The Jordan Valley; Beit Shean (the largest Roman/Byzantine city uncovered in the middle east); Beit Alfa (one of the earliest kibbutzim - with a fascinating mosaic of the zodiac); Jericho (the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world); go up to Jerusalem. Overnight in Jerusalem.
After a full day of Jeeps and the Jordan River, we were up again bright and early for another full day.
A few of us toured Kibbutz Nof Ginosar then piled into the bus. We said our good-byes to our temporary home and made our way down to Beit Shean. The minute we stepped out of the bus, we noticed incredible ruins. All of us noticed Ancient Bath Houses, Mancala Boards and Pillars. Anything you see in a history book was at Beit Shean. The temperature was at least 98 degrees and everyone was in need of a little cooling off.
From Beit Shean we were privileged to swim at Gan Hashlosha. The hot springs were one of the best stops on the trip. Some of the kids, myself included introduced ourselves to some Israeli boys. They took us to places around the springs with tree branches you could jump off into the water. The highest branch was about 17 meters high!
Once we cooled off, we took a little side trip to Beit Alfa. There were ruins of an old synagogue with a complete mosaic floor. In the center of the mosaic was a picture of the Zodiac. This was weird because the Zodiac is forbidden by both Jews and Christians.
From Beit Alfa we followed along the Jordanian Border down to Jericho. With the temperature rising over 100 degrees and the winds picking up, Jericho was going to be difficult. We made our trip short and sweet. At Jericho we saw an excavated wall and a structure that dated back to over 7500 B.C.E. Nobody understands what the building was or what it was used for.
The winds started picking up so we decided to leave Jericho and begin our ascent on Jerusalem.
We made our way up to Jerusalem in song with Rabbi Mark. We reached Hebrew University and said Shehecheyanu on our first sight of the city Jerusalem. Words cannot describe the overwhelming feeling that comes over you. I was speechless. On Pesach, we always say, next year in Jerusalem, now we're here.
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Acknowledgments:
Despite Everything - Davka
A Starting Point
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