Why do I love it when friends come to visit? Because it actually gets me away from my computer, dirty dishes, dirty laundry and drudgery to the land that I long for: the Holy Land.
Living in the Land does not guarantee one immunity from the daily chores that mothers of many are required to complete in any given day. Even in the spiritual capital of the world washing machines and dryers break down, leaks reveal themselves in warped paint, and children "die" of boredom. The latter would make one wonder why.
Just 50 meters from my garden sits ruins from the Ottoman Empire. And just 20 kilometers from my home sits Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park, whose quiet beauty spans over 1200 acres.
Living in the Land does not guarantee one immunity from the daily chores that mothers of many are required to complete in any given day. Even in the spiritual capital of the world washing machines and dryers break down, leaks reveal themselves in warped paint, and children "die" of boredom. The latter would make one wonder why.Just 50 meters from my garden sits ruins from the Ottoman Empire. And just 20 kilometers from my home sits Beit Guvrin-Maresha National Park, whose quiet beauty spans over 1200 acres.
"At a high point in the park is Tel Maresha, the highest city in the Judean Lowlands. It was fortified by King Rehoboam of Judah following the campaign to the region of the Egyptian Pharaoh Shishak: “And Rehoboam...built cities for defense in Judah...Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph” (2 Chron. 11:5-8).
The city reached its height during the Hellenistic period (third-second centuries BCE). The Hasmonean king, John Hyrcanus conquered the city in the second century BCE and forcibly converted its inhabitants. During the Roman period the inhabitants of Maresha abandoned it, building the city of Bet Guvrin nearby and transforming the latter into the capital of the region of western Idumea.
The city reached its height during the Hellenistic period (third-second centuries BCE). The Hasmonean king, John Hyrcanus conquered the city in the second century BCE and forcibly converted its inhabitants. During the Roman period the inhabitants of Maresha abandoned it, building the city of Bet Guvrin nearby and transforming the latter into the capital of the region of western Idumea.
Bet Guvrin was an important city in the Crusader era as well. Eventually, the Arab village of Beit Jubrin was established among its ruins. It was abandoned during Israel’s War of Independence in 1948."
- Israel Nature and Parks Authority
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My friend and his camera from suburban New York relished every moment in the caves and among the ruins of the ancient Roman military post that have undergone extensive excavation and sit directly across the street from Bet Guvrin-Maresha's entrance. My 18 year-old son and our dog frolicked, albeit dangerously, leaping from stone to stone with abandon.
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