Israel - Sunday - Mevasseret Zion and Jerusalem

Sunday morning, we took a bus from Haifa to Jerusalem, stopping at Mevasseret Zion where Moty Morag, Anat's father, picked us up and took us and our bags to his house.   He served us avatiach  - אבטיח - watermelon, and then we were off to Jerusalem to the Israel Museum.  Entering the city, we saw a huge building-sized poster welcoming Hilary Clinton ["and Release Jonathan Pollard Now"].  Traffic was crazier than I've ever seen it.  More people own cars - the standard of living is definitely higher than when I lived here in 1979 - despite the expense.  Back in Mevaserrat, Moty took us on a local hike to the Sataf spring.  He said that some of the rocks lining the path dated back to Crusader times, some "quite new" - dating back to the early Ottoman Empire in the 17th century.  He also pointed out the burned out hills - there have been arson fires set requiring residents to evacuate - just in the past few weeks.  It caused the most damage since the last Intifada (2000-2005).  Diving into the spring were religious kids stripped down to their skivvies.  Dorit Morag joined us after work - and we headed off to Abu Ghosh for a traditional Arab "tapas" dinner.

Inside the Israel Museum

The Last Supper?

Rodin

Moty with friend at the Israel Museum

Dinner in Abu Ghosh

Israel trail marker

Sataf spring trail, rocks date to Crusader era, or maybe just Ottoman empire

View of Jerusalem light rail from Damascus Gate

Accidental camera angle from Mt. Scopus View point

Hadassah hospital in distance

Sataf spring

Medieval trail in Mevasseret

From the ramparts in the City of David, Old City Jerusalem,
built during the Ottoman Empire in the 16th or 17th century

The Citadel

Entryway at the Morag's