Today, we left the White Sister’s guest house and brought everything into the bus. Our first destination was Lachish.
Ark of the Covenant stayed here for 18 years
On the way, the local guide told us that the picture above is where the ark of the covenant stayed for 18 years in the time of David. You may remember that when the ark came back to Jerusalem, David danced and became (half) naked.
David and Goliath
Then we also stopped at a point where David and Goliath fought. The picture above is where the Israelites were camping.
Green Green on the west
So far, I’ve never seen the west of hill country before because we went to east side only such as Qumran, Jericho, etc. And first day when we landed on Ben Gurion airport, it was already dark so I could not see anything. On the east side, everywhere is almost wilderness. And today, I was so surprised that the west of hill country is so green. It is such great contrast.
Lachish Wall
At last we went to Lachish. Lachish is the city at the border of Southern Kingdom of Judah, and was conquered by Assyrians in the time of Hezekiah.
Lachish from down under
If seen from down under, it is just another same hill. It is not impressive at all. But you need to go up to find out why it was very important place.
Altar of the Sun
On the way up to the Lachish wall, we saw the temple of Sun built by Canaanites before Israelites came.
View From Lachish
Once you come up to Lachish, you know why it is so important. You can have 360 degree view which means you can control the area. It was Judean military camp and after it conquered, it became Assyrian military base. And even geographically, it is the connecting point between Mesopotamian and Egypt. It is very important place for strategical purpose.
Gate of Lachish
This is the city gate of Lachish. It has three gates and a few chambers where the elders were and where people brought their issues to them.
Lachish Ramp by Assyrians
This is the remain of the Assyrian ramp. I wonder when the Israelites in the Lachish looked down on the Assyrians working and building the ramp, what would they have felt and thought? And what would they prayed for?
Regular size Espresso
And then we went to highway resting area where McDonald’s is with other restaurants. I just had an Espresso coffee. It was good and it was 10 NIS, but it was really small. That cup is half-size of my palm.
Military Training
I saw the military training or doing something a few times. In the resting area, three or four Apache helicopter was hovering around. I even saw a tank travelling on the highway. Of course, this is the land of conflict.
Well of Beersheba
This is the well of Beersheba where Abraham made treaty with the people there, basically saying, “I’ve good to you. So be good and nice to me and to my descendants.” So it is mutual treaty to be nice each other. Now where is the mutual treaty gone?
Bench at the Beersheba Gate
This is the bench between the city gates in the time of Boaz. This is the bench where Boaz sat with ten elders of the town.
Beersheba Downtown
This is half or one thirds of Beersheba from the higher point.
House remain on the wall
This is the remain of the house built upon the city wall of Beersheba. Rahab in Jericho also had a house on the city wall. I think marginal people would have lived on the city wall because it would be dangerous and scary in time of invasion.
Where they store rain water
This is the water reservoir. It is so deep and even down there, there are much space to store water from the rain.
Hagit Beck, Jewish activist
Then we went to Hagit Beck, a Jewish lady in the very nice town of Omer near Beersheba. She is an activist and volunteer member of Machsom Watch. We heard many interesting things from here.
Hyundai Bethlehem
In the town of Bethlehem, I saw a Hyundai. It is always nice to see Korean companies doing well around the world.
Nazi Dental Lab
This is the dental lab right next to the Hotel. We all were surprised by the name of it. Is it what I think it is, or just a personal name. If it is just a personal name, is his/her name just happened to be like this or by purpose?
Saint Gabriel Hotel
This is St. Gabriel Hotel. It is very nice and beautiful. The dinner was buffet, a very very nice one. But my room mate experienced very bad thing here. Well….
