Time flies

Well. It's been just over a hundred days here. A hundred days in the Holy Land and i leave tomorrow. My feelings are so surreal....it's hard to explain kind of....it's weird thinking that this might be the last time that I will see this stuff.

On my last day we hit the major spots of the old city, one last time.

the western wall:


We tried to go up on the temple mount and see the Dome of the Rock one more time...but surprise! today is the first day of Ramadan and it's closed! just our luck....it's ok though...i think one out of every four pictures i've taken has the Dome of the Rock in it.

see? Im really going to miss this view when I leave.

I took a gazillion pictures today but honestly there is absolutely no time to process and blog too.....

I've got to say goodbye, pack, eat one last falafel....

it's just a weird feeling knowing that this is the last time i'll see this... (well...to be fair I only took the bus a handful of times....


and NOW. EXCITED for almost 24 hours of travel and some NY/NJ/PA/Liz time!!!!
I'll call you when i'm stateside!

Dead Sea stuff.

This is the Dead Sea. It is pretty nasty. A guy's GPS showed the altitude at -1350 ft. The Dead Sea is 35 parts salt compared to the Ocean at 10 parts and the Salt Lake at 25 parts. It was painful to swim in but the rumors are true: it is impossible to sink. Swimming is very different when you can’t keep your legs under water. I stood straight up in water that was 8 feet deep but was floating at at least my waist...it was so cool. oh, but remember that gaping cut on my toe! OH MY GOSH it hurt SO BAD...You do leave with your skin feeling very soft. And perhaps a little dehydrated.


To give you an idea of how hot it is here at the lowest point on earth it was 44 C. That comes out to around 112 F. It was pretty miserable.

Oh, and maybe you've heard about some scrolls? We went to Qumran as well and looked into the caves where they were discovered.

yup....in that little cave, right there.

Why it just might be time to come home ;)

(this is mostly just a joke...i will miss it greatly. i just wanted an excuse to post some of these pictures.)

My sun glasses broke :(
sad....


I go to museums and there have been quite a number of them over the past few months that i have liked a lot and this was one of them. i thought i would post a picture of me with my favorite artifact; we had a special connection due to our obvious resemblance........


I know how pitas are made.......in great detail....probably too much detail.

the pita bread bakery
[i feel a connection to pita bread having now spent a substantial amount of time in a land where it is prevalent and eating it pretty much every day]..........
THE DOUGH


THE CONVEYOR BELT
for the fresh hot pitas


THE SLOT
the hot pitas dropped down from this slot in the ceiling because the actual kitchen is upstairs....and the bakers sold them while still fresh.


Finding this creepy convent. yes, this is where they kept the nuns.


I found this sweet sign.