Ancient Gamla (Israel) Ravine of Death

Written by Cymber Quinn


Ancient Gamla (Israel) Ravine of Death

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On my second trip to Israel my in-laws treated me like royalty. I wasrepparttar new family member, visiting from a faraway land. My sister-in-law, Nava, took three weeks off work, and she and her 18-year-old daughter, Karni, showed me northern Israel.

Together, we sawrepparttar 133749 Banias,repparttar 133750 headwaters ofrepparttar 133751 Jordan River. We splashed aroundrepparttar 133752 Kinneret, known to me asrepparttar 133753 Sea of Galilee. Downrepparttar 133754 road at Megiddo,repparttar 133755 place of Armageddon, I watched with eeriness as Israeli fighter jets maneuvered overrepparttar 133756 valley that is said to fill with blood onrepparttar 133757 Judgment Day. As we traveled, I peered in torepparttar 133758 faces ofrepparttar 133759 people around me, trying to understand why Israelis are so nervous about peace withrepparttar 133760 Arabs.

One day, we stumbled across a less-visited archaeological site inrepparttar 133761 Golan Heights - Gamla, just 11 kilometers fromrepparttar 133762 Syrian border. On that hill site, on that hot August day, I began to understand.

I climbed torepparttar 133763 top ofrepparttar 133764 hill and rested. Yes, I thought, this hill does look likerepparttar 133765 back of a dromedary, since "gamla" isrepparttar 133766 Hebrew word for "camel." It was desolate there inrepparttar 133767 100-degree heat. Locals didn't want to makerepparttar 133768 15- minute walk fromrepparttar 133769 parking lot ofrepparttar 133770 Yehudiya Reserve; Nava and Karni waited for me inrepparttar 133771 shade at a covered picnic table recently built byrepparttar 133772 Nature Reserve Authority. They weren't interested in viewing yet another memorial to Jewish grief. As denizens of Jerusalem, they lived withrepparttar 133773 memories of allrepparttar 133774 Jewish losses.

I walked alone aroundrepparttar 133775 site, but I didn't feel lonely. Pale winds tussledrepparttar 133776 low grass onrepparttar 133777 southern hillside behind me. Torepparttar 133778 west, inrepparttar 133779 distance,repparttar 133780 Kinneret must of gently lapped at its shore, but I couldn't hear it. Inrepparttar 133781 north-side ravine at my feet, onlyrepparttar 133782 flapping of eagle and vulture wings brokerepparttar 133783 deathly silence. Fromrepparttar 133784 empty air roserepparttar 133785 silent cries of 9,000 Jews who lost their lives at Gamla nearly 20 centuries ago. Their living and their dying was a microcosm of Jewish history.

The park brochure said that in 66 A.D.,repparttar 133786 citizens of Gamla struggled againstrepparttar 133787 Romans. They found in solidarity with their brothers and sisters who were under attack in Jerusalem. And likerepparttar 133788 Jews farther south,repparttar 133789 Gamlans eventually could not resistrepparttar 133790 Roman might. In a brutal, one-day slaughter that delugedrepparttar 133791 southern-sloped city with blood, Roman warriors hacked, stabbed, and speared 4,000 Gamlans to death. The other 5,000 fled torepparttar 133792 camel hump - where I stood and rested - out of range ofrepparttar 133793 spears and arrows. However,repparttar 133794 Romans had them pinned and advanced torepparttar 133795 apex. In desperation,repparttar 133796 Gamlan men threw their wives and children and then themselves intorepparttar 133797 ravine below. All 5,000. In one day - onrepparttar 133798 23rd of Tishri byrepparttar 133799 Jewish calendar - in early autumn,repparttar 133800 entire city was obliterated, lost torepparttar 133801 Jews, left torepparttar 133802 elements.

As I stomped throughrepparttar 133803 powdery dirt that blackened my sandaled feet, I felt a growing sense of familiarity, fear, and awe. Atrepparttar 133804 western edge, nearrepparttar 133805 precipitous drop, I crawled into someone's home. I peeked hopefully for a sign of habitation, knowing that allrepparttar 133806 valuables were taken in 1978 when major excavations were completed. Still, as I sipped from my water bottle inrepparttar 133807 dilapidated house, I imagined a family gathered for "aruchat tzhorohim," - lunch. It was a small celebration filled with giggling children, chatty neighbors, a husband and wife quitting work inrepparttar 133808 midday heat, gathering, sharing, loving, living.

When I could see no more of this vision, I stepped in torepparttar 133809 sun, feelingrepparttar 133810 steep southern slope slipping away from my feet. Through squinted eyes, I saw a hillside packed with lovely terraced garden homes, each one independent yet connected, each one with a breathtaking view ofrepparttar 133811 gorge,repparttar 133812 Kinneret, andrepparttar 133813 eagles.

Closer torepparttar 133814 main gates and east ofrepparttar 133815 homes, I shuffled along a three-meter wide, smoothly polished black basalt road. The stones had been carefully carved and placed, forming a large, open porch abutting several store fronts. In this,repparttar 133816 commercial district, a vibrant community traded in goods and services. Here, neighbors gathered with their daily harvests. Together they worked to create and distribute olive oil,repparttar 133817 lifeblood ofrepparttar 133818 community.

Vintage War Birds and the Spruce Goose at the Evergreen Museum

Written by Robert LaGrone


Vintage War Birds andrepparttar Spruce Gooze – Evergreen Museum Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com Read this entire feature FREE with photos at http://www.jetsettersmagazine.com/archive/jetezine/sports02/adventure/flight/evergreen/evergreen.html

Old barns drift by as I drive southwest on Highway 99W from Portland. I am in Oregon’s scenic Willamette Valley, and from Highway 18 I start looking for a huge new A-framed building nestled in a broad vineyard near McMinnville. Followingrepparttar 133748 signs, I drive uprepparttar 133749 curving access road untilrepparttar 133750 high glass front ofrepparttar 133751 building looms above me. Staring out from behindrepparttar 133752 windows isrepparttar 133753 Spruce Goose.

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