greenery has given way to dry and brown vegetation.
We made a very quick stop at Capernaeum (Kfar Nahum - village of Nahum) and then headed back. We got home really late and I made dinner and we all crashed for the night. It was an exhausting but fulfilling weekend. I had a headache most of yesterday but today I am feeling a lot better.
We are heading into a new season in our lives. We will not have a car from next week and we are not sure how long we will be 'car-less'. I will keep you updated.
|
Post A Comment! :: Send to a Friend!
|
|
|
|
About Me
We are a homeschooling family in the not so peaceful Middle East. Every day is an adventure and a blessing. We could do with a dull moment every now and then.
PLEASE NOTE:
- For security reasons I do not use our names and try to be vague about our location.
- Comments are appreciated, if you know who and where I am, I would appreciate you leaving these details out of your comments. I reserve the right to modify comments revealing these details.
**!!PLEASE NOTE THAT SINCE THE 100TH POST, THIS IS A TAG FREE AND AWARD FREE ZONE!!**
MySpace Glitter Graphics
Links
• Home
• View my profile
• Archives
• Email Me
• My Blog's RSS
|
|
• Jul. 17, 2007 - Untitled Comment
JoAnn