On our fifth day, we visited the Western Wall (Wailing Wall) located on the western side of the Temple Mount, the site of Solomon’s Temple (the first temple) and, later after Solomon’s Temple was destroyed, the second temple rebuild by Herod the Great.  Herod’s temple was destroyed in A.D. 70 by the Romans.  The Jewish temple was never rebuilt.  Today, the Dome of the Rock occupies the temple site.

In the afternoon, we traveled the short distance to Bethlehem and visited the Church of the Nativity.  Then we traveled to Herodion, a fortress built by Herod the Great on the outskirts of Bethlehem.  Herodion is a great archeological site.  Herod the Great is buried there, and many of us walked down to the platform that held his tombstone.  The platform and its decorative elements are in suburb condition.

In the evening, some of us went back into the Old City to shop and some of us walked throughout the Old City, including the Muslim Quarter.  We tried to obtain access to the platform of the Dome of the Rock, but without success.  The gate was closed and policemen guarded the site.

The next day, we left Jerusalem and descended to the Dead Sea, the lowest place on the earth!  On the way, we passed by Qumran (we will visit the site on Friday).  We spent a few hours in En Gedi, a box canyon where David and his men hid out from Saul after learning that Saul intended to kill him and where David spared Saul’s life.  We hiked into the beautiful spring-fed waterfall at the rear of the canyon and saw lots of Ibex (deer-like animals) and some conies, little brown gopher-like animals (both of which are mentioned in the Bible).

We next visited Massada, a fortress/palace complex build by Herod the Great, and the site where the Jews made their last stand against the Romans after the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70.  The site is accessed by both a cable car (an exciting ride) and a long switch back trail which I would love to hike some day.  The ruins at Massada are really interesting, and there is some beautiful first century tile work that has been excavated.

We settled into our hotel (the Meridian David) and then went to “float” in the Dead Sea. 

Yesterday, a small group of us ventured into the Negev, while most of us hung out in the hotel spa.  From a safari-type vehicle in the Zin Wilderness (a portion of the Negev), we saw:  a mother camel nursing her 2-3 day old baby; two large horned ibex males fighting each other; a group of 3 wild camels along the road; an oasis pool fed by a waterfall originating from a stream far overhead; gorgeous desert scenery.  Our guide made lunch for us, which included local goat cheese stored in olive oil.  The Bedouin here eat a lot of goat cheese.  When goat cheese is stored in olive oil, it will keep for up to 5 years!

Today we went to Qumran along the shores of the Dead Sea and the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem.  We had a farewell dinner and are now waiting at the Ben Gurion airport for our flight home.  It has been a wonderful experience.