Tel Aviv & Jerusalem

My flight from Addis finally landed in Tel Aviv at 2:30AM (apparently they fly at night for security reasons) on December 9th. After an hour getting through passport control and then getting ripped-off by a cabbie who turned the meter off when I fell asleep in the back seat, I finally got to my hotel around 4 in the morning. Now, I know I should have gotten up and spent my one free day in Tel Aviv sight-seeing, but I just slept instead. The next day (Thursday), I took a cab to Tel Aviv University to study Qafzeh 9, Amud, and Ohallo 2. After work I took a scenic 30 mile cab ride to Jerusalem, where I was scheduled to work at the Rockefeller Museum the following Monday.

My hotel in Jerusalem was located in the Arab neighborhood right next to the Rockefeller and across from Herod's Gate. I spent the entire weekend wandering the winding streets of the Old City. I followed the path Christ carried the cross on the Via Dolorosa, ending at Golgotha and the Church of the Holy Sepluchre. I visited the pools of Bethesda, the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives, and King David's Tomb. I said a prayer at the Western Wall, and strolled through the ruins of the Jerusalem Archaeological Park. On Monday, I hauled my gear across centuries old cobblestone sidewalks to the Rockefeller Museum to study the Zuttiyeh and Skhul 4 fossils. My flight left late on Tuesday, so I spent the morning roaming the Temple Mount around the Dome of the Rock (it's closed Friday through Sunday). Around 4 pm, I passed through the bustle of the suq to exit through the Damascus Gate and headed to the airport. It was sad leaving Jerusalem, it was an unbelievable experience.