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Jerusalem kitties

This kitty seemed to be reduced to hard times, scavenging in the trash for food.


Someone got a shot of this little fellow coming to me for attention... or perhaps a handout.


He was pretty and friendly, but I doubt Israeli airport security would have let me slip him aboard the plane. Nor would my husband or our two felines taken kindly to the idea.


The market in the old city of Jerusalem


The sights and smells and sounds and colors and tastes of the old city are almost intoxicating!












Kibbutz Ramat Rachel

The grounds were immaculate. We had the opportunity to have a delicious lunch in the kibbutz as well.
I was curious about the last sentence. Apparently, the Mar Elias Monastery is a Greek Orthodox monastery founded in the 6th century. During the battle for Kibbutz Ramat Rachel, it was used as a base for the Arab Legion.





Note the kibbutz kitty at the base of the statue.

The Jesus Boat

In 1986, two brothers who were fishermen and amateur archaeologists discovered a 2000-year-old boat in the Sea of Galilee. It was found when a drought caused the waters of the lake to recede. It is not believed that this boat was used by Jesus and his disciples, but it has come to be called the Jesus Boat as it was built and used during his lifetime and provides us with an idea of how boats of his day would look. The brothers reported their find to authorities, who were faced with the task of removing the fragile remains of the boat before the water again covered the boat as the drought conditions reversed. They worked day and night for nearly two weeks before they succeeded in safely removing the boat. Today it is displayed in the Yigal Alon Museum in Kibbutz Ginosar. The museum overlooks the sea where the brothers first found it.