1. This pic was taken with a fisheye lens.  In the foreground you can see a Jewish cemetery where the dead are kept above ground.

2. This guy was offering camel rides but the camel didn't seem too friendly.  Instead we just snapped some pictures with him.  The American was a member of our group.

3. The new Palestinian Army, formed shortly before I went.  I was used as a tactical battlefield consultant.  (ok, not really).

4. Looking deep into desert canyons.  See the roads?  Makes you dizzy.

5. Back to Masada (I didn't order these well).  This ramp is what the Romans built to storm the fortress.  By the time they arrived all 900 or so Jews had committed suicide rather than be taken alive.  To the western mind it may seem a bit odd to honor suicide as valor rather than death in fighting.

6. Everywhere you go in Israel you'll see young men & women in uniform.  Even while out of uniform they have to carry their weapons everywhere.  Although it may seem a bit unsettling, I very quickly became accustomed to it.  All women must serve one year, all men serve two years.

7. This is overlooking Haifa, a quite beautiful city in the north of Israel.  Quite beautiful women there too if I may say so.  (This was confirmed by a local I was chatting with about it who was proud of the fact.  This person wanted to "see America" and so figured on visiting LA in the West and New York City in the East and so "get a real good feel for America."  I had a good laugh and set them straight about that!)

8. Dead Sea bathers.  It's true: you float, it's that salty, that's why there's virtually nothing living in it.  I didn't have my suit with me and really didn't favor spending the rest of the day wearing salty underwear.  Ouch.

9. A serious listening post on the northern border with Lebanon.  I was warned against taking pictures, the guide telling me they'd confiscate my equipment if they caught me.  I crouched down in a bus seat and snapped away.

10. Driving into various zones in the country you're bound to pass by a guard post or three...

11. They really love to build monasteries perched precariously on the edges of cliffs.  I guess it reminds you of your mortality.

12. I realized too late the enormous mistake I made in not taking more pictures of people.

13. This boat was modeled after the original boats from 2000 years ago.  We also ate fish from the sea.  They were disgusting (and I'm a sushi lover).

14. Ancient temple from the time of Christ.  This temple was in an area he frequented, and so he would have visited here often.