Herodium, the City of David, Yom HaZikaron...

Another rich day--some highlights = 1. visiting another of Herod's castles - Herodion near Bethlehem in the West Bank (the first being his palace on Masada). It's an active archaeological site and the place where the Bar Kokhba rebellion against Rome took place(133ish CE) . Climbing up through the secret cistern shaft was interesting. Two pictures, one inside and one outside are here. 2. the Church of All Nations; 3. the excavations at the City of David; 4. the fabulous Morrocan restaurant Darna--a feast for the eyes and stomach; and then 5. Memorial Day or Yom HaZikaron at HaKotel, the Western Wall, where Janet, Jerry, & I saw and heard Shimon Peres, prayed Mourner's Kaddish for soldiers lost in the many wars and conflicts since independence in 1948, and sang HaTikvah (National Anthem meaning The Hope). Tomorrow we'll wake up early again. We're tunneled out, so we're trashing our reservations for The Tunnel Tours to catch the train to the Tel Aviv area to celebrate Independence Day (Yom Haatzmaute), hang at the beach, and walk as usual til we drop.