Brief Recap, Recent Activities

Dome of the Rock from Mt of Olives

Hi All - a brief recap of some recent activities. I took a fun-filled, if a bit strenuous, ramble from the Lions' (or St Stephen's) Gate in the Old City up the Mount of Olives.  (Smart people start at the top and walk down but I figured I could get some history, culture and cardio work at the same time.)  Incredible views and amazing history in that part of town, although it was a bit hazy...but I won't bore you with a recitation of the various religious sites.

Praying at Mt of Olives Cemetery

Church of the Pater Noster - Mt of Olives

Ended the ramble with some Palestinian pizza deep in the Muslim Quarter - 10 NIS for a 6" pie and all the hot peppers you can eat - the best deal in town.

On 11/2 we met the Israeli Roths in Daliyat El Carmel, a Druze village in the Carmel Mountains outside of Haifa.  I had visions of a rustic ethnic experience but that was probably achievable 25 years ago. What we got was major traffic gridlock. (All the secular Jews looking to eat out on Shabbat).  But the food was great and the shopping was very inexpensive compared to Jerusalem.  And Toby got to wrestle with a Nigerian pilgrim at the Carmelite Monastery outside of town.

Tomorrow I give my second lecture on Emergency Response and Preparedness at a Ministry of the Environment training course and Toby leaves on an overnight outdoor education trip (0645 departure).  Today I bought each of the kids a bus pass, since they are now taking the bus home from school most days (without incident) after our initial traumas. It's all good :)

It's Always Fireworks with the Israeli Roths

A Nigerian Pilgrim takes a shine to Toby