Dawn's parents visit

A few days after my St. Patrick's Day post, Dawn's parents arrived for an 8 day visit. We had a great time, but we were all thoroughly exhausted by the end. They arrived on Sunday, March 22nd, and Dawn met them at the airport in Tel Aviv.

On Monday, the 23rd, we visited Tel Be'er Sheva National Park, the ancient site of modern Be'er Sheva's predecessor, and one of two sites in the area claiming to be the location of Abraham's Well. Then we showed them around the campus of Ben Gurion University, followed by a "Meet the Parents" party Monday evening at our apartment.

On Tuesday, we headed to Jerusalem, where we were greeted by rainy, windy weather with temps in the low 50s. Boy, did I feel bad about my weather predictions for their week in Israel! We visited the Museum at David's Tower/The Citadel and cozied down in our youth hostel for the evening after an economical but tasty dinner at an Old City restaurant.

Wednesday we headed to the Western (Wailing) Wall, followed by the Dome of the Rock, which was closed to the public for interior viewing, but we got right up to the mosque itself. Jewish law forbids Jews from visiting the site, which is on the Temple Mount. Following the Dome of the Rock, we visited the Church of St. Anne (mother of Mary), and walked over to the Church at the Garden of Gethsemane, taking time to ascend part way up the Mt. of Olives for the view of the Old City. After a lunch of cheese sandwiches, we caught a taxi back to the bus station and returned to Be'er Sheva, arriving back home shortly after 4 pm.

Thursday morning, Dad and I picked up our rental car while Mom and Dawn finished packing our food and provisions for our Galilee adventure. We left about 9:30 in the morning, navigating through Tel Aviv with just a couple wrong turns. We stopped about 1:00 pm at Meggido National Park, where the ruins of the ancient city on the border of Egypt and Assyria stood. According to the Revelations, this site will be the site of Armageddon, the final battle between Good and Evil. It was also the site of the first recorded battle in history. Then we proceeded on to Tiberias, with a stop at Yardenit, the baptismal site of Jesus on the River Jordan, before arriving at our hotel shortly after 6 pm, checking in, and then finding a good, yet not expensive restaurant in downtown Tiberias to have dinner at, where Dad tried the famous St. Peter's fish, freshly caught from the Sea of Galilee.

Friday we stopped along the shore of the Galilee to dip our feet in the water, before continuing on to the Mt. of Beatitudes. Then, we had lunch at the Capernaum Restaurant (there's only one), where our table overlooked the Sea of Galilee and we once again enjoyed St. Peter's fish. (Mom and Dawn had chicken kebabs). Then, we visited Capernaum, followed by a stop at Tabgha, the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes. All along the way, Mom and Dad picked up souvenirs to take home with them.

Saturday morning we checked out of our Tiberias hotel and drove to Nazareth, where we toured Nazareth Village, a living history village that is supposed the re-create Nazareth as it was during the time of Jesus. Then, having used up most of our energy over the previous days, we headed back to Be'er Sheva, arriving around 4:30 in the afternoon.

Sunday, March 29th, we had a leisurely morning at home, before setting out for the Dead Sea and Ein Gedi National Park just after 11:30. After stopping at a pull-out to enjoy Mom and Dad's first glimpse of the Dead Sea, we continued to Ein Gedi, where we enjoyed our picnic lunch of hummus and pitas, and various fruits and snacks, before setting out on our hike through the oasis past flora, fauna, and waterfalls. We emerged from our hike around 5 pm, and returned to Be'er Sheva.

Monday morning, March 30th, was spent packing up for their trip home, followed by lunch at home, before we set out for the Maine Friendship House in Jaffa, Tel Aviv. Yoni, the overseer of the house, which was restored by Americans interested in preserving the history of Jaffa's American Colony (Jaffa is some 4,000 years old, while Tel Aviv was first founded in 1909), took us on a two and a half hour walking tour of Old Jaffa, passing several interesting art galleries along the way, as well as the outdoor/indoor markets. Along the way, he described the history of Jaffa, before bringing us back to the Maine Friendship house for a tour there. Yoni is a young Israeli artist who utilizes the basement of the restored 1860s house as his art studio, where he paints oils on blackened canvases. The American couple who bought and restored the house belong to the same church as Mom and Dad Ashley, whom they had met at a church world conference some years before. After a wonderful tour, Yoni found us an inexpensive place to enjoy Mom and Dad's first Israeli falafel for dinner, before heading to the airport for their return flight to the U.S.