The Greek Islands Aegina

We caught the metro to the port and boarded one of the many ferries travelling to the Argo-Saronic Islands. Angina is the closest island to the mainland and took one hour and twenty minutes to reach on a very nice ferry about half the size of the inter-islander.The weather was quite cool being winter,so could only imagine what it would be like in summer,the water was clear , and the island is famous for pistachio nuts which are for sale everywhere.The Cyclades are what everyone thinks of as quintessentially Greek White villages and blue-domed churches,these islands are further  out to sea.We still enjoyed our island excursion.

Athens Part 1

With the adventure nearing an end we started our return home with four days sightseeing in this ancient city. We are in walking distance to the Acropolis and for me more exciting to Mars Hill where the Apostle Paul preached in Acts 17 . The photo shows the huge solid rock which in Greek is called Areopagus.

Mars Hill!

Outside our hotel!

The Golan Heights

We joined  with some locals from Lavon and had a lovely walk through some abandoned Syrian houses when the land was returned to Israel in the 1967 war, interestingly enough when the Syrians were there they still called the area Yehudiya. The walk took us down a steep gorge were we had lunch and in the afternoon we returned and visited Amitai and Anat and family. We had a great day exploring the 'Golan Heights' and catching up with old friends.

Yehudiya waterfall!

Nazareth

Spent a wonderful day with Dalia and Efi Cohen (our friends whom we have been living with this past week) exploring Nazareth and its surrounding areas. Luke 4:29 speaks of the hill where the crowd tried to push Jesus over the cliff, Mt Precipice. This may have been the place where this event occurred, either way the view was majestic. Mt Tabor where the transfiguration happened could be seen in the distance, Mathew 17.
        Recent renovations to the Russian Orthodox Church uncovered a labyrinth of ancient Jewish caves/ houses beneath the surface with tunnels used for hiding from the Romans. This was a highlight. A Jewish saying is "you cannot dig anywhere without having your ancestors on your back "
       We had lunch with Shaked Cohen, falafel of course....

The Bedouin

This afternoon Liz and I wandered over the hills and watched the Bedouin who were tending their goats in amongst the rocks. They are based nearby in a small community and it makes for an interesting walk.

The North Of Israel

Have spent the last week  staying with our friends in Lavon, exploring the local sights, and relaxing. Yesterday we visited a nearby Druze village and had breakfast cooked for us by a lovely Druze lady called Zina; She rises every morning and prepares and bakes pita bread from home. We explored the village and then returned to her house and drank coffee, she had roasted the beans herself. Peki'in was the name of the village.Kabala was started in a local cave by a Rabbi in hiding for twelve years following the Barkochva revolution in AD132. We ate from the carob tree in front of the cave. There is a Jewish lady living in the town. Her family has been living  there since the revolution, her family name is Zeynatis.        

                                                             

Jerusalem

Our apartment for the week was 15 minutes walk to the old city. We overlooked the Hinom valley and could see the Mount of Olives. As a base it was great, one day we walked to David's city and walked through Hezekiahs tunnel, at times during the half kilometre trek we were thigh deep in water. Another day we drove to the Dead Sea for a warm float and then afterwards crossed the road to En Gedi. The Dead Sea always fascinates me as in the bible in Ezekiel 47.10 prophesies that the Dead Sea will one day be full of fish. We enjoyed getting lost in the markets, the Orthodox Jews at the wailing wall, and the hustle and bustle of different cultures. We visited the garden of Gethsemene and walked over the Mount of Olives. Had an interesting discussion with a religious Jew, I asked him the significance of the strange hand signals on some of the tomb stones. He told me that he was a Cohen and that sign is put on the graves of Cohens; he allowed me to take his photo and share the good news with him.