Sunrise over the Mediterranean - coming into Tel Aviv
Landing at Ben Gurion Airport
First view of the Kotel
View of the Kotel area
The Kotel Plaza
Lunch on Necha Golda's Terrace
Necha Golda's Terrace
Dvora taking everyone's picture
Leaving Necha Golda's apartment - heading to Aish
Looking back at Necha Golda's - heading to Aish
Rebecca Shorr talking to us
Look at the Crusader ceilings at Rebecca's Shorr's!
View of the Kotel from the roof of the new Aish building
View of the Kotel area from the roof of the new Aish
View of the area in back of the new Aish building
Fantastic view of the Kotel from the Aish rooftop!
Great view of the Kotel area from Aish rooftop
Great view of the Kotel plaza and construction from Aish rooftop
View of Nancy and the area in back of the Aish rooftop
Arab side of the Kotel plaza
Another great view of the Kotel from the Aish rooftop
New archeological site in the Kotel plaza
More of the digging going on
Another picture from the Aish new building rooftop
An overview of one of the security areas to the Kotel from the Aish rooftop
A home in the Muslim quarter - almost 1000 years old!
Foyer to the Muslim quarter home
A wall in the dining room area of the home in the Muslim quarter
Beautil ceilings - almost 1000 years old!
Ann, Marcia and Robin in the Muslim quarter home
The Rebbetzin who lives in the Muslim quarter home, with Pearl
The Rebbetzin talking to us
View of the area from the rooftop in the Muslim quarter
More rooftop views
Black hot water heaters used by the Arab population in the Muslim Quarter
Gail on the rooftop of the Muslim Quarter home
Another rooftop view of the area
How the Arabs keep up their homes in the Muslim Quarter
View of the Kotel from the rooftop of the Muslim Quarter home
Mendel - Necha Golda's husband - and our tour guide for the Kotel Tunnels tour coming down into the Kotel Plaza
Coming down the stairs to the Kotel plaza from the Arab side
Our tour guide beginning our tour of the Kotel Tunnels
Construction going on inside the tunnels
A diagram of how the Temple Mount and the Temple used to look
A giant one-piece rock weighing about 450 tons . . . and the cranes of today can only lift weights of up to 250 tons!
Sign showing the entrance to the area that was the closest to the Holy of Holies in the old days
Plexiglas in the floor covering up rubble left by the Romans after destroying the second Temple in 70 CE
Another plexiglas covering in the floor showing more debris from the destruction of the Temple
A Herodian column in a room in the tunnels that used to be part of the main walkway to the Temple Mount in ancient days
More of this room and the wall built up around the columns
The high ceilings in the room, showing windows that used to overlook the roadway
More of the walls and ceilings
Theda looking up at something the guide is telling us
Windows and a door that used to open up over the road
Touching the actual stones in the road our ancestors walked on to get to the Temple
Touching a part of our own past and heritage
Part of the ceiling structure in the tunnel leading out of the room we were in
A large cavern that was part of the cistern structure for bringing water to the Temple area
Tunnels that carried the water
Coming out of the Kotel tunnels into the Arab area
The road leading to the Kotel HaKatanah
The armed guarded door leading to the Temple Mount that only Arabs can go onto
The Kotel HaKatanah
The walkway leading to the Kotel HaKatanah
Arab quarters overlooking the Kotel HaKatanah
A closer view
Robin, Dvora and Gail looking at the Kotel HaKatanah
Ferial and Gail posing with 2 of the guards in front of the door to the Temple Mount
Marcia and her new Tichel!
A closeup of Marcia and her new Tichel
Pearl, Dvora, Marcia, Mitzy and Gail after lunch at an outdoor cafe in the Rova
Mitzy, Rhonda, Ann, Marcia and Ferial with Ruth from the SilverPoints shop who taught Marcia how to tie a tichel
Walking down the road at the edge of the Old City
The ancient walls surrounding the Old City
The old and the new
The Tower of David. Note: it's not nighttime, just one setting on my camera
The same picture, the same time of day, but a different setting!
Rebbetzin Altusky talking to us in her kitchen
Rebbetzin Altusky and her 95+ year old mother
The ancient walls to the Old City, with a basketball court right in front
Kids playing basketball next to walls almost 1000 years old
A view of the Kotel out the front window of a home in the Rova
Another view from the window
Another view of the Kotel from their window. Even better than the ocean!
Some of the photos taken by her husband
The beautiful Crusader ceilings in their apartment
Notice the original stones now mostly covered by plaster
All the original "nooks and crannys"
One of the streets in the Rova
Street sign in the Rova
Up on the rooftops
More from the rooftops
More views from the rooftops
Moe views from the rooftops
A view of the combination Arab/Jewish area from the rooftop
Jewish children playing in the rubble on the rooftop
Hand washers everywhere!
Looking down into an Arab Shuk from the rooftop
A view of the Shuk thru the grating
Very old, very narrow steps leading up into the living areas
Laundry hanging out over the top of the walkways
A sign next to the ancient wall from the First Temple period
The ancient wall that surrounded the area at the time of the First Temple
Part of the Cardo
More ruins in the Cardo
Old boarded up windows over today's shops
Showing the old, boarded up windows over the shops
Columns in the Cardo
Original stones from the main road in the Cardo
Raizy Guttman showing us how to mix Challah dough
How to make a Flower challah - cutting the dough
Rolling the flower challah
The finished flower
Raizy and the finished flower challah
Making a 4 strand round challah
Beginning to braid the 4 strand round challah
Continuing to braid the 4 strand round challah
Almost done
The finished 4 strand round challah
Starting a 6 strand round challah
Setting up the 6 strands
Braiding each section of the 6 strand round challah
The finished 6 strand round challah
A 6 strand traditional challah - starting with 3 strands
Adding the other 3 strands to make 6 total
Beginning the braiding process - moving the first strand
Moving the second strand in the process
The next step of moving the "one left behind"
Repeating the sequence
Continuing down the loaf
A lovely little challah dove
Pearl, Theda and Rhonda working on their own challahs
A view of Jerusalem from outside Raizy's
Delia the singer and Necha Golda
Dr. Gerald Shroeder giving a shiur
Necha Golda and Mrs. Channah Ovadia who teaches our Sunday morning TeleTorah class
Rebbetzin Weinberg, wife of Rabbi Noah Weinberg founder of Aish
Rebbetzin Weinberg giving our shiur
Our guide in Yad Vashem
Our guide talking to us in Yad Vashem. Empty spots in the wall are for the books with all the names we do not know of people who perished in the Holocaust.
Some of the faces of people who perished in the Holocaust
Faces, known names and spaces for the unknown
The hallway looking down at Yad Vashem
Israeli Army people touring Yad Vashem
A view of the valley outside Yad Vashem
Another view of the valley from Yad Vashem
Peace and beauty
The entrance to Yad Vashem
The Israeli flags flying by the entrance
Marcia standing at the desk by the mikvah we visited
The mikvah
Sara Epstein
The bathtub in the room at the Mikvah
Prayer for the Callah on the door to the room at the Mikvah
Boarding the bus to Holon
Fields of sunflowers all in bloom - gorgeous!
Walking to the park for the Invitation to Silence
The park at Invitation to Silence
The walkway to invitation to Silence
Israeli flags and banners flying in the streets right after the 60th Anniversary Celebration of Israeli Independence
Street sign to Holon
Driving north of Tel Aviv
The smoke stacks for the Israeli energy generating facility
The smokes stacks as we got closer
Lines carrying the generated power out of the immediate area
On our way to Migdal Ohr
More Israeli flags and banners along the roadway
The main building at Migdal Ohr
Leaving Migdal Ohr
Driving to Natanya
Downtown Natanya
The street leading into Downtown Natanya
A plaza in the center of Natanya
A view of the Tulip Restaurant overlooking the Mediterranean at Natanya
Leading down to the Mediterranean by the Tulip Restaurant
Sunset in Natanya and the Mediterranean
Marcia, Rhonda, Robin and Gail by the Tulip Restaurant
Necha Golda, Marcia and Dvora
Looking at the Tulip Restaurant
Boarding the bullet proof bus to Chevron
The bullet proof bus for our tour to Bethlehem and Chevron
The heavily guarded entrance to Rachel's Tomb in Bethlehem
The guard tower overlooking the area around Rachel's Tomb
Getting off the bus at Rachel's tomb
The walkway down to the entrance of Rachel's tomb
The entrance to Rachel's tomb
The mechitsa over Rachel's tomb
The ancient domed ceilings of the original building over Rachel's tomb
Getting back on the buses leaving Rachel's tomb
The sign by Rachel's Tomb
Leaving Rachel's tomb
The heavily guarded roads leaving Rachel's tomb
Bethlehem behind the walls guarding the roadway
The very tall concrete protection walls guarding the roadway leading from Rachel's tomb
The hills of Bethlehem
Another view of the protection needed from the Arab residents of Bethlehem
The fertile Arab lands on the road to Chevron
Planted terraces on the road to Chevron
Grape vines grown by the Arabs on the road from Bethlehem to Chevron
Coming into Chevron
The Arab area of Chevron
More of the Arab area of Chevron
Getting off the bus in Chevron
Ferial and her daughter-in-law Rachel getting off the bus in Chevron
Somewhat camoflaged soldiers guarding Jewish visitors and residents in Chevron
Walking up the road in Chevron
Old stone steps that used to lead to the Chevron city gates in ancient days
A better view of the steps
An archeological dig under an apartment building
2 of the 7 allowed trailer homes in Chevron
The sign by an ancient grain silo under the apartment building
The grain silo itself
The grain silo
Walking up to Jesse and Ruth's tombs
Looking down at the army barracks
The barbed wire separating the Jewish from the Arab areas of Chevron
The outside of Jesse and Ruth's tombs
The top of the building over Jesse and Ruth's tombs
The inside area of Jesse and Ruth's tombs
Part of the building surrounding Jesse and Ruth's tombs
A little schul in the building over Jesse and Ruth's tombs
Caves in the hillside next to Jesse and Ruth's tombs
Stairs leading up over the area by Jesse and Ruth's tombs
More of the barbed wire necessary to separate the Jewish and Arab sections of Chevron
The Israeli jeep and army guarding Jesse and Ruth's tombs
Walking down from Jesse and Ruth's tombs to the Jewish living area of Chevron
Some of the trailer homes Jews live in at Chevron
A view of the Arab area of Chevron
The Israeli army guarding Chevron
One of the Israeli army guards posing for us
A sign by the ancient Jewish cemetery in Chevron
The graves of the Jews in Chevron who were massacred in 1929
One of the guards heading up into the hills overlooking the cemetery to watch for snipers or other problems while we were there
The grave of an infant who's mother demanded permission to inter him in this cemetery
More of the graves of the Jews massacred in 1929
Looking up at the hills from the cemetery
Army equipment standing by
Part of the army barracks in Chevron
Walking towards the schul in Chevron
The schul in Chevron with our tour guide speaking (a rabbi who lives in Chevron with his family)
These sefer Torahs are over 500 years old!
Another view of the old Torahs
A closer view of the old Torahs in Sephardic casings
One of the 2 bar mitzvah boys who were on the tour bus with us
The ark in the Chevron schul
The sofer who completed a letter in a new sefer Torah for one of the bar mitzvah boys
A guitarist who was singing after the completion of the letter in the new Torah
Some of our group watching the goings-on
Heading back down from the schul
Visit Hebron! In a bullet-proof bus and army guards standing by . . .
Heading into the center next to the Machpela
The Chevron Guest Center
The entrance to the Machpela
The building put up by King Herod 2000 years ago over the caves of Machpela where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried
Our tour guide talking to us outside the Machpela
The courtyard outside the Machpela
Another view of the courtyard
People davening by the side of the building
Walkways and caves going under the building
Sign welcoming people to the Machpela
The first of 2 security checkpoints going into the Machpela - with a separate line for men and women!
On the inside, looking back at the security
A view from the top
Looking down from the entrance to the building
The schul inside the Machpela
The women's section in the schul
The sign for "Abraham Our Father"
The hallway next to the schul area
The ark in the Men's section
2 of the guards in the Machpela posing with one of the young boys
More hand washers
Another burial area
The "tomb" placed to represent the burial place
The sign for "Yackov"
Placing candles we lit into the chimney-like place for that purpose
The men's area of the schul
Arabic and Hebrew together in one place
One of the burial areas
Coming back out of the building
One of the guards posted around the building
Looking back at the 2000 year old building
Ancient doorways made into more modern doors in Arab section
Leaving Chevron
The terraced hills growing all kinds of crops in the Arab areas on our way back to Jerusalem
The private room in the Sheyan restaurant
Tvia and Gail
Enjoying our final meal together
Dvora at dinner
A group photo before we leave
Tvia with the first of 2 parve "ice cream" dishes - complete with sparklers!
We're going out in a blaze of glory!
The second dish
The outside of the Sheyan Restaurant where we had out final meal as a group
Sima Phillips, my future daughter-in-law's sister-in-law who lives just outside of Jerusalem
Having lunch with Sima before I left Israel
A friend of Sima's who had lunch with us
Sima and Marcia together
Sima and Marcia
Walking back down to the Jaffe Gate for one last look at the Kotel before I left
Getting closer
Coming down to security from the Jewish Quarter to get to the Kotel
The Women's Gallery inside the Kotel tunnels
Looking down at the Men's area in the Kotel tunnels
An ancient archway that led to the Temple Mount above the Women's Gallery
Looking down from the Women's Gallery
The seating in the Women's Gallery
Walking through part of the Tunnels
One last look at the Kotel
Another view of leaving the Kotel
Looking at the area leading into the Kotel tunnels
Ancient arches off the walkway leading back up from the Kotel
Looking up Ben Yehuda Street
Necha Golda inside the Jewish Shouk
What a variety of things in the Jewish Shouk!
The sundial used to determine davening times
Bonfires at the side of the road for L'ag B'omer
Another smaller bonfire (hard to get a picture of with the shuttle to the airport going so fast!!!)
Another bonfire up on the hill
The sun coming up behind our plane, back in the USA at JFK Airport in New York
The 747 we flew back from Tel Aviv on
