ISRAELI Wedding / Vacation

11-June-08 thru 21-June-08

The PICTURES


	Arrival	Jerusalem - Visit #2
	First Night	The Wedding
	Jerusalem - Visit #1	Galilee / Kinneret
	Shabbat Dinner	Jaffa
	Shabbat Hatan	Last Days / Nights

Arrival

Upon arrival, Monica, Natalie and Yahel met us at the airport.
Guess we didn't take many pictures and even managed to get none of Monica and Joan.

First EVER meeting of my Granddaughter...

... and of Dad's Great-Granddaughter.

First Squeeze.

In the hotel lobby, Yahel found Joan's hat entertaining...
...and we her.

We made it to our room (a 2-bedroom/2-bath suite)!
STILL no pics of Monica!
But, without her tenacity at getting things done, we wouldn't have been able to stay in this hotel.

From our balcony looking north up the beach (Hotel Row) and...

... west out over the beach and beyond (the Mediterranean).

Looking east into Tel Aviv.
But there's something hangin' on one of the buildings...

...Joan thought it looked "like a very large chicken".
I'm not sure WHAT it was, other than strange.

Okay. So when we got to the hotel we notice scaffolding all around the building.
No big deal, they must be doing so work. They were... and on our floor...
WITH A JACKHAMMER AND DRILLS!
Even the bellman that brought-up the luggage thought it was impossible.

An hour later we finally get the "Hotel Sales Manager" to agree it's "not right" and she stops the workers.
They in-turn lower their work platforms so they can no longer look right into our living room.
We decide not to have them find us another hotel and move in here. It all worked-out well from then on.
Does the line "Honey, do you know where I packed my flip-flops" (or, "This is going to be a big week") mean anything to you?

Is somebody taking pitures again?

Since we're staying, time to get some Room Service.

And, unpack some presents we brought (like these booties from Linda).

First Night

THERE's MONICA! And, DAD.
After a truely wonderful dinner in Tel Aviv, a truely decadent dessert at a Max Brenner's.
Most everything here is made of chocolate. We'll be back here, often!

Our first meeting of Saar, Monica's intended.

Joan, Rick & Dad have now been up for 36-hours, traveled 6,000 miles and eaten 6 meals.
The sign pointing to my head reads "Warning, Electric". I didn't "feel" electric.

Natalie and Tomer

And then back to our room to view a bit of Tel Aviv night life ... from 15-floors up.
It's 1-a.m. and soon there'll be more traffic than at 1-p.m.

Jerusalem - Visit #1

Our first full day in Israel was Friday. We went to Jerusalem just for a quick "taste".
We thought we'd do/see a couple of things there none of us have ever done/seen before.
It was almost not to be.

We had our cross-country taxi drop us off at "The Wall".

This is a 6th century mosaic showing Jerusalem and the main street
running north-to-south (left-to-right)
Part of which (right-side) is now known as the Cordo.

Excavations of the Cordo.

In the Jewish Quarters.

This is Allenby Gate (aka Zion Gate)... open to traffic... but mostly small cars.
There are lots of bullet holes in this stone from the 6-Day War.

This was NOT a small car... it's an SUV. Damn tourists!

Just inside of Jaffa Gate is my favorite "get-a-bottle-of-water-for-the-day" stop.
Then I notice, it's called St Michael Cafeteria.
Joan went to St Michael's Elementary School.
Coincidence? Maybe.

Since the Tunnel Tour was sold-out
and the Armenian Church of St James was only open 1/2-hour each day,
we decided to do something none of us had done before...
walk a section of the 2.5-mile Ramparts that completely circle the Old City.

After paying the US$1.25 each, and meeting some really nice security guys
(mostly interested in discussing American politics and having an American-made Marlboro)
we headed to the ramparts.
Upon seeing the entrance, we almost turned back.

Once on top of the wall, it was fascinating!
I felt like a Roman archer taking-up a position to look out at (and stop) the invading hordes.

Looking back at the Tower of David (Citadel).

Another "archer".

The archers view of the King David Hotel
(as if it were there then).

Very expensive apartments looking back at The City.

Atop the ramparts at the South-West corner of the city (Armenian Quarters) heading towards the Jewish Quarters.

Looking SE to Mount Zion.
[Think: Oskar Schindler's grave, Dormition Abbey, Cenacle & King David's Tomb.]

Looking East to the Mount of Olives.
[Think: Gethesemane, Tomb of the Virgin Mary, Church of the Pater Noster and a huge Jewish cemetery.]

Looking NE from same spot with golden-topped Dome Of The Rock in foreground.
[Think: Mount Scopus, Hebrew University.]

This is either the back of St Jame's Cathedral, or a convent behind that Cathedral.

Whatever building it is, it hosts the
St Jame's Apostolic All-Stars Basketball Courts and Fitness Center. [Kidding!].

Looking outside the wall at Zion Gate

Coming down off the ramparts at Zion Gate to walk to Mt Zion
(more like a small hill than a mount).

The conical dome and bell tower of the Dormition Abbey on Mt Zion (where the Virgin Mary "fell asleep").








The lower room of this building is where Mary "fell into eternal sleep".


A mosaic in the dome above Mary's crypt showing Christ receiving her soul. Also shown in the mosaic are six women of the Old Testament(Eve, Miriam, Jael, Judith, Ruth and Ester).







A bunch of medievel buildings next to the church is collectively known as the Monastery and Church of St Mary. The upper room of one of these is "called" the Room of the Last Supper (aka the Cenacle or Coenaculum). [there are other sites that also claim this honor]


A rather strange place to find a scultured mihrab. [indicating the direction a Muslim is to face when praying].

Michael Angelo would have been standing just about HERE while painting {again, kidding].

A dome built over the so-called "Tomb of David". Since Jews were not allowed to pray at The Wall (Jordanian control 1948-1967) this is where they did so.

The "tomb" although he's not really in there.

A Torah...

... and a very ornate mezuzah.

Back outside of the city walls and the ramparts.

Up there is where we were walking.




The Tower of David ... where we started the ramparts walk.

Shabbat Dinner

Back to town for Shabbat Dinner at Rina's.
Mamanina is cooking fissenjoun and eggplant.

Aunt Monica helps Yahel play in the dirt.

After Shabbat Dinner smoosing with
Joan, Rick, Dad, Danny (Rina's son), Saar, Uncle Ronny and Mamanina.

[This picture scares Joan.]

We finally wore-out Yahel.

THREE DAYS AND COUNTING

Shabbat Hatan

After a Saturday morning religious service to honor the new groom, the groom's family hosts a party!

Father of the groom, grand-father of the bride.

Family of the bride.

Soon. Soon.

The funniest people in town, that day.

Groom and Father.

An abosulte FEAST!

Saar's mother, Hannah.

Saar and Mother

Tomer.

Handball champion

Mother & Daughter, Grandparents and a Great-Grandparent from each side.

Babysitting duties.

A game of pry-open-the-fingers-to-get-to-the-bread-crumb-inside.
Did I mention Yahel LOVES bread?

Jerusalem - Visit #2

Jerusalem: Redux. This time with plans to go where we couldn't two days ago.

Entrance to the Armenian St James Cathedral, during a mass,
lit only by oil lamps hung from the ceiling. And, NO seats!

The Mass Celebration inside.

Joan got a good spot.

Back outside in the Arab Market (souk).

Joan's gonna buy one of those dresses,
and now wishes she had bought two.

We are headed someplace else, but drop in on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
This mural is directly behind the Stone of Unction (think anointing and wrapping and Nicodemus)
between Stations XIII and XIV (but, not an actual Station of the Cross itself)

In the Chapel of Adam, the fissured Rock of Golgotha.

The subterranean Chapel of St Helena. Below this room is the Chapel of the Invention of Finding of the Cross.
This is where the "True Cross" was found by Constantine's mother (Empress Dowager Helena) in a cistern...
...pieces of which are for sale throughout the souk. [and the "ïnvention"continues.]

Back out of the Chapel of St Helena.

The Tunnel Tour.
Last week it was sold-out for 6-weeks. But while walking the ramparts, Monica called to see how we were doing.
When she heard about the tunnel tour, she made a call to the Rabbi performing her wedding and almost by magic,
we had tickets waiting for us today. That Rabbi has some "protecia", I guess. So does Monica!

The excavated tunnel runs along the outside of the Temple Mount wall of Herod The Great.
Only a 200-ft long x 55-ft high section of this 1400 x 100 wall is visible above-ground (below, far right).
That section is called the Western Wall (aka The Wall, Ha'Kotel or "The Wailing Wall").
The rest of Herod's wall is either preserved underground, or stands as part of newer building projects.

The raised Temple Mount esplanade once supported The Temple (discarded to the right).

The Dome of the Rock now stands in it's place (as demonstrated).

I can't tell you how wierd this was...
a hydraulic, mechanical, evolving Temple Mount, in Jerusalem, underground...(BR> at a level that hasn't seen the light of day for almost 2000 years!

Herod's original stones (bottom layer with carved frames).
Our guide stands in front of a perfectly edged stone originally measuring 40-ft long, 10-ft high and 10-ft thick
(said to weigh 570 metric tonnes, or 1.25 million pounds!)

More of this stone and its dressing.

The rectangular holes were cut later to add some "grip" for a plaster-like "covering",
like what the guide is sitting on two pictures above.

Dad listening to the guides schtick.

A one-time residential window for a house built against the wall.

One of the original Gates to the Temple mount, Warren's Gate.

The end-of-the-line: Where the cut and stacked stones turn to stone outcropping bedrock.

Even the bedrock has been "edged" to resemble the cut stones.

And the "road" on which we stand is paved in thick stone, like the rest of the Old City.

The finish of the paving stone was smooth as glass

Now past the Herodian wall and on out way up and out.

The Struthion Pool, a rock cut storage pool which fed the Hasmonean aqueduct and cistern.
This predates Herod and supplied the Temple with water.

Still today, ground water makes it way into the cistern (but, I wouldn't drink it).

A wall has been constructed which divides the pool in half.
On the other side of this wall is the part of the pool belonging to the Sisters of Sion Convent.

Near the exit of the tunnel, just inside of Damascus Gate, steps leading up (and out)
through a current Muslim Quarter grocery store have been blocked.

Before exiting, the guide give us three options of getting back to the Western Wall Plaza:
1) We could go back through the tunnel underground (which ALL of the visibly religious did),
2) We could have one of the security soldiers at the exit walk us back through the Muslim Quarters
(which nobody thought was needed, besides, the soldiers all looked too comfortable where they were), or
3) HE would walk us back through the Muslim Quarters since he had to go that way to get to his archeology class.
He had gotten us THIS far, so we opted for #3.

On the walk back, this caught my eye.
Some things are universal.

Once back to the Western Wall Plaza, one last look at the modern-day Temple Mount...

... out at the Mount of Olives cemetery...

... and our now beloved ramparts.

Then, a quick taxi to the King David Hotel for lunch and another taxi back to Tel Aviv...exhausted.

Things I remember from the ride back to Tel Aviv:

1)  Dad and Joan caught some sleep (except when they had to buckle-up for the roadblock),
2)  The driver's GPS (upon which he was dependant once inside of Tel Aviv), was "off" by about 50-feet.
This meant he had to stop at each intersection to see if it was going to tell him to turn, and
3)  I spent the entire ride back joking with the driver and having him
alternate between correcting and laughing-at my Hebrew.

The Wedding Pictures

Click Here To See The Wedding Pictures We Took

Click Here To See The Wedding Pictures The Pros Took

Galilee / Kinneret

The now-famous 1-Day Egged Bus Tour to the Galilee.

It starts with a stop in Nazaret at a tourist trap so women can buy wraps to cover their bare legs and shoulders.
Plus, they have every Christian chotsky imagined by artisans of all faiths, and none.
Want a coffee? Sure, it's free! But only 1/4-oz at a time, as you get back on the bus (no seconds).
We didn't buy anything here, but would have loved to have gone to the souk to buy.