We started our day with a visit to Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial dedicated to the 6 million innocent victims.
Next came the Herzel museum and the Military Cemetery to pay respect to the fallen heroes of Israel and learn a bit about Theodore Herzel.
Finally the biblical landscape reserve of Neot Kedumim. Hundreds of varieties of biblical and Talmudic plants, ancient and reconstructed olive and wine presses, threshing floors, cisterns and rituals baths make this park a "Garden of Wisdom". We were shown how Olive oil was made, how wheat was separated from the stalk and then ground into flour, and planted trees in honor of Robbie's Bar Mitzvah.
This day was truly an experience none of us will forget.
Date(s): July 2, 2008. Album by Kristin and Will. Photos by Kris and Will. 1 - 103 of 103 Total. 538 Visits.
1 Yad Vashem The Holocaust Museum memorial/museum.
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17 The garden memorial to the children who passed in the Holocaust.
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19 Looks like Ken made a friend at the Herzel Museum.
20 Military Cemetery gardens.
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22 Will snuck a photo of me.
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25 There is a square in NY that Will and I wait for each other after work, named after her.
26 The security wall separating the West Bank. We were in zone C which is protected by Israel. "Everybody duck" View Comments...
27 Check point
28 A well protected prison.
29 Arab Villages
30 Armored trucks.
31 One of the watch towers.
32 Jewish settlements, and across the way...
33 Arab villages.
34 Olive grove.
35 Neot Kedumim So beautiful. Will and I really like this place a lot :-)
36 A reconstructed Olive press hut. The stone inside was an original, but it was placed in this reconstruction.
37 Pressing Olives... you're doing it wrong. Will was on the wrong end of this lol.
38 The heavy stone was used to crush even the pits of the olives to get every last drop of oil out.
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40 The 'must' was then spread on these baskets and then piled on top of each other. As they sat, oil would drip out and be collected.
41 Olive Must
42 Olive pressing baskets.
43 The press for the baskets.
44 Mmmm olives!
45 An ancient way of making only enough olive oil during Shmita for your basic needs. During Shmita, farmers are forbidden from working their lands, to let the land regenerate over the year. You can only take enough for you and your family's needs if you haven't already from the previous year.
46 This sign pretty much says it.
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48 Unripe Olives, they are ripe when they turn black :-)
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50 Fig trees, there's something we're familiar with, we have a ton of these growing in our back yard. I had to tie them away from the tomatoes already this year!
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52 Will thought it would be funny to show my 'hiking shoes'. I didn't know I'd need sneakers otherwise I would have brought them.
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55 The waterwheel.
56 Grapes
57 Pomegranates! My favorite fruits!
58 Me writing with a reed pen and ink, as the ancient scribes used to.
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60 Will gives pushing the wheel a try.
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62 Jackie wanted to try too.
63 water flowing from the wheel.
64 Will sways in the wind just like the reeds lol.
65 Unripe Figs. When they are ripe, they are black :-)
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69 The water wheel shack covered in grape vines.
70 Pomegranate flower.
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72 The waterwheel and man-made lake.
73 Date Palms
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75 Will and I planted a carob tree!
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77 Farmer Will plops the seeds in.
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79 Barbara planting is planting a tree as well :-)
80 Allie and Sarah try their hands at planting trees. I think they were planting an oak tree.
81 Pomegranates and the little note I wrote with the reed pen.
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83 The wheat threshing floor.
84 Will helps set up mortar and pestals with Hyssop for us to grind. It's a member of the Oregano family and smelled great. We managed to bring some home :-)
85 Hyssop waiting to be ground up.
86 Will grinding up the hyssop. This was probably one of his favorite parts lol.
90 Will with his fresh ground hyssop... yes it looks like a dime bag lol. "15 bucks little man" View Comments...
91 Semi group shot.
92 Family photo
93 Doing what a woman would have done 2500 years ago, grinding wheat into flour. Except the woman 2500 years ago would have been doing this for 3 hours!
94 The wheat goes in the whole in the middle, and you turn the stone.
95 Will wanted to try his hand a woman's job lol. Women must have had some seriously muscular arms back them.
