day 1: arriving at Tel Aviv airport
day 1: Foursquare group gathering after getting luggage at Tel Aviv airport
day 1: line to the bus from the airport
day 1: very nice tour buses
day 1: in the bus, on the way to hotel in Tel Aviv
day 1: food was sooooooo good!
day 1: highway looking out to Mediterranean Sea
day 1: highway in front of Tel Aviv hotel
day 1: my hotel in Tel Aviv -- I stayed on the 7th floor
day 1: which button do I push?
day 1: "Hello" from Tel Aviv
day 1: 1st night in Israel
day 1: welcome to my room in Tel Aviv
day 2: morning walk by the Mediterranean Sea -- old-Joffa, where Jonah fled, is pictured in the background
day 2: marker on Mediterranean Sea boardwalk
day 2: me at the Mediterranean Sea
day 2: Mediterranean Sea walk - the cluster of buildings just to my right is where I stayed (I walked a long ways, huh?)
day 2: monestary built to mark Tel Aviv's old-Joffa
day 2: traveling to Caesarea
day 2: 9 days until the Simpson's movie comes out (when this picture was taken)
day 2: arriving at Caesarea theater and hippodrome
day 2: headless statues (read marker)
day 2: my tour group -- blue #5 -- looking at statues and listening to our tour guide, Daniel
day 2: statue marker
day 2: view from inside the theater
day 2: steps to "hell"
day 2: marker
day 2: stone unearthed in Caeserea
day 2: very detailed artwork and design
day 2: view from behind the theater
day 2: Daniel pointing out the different types of material used in ancient architecture
day 2: tour group listening intently
day 2: sarcophagus
day 2: sarcophagus marker
day 2: tour group blue #5 sign and hippodrome from a distance
day 2: Herod's hippodrome
day 2: marker and recently discovered stone
day 2: well at Caesarea
day 2: well marker
day 2: Shawn at Mediterranean / hippodrome
day 2: where Apostle Paul was on trial
day 2: king's stand at hippodrome
day 2: traveling from Caeserea
day 2: fortified city walls
day 2: long shot of fortified city walls
day 2: Herod's aqueduct system (still covered with sand in the distance)
day 2: picture from atop the aqueduct -- you can see the path the water traveled
day 2: banana grass
day 2: on the road to Mount Carmel
day 2: city on the way to Mount Carmel
day 2: lots of dogs along the road
day 2: windy road
day 2: entering the Mount Carmel monestary
day 2: view from Mount Carmel monestary roof -- looking down on Jezreel Vally
day 2: circle map atop Mount Carmel monestary
day 2: I'm "king of the world!"
day 2: coming off the roof / Jezreel valley
day 2: prophet Elisha
day 2: roadside tomb (real -- not replica)
day 2: roadside tomb
day 2: entering Megiddo or "Armageddon"
day 2: Tel Megiddo
day 2: walking the path up to Solomon's ruins
day 2: stone stairway
day 2: ancient gateway
day 2: another ancient gateway
day 2: climbing higher
day 2: temple ruins
day 2: lots of rocks
day 2: stables
day 2: ancient sacrificial altars
day 2: grain silo
day 2: horse stable
day 2: waterway marker
day 2: map of the waterway system (amazing)
day 2: going down...
day 2: and down...
day 2: and down (smile)
day 2: the underground passageway
day 2: climbing back out
day 2: water well at the bottom
day 2: tour guide, Daniel
day 2: replica of Megiddo
day 2: Nazareth
day 2: view from Nazareth
day 2: Shawn @ Nazareth viewpoint
day 2: Mary and Joseph's Nazareth home
day 2: Sea of Galilee / entering Tiberias
day 2: Sea of Galilee
day 3: boat ride on the Sea of Galilee
day 3: very nice boat
day 3: tour guide on mic
day 3: two tour buses went on the ride together
day 3: Tiberius from the boat
day 3: outskirts of Tiberius
day 3: the valley between the two hills on the horizon is where Jesus delivered the demoniac
day 3: Sea of Galilee
day 3: Shawn on Sea of Galilee
day 3: totem pole
day 3: very tall totem pole
day 3: bus #5, where I was for much of this trip -- very nice
day 3: Mount of Beatitudes gardening
day 3: on top of the Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: looking over the Sea of Galilee from the Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: Daniel gathering our group
day 3: Tiberius from the Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: Catholic place of communion at Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: dome of chapel at Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: octagonal chapel at Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: Ray just before sharing
day 3: chapel at Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: what an amazingly beautiful place!
day 3: sign at Mount of Beatitudes
day 3: place of Peter's redemption -- another beautiful garden
day 3: Peter's redemption
day 3: Peter's redemption garden -- kept by monks
day 3: Peter's redemption garden
day 3: monk at Peter's primacy chapel
day 3: Peter's primacy
day 3: statue of Peter's redemption
day 3: heart shaped rocks, carved by monks to commemorate the 12 tribes
day 3: red water of the Sea of Galilee, on the shores of Peter's primacy
day 3: Shawn @ Sea of Galilee
day 3: Peter's primacy chapel
day 3: rock of redemption
day 3: chapel at site of Peter's redemption
day 3: "This is Holy Ground"
day 3: entering old-Capharnaum site
day 3: Capharnaum sign
day 3: intricate chisel-work
day 3: Daniel at old-Capharnaum
day 3: fruit carving
day 3: old-Capharnaum site
day 3: Peter's house
day 3: church built over Peter's house
day 3: gotta love Daniel's expressions
day 3: synagogue of old-Capharnaum marker
day 3: residential area of old-Capharnaum
day 3: synagogue side-shot
day 3: side walls of synagogue
day 3: Jesus taught here
day 3: between the pillars
day 3: front of the synagogue
day 3: old-Capharnaum ruins
day 3: harvesting tools
day 3: old-Capharnaum writing
day 3: fabulous stone-work
day 3: grinding tool
day 3: statue at old-Capharnaum
day 3: old-Capharnaum garden area
day 3: cast material used to house Jesus boat discovery
day 3: one of the actual brothers that discovered the "Jesus boat"
day 3: "Jesus boat" -- hard to see because of dark lighting
day 3: "Jesus Boat"
day 3: different colors for different types of wood used in the "Jesus Boat"
day 3: inside the "Jesus Boat" museum
day 3: Palm trees
day 3: Israel's landscape
day 3: first sighting of Jordan River
day 3: the landscape changes very rapidly from place to place
day 3: fisherman statue
day 3: lunch is smiling back at me
day 3: view from fish lunch restaurant
day 3: Golan Heights gun
day 3: Jordanian territory
day 3: coming down from Golan Heights
day 3: long ways down
day 3: the hills between Golan Heights and the Jordanian territory are filled with mines and labeled as dangerous
day 3: what a view!
day 3: still coming down from the Golan Heights
day 3: very steep slope
day 3: my view from inside the bus
day 3: winding roads
day 3: electric-surveyed fence along the Jordanian border
day 3: looking over fence into Jordanian territory
day 3: welcomed at the Jordan River baptism site
day 3: Jesus baptized in the Jordan
day 3: what a cool place!
day 3: everybody in white
day 3: Pastor Tim readies his group
day 3: gather at the river
day 3: lots of picture-taking
day 4: purple buses of Sar El tours
day 4: heading to Jerusalem from Tiberius
day 4: amphitheater where gladiators fought
day 4: city was "dead" because it was a Jewish prayer time
day 4: Bet She'an Entrance
day 4: model of Bet She'an
day 4: back side of theater area
day 4: back side of theater
day 4: pillars and columns galore
day 4: Bet She'an bath house and gym
day 4: Bet She'an model city
day 4: huge ancient city
day 4: Bet She'an ruins
day 4: tunnel entrances to theater
day 4: amazing architecture
day 4: road behind the theater
day 4: theater stage
day 4: theater seating
day 4: theater stage, where many got up and sang
day 4: lone brave soul singing the first tune
day 4: big applause
day 4: big, heavy stones
day 4: look at the curve of the arch
day 4: holding up pillars
day 4: lone tree at the top of overlooking hill
day 4: lone tree over Bet She'an
day 4: city was damaged by a major earthquake
day 4: bathhouse marker
day 4: pillar at Bet She'an
day 4: bathhouse at Bet She'an
day 4: jump in the bathtub!
day 4: bathhouse
day 4: very social place -- note the "trained masseur"
day 4: pools at Bet She'an
day 4: floor supports
day 4: hot tub!
day 4: Bet She'an changing room
day 4: model of the bathhouse
day 4: bath and toilet accessories
day 4: inside market store
day 4: main streetway
day 4: Bet She'an
day 4: lone "tree", if you can call it that
day 4: one BIG column
day 4: climbing up the hill for a better look
day 4: governor's house artwork
day 4: Egyptian governor marker
day 4: Shawn @ Bet She'an
day 4: traveling to Jerusalem
day 4: prison
day 4: entering the Gideon Springs park
day 4: Daniel said that 90% enjoying the springs were Arab
day 4: day of water fun
day 4: beautiful water park
day 4: "to Gideon's Springs"
day 4: Gideon Springs marker
day 4: drinking at Gideon Springs
day 4: Gideon Springs drink
day 4: smokers
day 4: wading in the spring water
day 4: walkway to the springs
day 4: red dirt
day 4: security checkpoint
day 4: security checkpoint on way to Jerusalem
day 4: security guard
day 4: amazing agriculture
day 4: city of Jericho
day 4: camel break
day 4: entering the Qumran park, discovery site of the Dead Sea Scrolls
day 4: scrolls hidden
day 4: what the jars looked like that the scrolls were found in
day 4: what the scrolls looked like
day 4: walking Qumran
day 4: water area at Qumran
day 4: amazing structures
day 4: the flour mill @ Qumran
day 4: one of the caves where the scrolls were found
day 4: several caves along the mountainsides
day 4: ancient structure on side of road
day 4: Mount Gilboa
day 4: nomads
day 4: goats on hillside
day 4: day 4: first site of Jerusalem in the distance
day 4: Jerusalem
day 4: entering Jerusalem with applause
day 4: overview of old-Jerusalem
day 4: Shawn and Jerusalem
day 5: Dead Sea
day 5: see how far the Dead Sea has diminished?
day 5: Spa on Dead Sea shores
day 5: popular spa on shores of Dead Sea
day 5: Masada Park from a distance
day 5: Masada youth hostel
day 5: Masada guest house
day 5: Masada National Park entrance
day 5: looking up to the mountain top from point of departure on cable car
day 5: going up in the cable car
day 5: going up to Masada
day 5: inside the cable car
day 5: looking back down on the way up - WOW!
day 5: entrance at the top
day 5: view from the entrance
day 5: top of Masada
day 5: bird enjoying our company
day 5: wasn't afraid at all
day 5: chirping for food
day 5: pathway Romans used to overtake Masada
day 5: Masada
day 5: Daniel sharing with the group at Masada
day 5: breach point marker
day 5: inside small room at Masada
day 5: scrolls marker @ Masada
day 5: the black line marks what is original and what has been rebuilt
day 5: Masada synagogue marker
day 5: view from Masada
day 5: large cisterns on mountain side
day 5: cisterns were used to catch water at Masada
day 5: water at Masada marker
day 5: looking inside one of the large cisterns
day 5: looking across from the other side
day 5: going up to the Masada Palace area
day 5: looking down from Masada snake trail
day 5: Masada bathhouse
day 5: model of bathhouse
day 5: "to the Northern Palace"
day 5: trying to stay cool
day 5: breathtaking
day 5: lower levels of fortress
day 5: definitely NOT Indiana Jones
day 5: Palace in ancient days
day 5: storehouse area for food
day 5: where they chipped the rock into stones
day 5: Masada cable-car info
day 5: going back down...
day 5: Masada mountain
day 5: switchbacks on the "Snake Trail" to the top of Masada
day 5: still coming down off of Masada
day 5: Masada statue
day 5: wildlife at Ein Gedi
day 5: Ein Gedi
day 5: Ein Gedi tree bird
day 5: Ein Gedi, where David hid from Saul
day 5: ancient coins
