Filed under Israel

The Mount Of Olives

The Mount Of Olives

Named for the olive groves that used to cover it, the Mount of Olives can be seen in the distance of this picture taken from the base of the Temple Mount… If you look carefully at the writing on the graves in the foreground, you can see that this is a cemetery for those of … Continue reading »

Qumran And The Dead Sea Scrolls

Qumran And The Dead Sea Scrolls

I still remember our teacher, Joe Gledhill, describing the discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls to us in the fourth grade at Dobbins Elementary School. After all, it is a memorable story (and one that he told well) – the Bedouin shepherd boy searching for a stray goat and discovering the scrolls inside earthenware jars … Continue reading »

Banias Nature Reserve, Israel

Banias Nature Reserve, Israel

Located in Israel’s Golan Heights region, the Banias Nature Reserve serves as a strong reminder that Israel’s capture of the Golan Heights was about a lot more than just punishing Syria and seizing the military advantage afforded by occupying high ground. You see, Mount Hermon is in the Golan Heights. And the Hermon Spring emerges … Continue reading »

The Dead Sea: The Lowest Place On Earth

The Dead Sea: The Lowest Place On Earth

Sitting in the largest and deepest basin in the world, the Dead Sea presents us with one of the most unique environments to be found on our planet. This sign is found near the top of the cliffs that drop down to the Dead Sea… But, with its surface now almost 1,400 feet below sea … Continue reading »

The Ein Gedi Oasis

The Ein Gedi Oasis

At the foot of the Judaean Mountains, along the western shore of the Dead Sea, can be found the Ein Gedi Oasis. Ein Gedi is fed by several springs which flow through two canyons, Wadi David and Wadi Arugot. The springs are, in turn, fed by rain that falls in the Judaean Mountains which, after … Continue reading »

The Golan Heights: Tel Dan Post Outlook

The Golan Heights: Tel Dan Post Outlook

The Golan Heights viewed from what is left of the Tel Dan Post Outlook: A pencil was responsible for the “Water War” between Syria and Israel that took place here… The British wanted the border line between the British Mandate area of Eretz Israel and the French Mandate area of Syria and Lebanon to reflect … Continue reading »

Jerusalem: The Old City

Jerusalem: The Old City

Thousands of years old, home to events such as the crucifixion of Jesus and locations such as the Dome of the Rock which is holy to Jews, Christians and Muslims, conquered by everyone from Nebuchadnezzar to Alexander the Great to the Romans to the Persians to Saladin to the Turks to the British – I … Continue reading »