Ok, back to the Jordan river and Jericho (the oldest city in the world). The Monastry in Jericho was really neat--built right on the side of the cliff. Monks have been coming here to live in the caves in the cliffs for centuries. I guess the Greek orthodox decided to make something a little more comfortable. In the picture below, the monastry in on the upper right, and some old caves, where monks used to live is on the upper left.


Here are some of the Monks living quaters, built right into the rock

Here are some snorkling pics we took in Dahab. See if you can spot the octopus in the picture above. Its about in the middle of this picture sitting on a coral.

Hurray

I've been having some trouble posting pictures today so I will just put up the two that worked and will post more a different day. Anyway, we headed up to the Jordan River on Thursday. It is the 'traditional' site where John the Baptist would do his thing. It is actually in a military zone (inbetween mine fields) and is only open twice a year so there were a lot of people there.

We also visited a monastry in Jericho ("quarantin"). Here we are after a bit of a hike up the mountain. We are just on the outer ledge of the monastry overlooking Jericho. More coming...

Well Jer and I are back from our short stint in Egypt. We stayed in Dahab which is a small diving village right on the Red Sea where the snorkeling is said to be the best in the world, and the prices for everything are about a tenth of that in Jerusalem. We did manage to take some underwater pictures but they didn't turn out too well. Too bad, it was incredible. We saw just about every kind and colour of fish there is, plus an octopus or two, but unfortunately for me, no sharks. Anyway, here are some pictures from the trip. It really was a tropical paradise -- in the middle of the Sinai Desert.
So below is Jer during the long ride, reading his first "novel" (or non-school book) in many many years. He really managed to relax during our time in Dahab -- I think it did him some good and may have added a year or two back onto his life.

Above is a picture of the beach in Eilat. Eilat is located where Israel, Jordan, and Egypt all come together. The mountains in the back are actually just over the Jordan border. Eilat was nice, but very expensive and full (a hotspot for the holy days/holidays) which is why we decided to spend all our time in Egypt. Below is a picture of Dahab. It has a really great laid back atmosphere and the people are really very friendly (sadly, a nice change from Israel). The restaurants are all right on the water so you can snorkel, then roll onto the beach and have someone bring you some excellent cheap food and drink.

This was our hotel (above). For only $15.00 a night, it was a great deal (as is everything here). You can't see in this picture, but across the Red Sea there are (more) mountains. This would be Saudi Arabia. There is always a haze on the mountains because of the heat, so it is always difficult to see them in pictures.

A picture for Dad. Doesn't that fish look good? He snarled at me all night.

Look Heidi, two pictures in a row of just me - (standing and sitting around - so exciting) -- just for you!!

This boat with two horses tied to it seemed a little out of place in the middle of the desert .

Jer and I took a taxi (above) to the bus station to head home. It was a bit of a fast and fun ride but still not as scary as my first cab ride in New York -- remember Heidi??

I counted camels on the way home, to make time go by. Camels in Bedouin camps = 1 point, wild camels = 2 points. I lost count when my motion sickness preventing - Egyptian concoction kicked in -- those are some curvy curvy roads.

Of course we couldn't leave without one or two souveniers. We found these two paintings by local artists and loved them (and loved the price). They are polar opposites in style, but we'll find a place for them, someday. The first one is actually really huge, an oil painting on canvas of a famous street in Cairo (I forget the name now), the second one just looked so happy and fun so we got that one too (in this picture it is a bit curled so it looks uneven). We also picked up some tea and spice which is gathered by some Bedouin from way up in the mountains (What a hard life they live). It is supposed to work wonders for various health problems and tastes pretty good too. Sunset over the Sinai mountains the night before leaving, and below, back for sunrise over the Mount of Olives (a nice view from our rooftop) .

Happy Ramadan and Shanah Tovah (Jewish New Year)






















Well, it is a month of festivities and fun here in Jerusalem. Since we live in the Old City we get to experience both Ramadan and the Jewish New Year. Every night we are startled by the "canon blast" which signals the end of the fast for that day. Its loud! Ramadan begins on the New Moon, which is why the muslim quarter is decorated with lit-up moons. The picture below--we have finally figured out the fine art of popping popcorn on a stove element (the one working element in our apartment is a bit tricky with the heat).

Here are a few random pictures. Jer and I haven't been doing too much with him finishing up his first class and with me being sick again. Anyway, below is Jer and Andre at the zoo (a class fieldtrip). Andre is a lively Italian and it is so funny to hear him speak hebrew because he has such a thick Italian accent (yes, that is a mullet).

And then here's Jer looking so excited about eating falafel. Could it be he is getting tired of me taking pictures of him doing anything and everything? Anyway, contrary to how it may sound to some, falafel is actually quite good -- and a snack favourite here. Fill a pita with cabbage, onion, pickels, cucumber, tomato, deep fried mushed up chick pea balls and cold french fries and there you have a falafel. I leave out the french fries, but for 5 shekels (about $1.30 canadian), it is a great deal!

This is our market in the Muslim quarter of the Old City. It is close to our place, and probably the cheapest around. On a good day, I can usually get about 10 green peppers for $0.60 or 15 cucumbers for the same (but fruit and vegetables are about the only inexpensive things in this country).

This is the big market (below) that is about half an hours walk from our place (in the New City). It goes on for a couple of blocks and has everything you need but is a bit more expensive so we keep to the many Old City markets.

More Old City places to buy fruit and vegetables....

Onto some more random pictures...this one is for all the skeptics. You know you want a pair Michael, Juli, and Heidi!!! Next I'm making bright green and purple.

Here is a taste of Old City grafitti. Religion is infused into absolutely everything in this country.

We visited another Church just outside the Old City, but the name of it escapes me. In any case, it is the traditional site of Mary's tomb and I was, as always, impressed by the mosaic so I took a picture or two. The artwork in the churches always keeps me busy while Jer looks at all the old stuff.

Anyway, not much happening here lately so that's it for today.

Yesterday about 28 IDF helicopters flew overhead giving us a private airshow. its difficult to take pictures of these things but I got a few.