National Trust's Endangered Places List

Mid-century hotel, crumbling hangar, historic bridge all make "the list" of threatened places

One of the saddest lists to be issued annual is the National Trust for Historic Preservation's annual list of the country's most endangered places. Some are considered obsolete, in need upgrading or replacing. Sometimes historic places are falling apart due to remoteness, neglect and a lack of money or caring to maintain them. Sometimes it's just the opposite because the land is deemed more valuable to developers than as a physical link to our past. Here are the 11 most endangered places on the 2009 list -- the Trust's 22nd annual list:

Century Plaza Hotel - Los Angeles (right)
Miami Marine Stadium - Miami
Dorchester Academy- Midway, Georgia
Lāna'i City - Lanai, Hawaii
Unity Temple - Oak Park, Illinois
Ames Shovel Shops - Easton, Massachusetts
Memorial Bridge- between Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and Kittery, Maine
Mount Taylor - Grants, New Mexico
Human Services Center - Yankton, Sout Dakota
Cast-Iron Architecture - Galveston, Texas
The Manhattan Project's Enola Gay Hangar -Wendover, Utah

Beguiling Shenandoah Valley Loop Drive

A spring drive through a historic American landscape

Scenic drives were part of my childhood vacations in New England, because my parents' generation, with World War II gas rationing etched into their memories, liked to get into the car and go. Similarly, my first husband was fond of to driving around and sightsee through the car window too.

In my present Colorado life, when my husband and I drive somewhere, it is to do something, not as an end unto itself.

I am visiting cousins in Maryland. She is ill, weak and has serious mobility issues, so as a treat, we took a drive southwestward into the beautiful Shenandoah Valley. And it was a treat for us all. As we left the metro area, we passed blooming beds of roadside daffodils. In the valley, we drove through quaint and charming old towns, past places where Stonewall Jackson's Confederate troops trumped Union soldiers, past historic markers, across the gap where George Washington planned to make his last stand if his Revolutionary army couldn't stand up to the Redcoats, past farms, along the meandering Shenandoah River close to vineyards in this increasingly prominent wine area and through woods where trees were budding and, in some cases blossoming. All this in warm sunshine even as Colorado was blanketed in an impressive (and impressively wet) spring storm.

My cousin's husband, a history buff, narrated interesting facts about Revolutionary and Civil War strategy and battle tactics that took place right there. The stories came to life when the sites were right there. The old buildings -- older than anything in Colorado -- were lovely. The mountains have a gentle roundness but are actually rugged and were more so to 18th and 19th century soldiers. The history is interesting to listen to but frankly more than I am willing to delve into. But beyond

everything touristic and historic, I treasured the opportunity to share this day with cousins whom I care about deeply.

I forgot my camera at home, so I'm grateful that the Shenandoah Valley Web folks have made these available to remind me of this precious day and to share them here.

Travel Thumbnail: Old Idaho Penitentiary

Boise landmark, once a fearful prison, now a tourist attraction and history lesson

This is the eighth of a series of periodic reports on specific places I've visited -- and which you might want see to as well.

The Place: Old Idaho Penitentiary, Boise

The Story: The Old Idaho Penitentiary State Historical Site, located on the outskirts of Boise, functioned as a prison for 101 years. Construction began in 1870 as a single cell house, with the first prisoners incarcerated there in 1872. Inmate laborers expanded it into a complex of several buildings that held, among others, Idaho's most notorious criminals. Until it finally closed in 1973, the Old Pen housed a total of more than 13,000 inmates -- including 222 women prisoners. The maximum population at any one time was 603 inmates. Eleven prisoners were executed there by by hanging. Below, an old image of the Old Pen from the page on the Idaho Historic Society website devoted to the Old Pen.

When visiting the Old Pen, you can watch an 18-minute video and look at small museum's exhibits and then either take a self-guided tour or take a 90-minute guided tour, which I highly recommend. Especially in the summer, the tour guides are historians or historians-in-the-making, largely young people who are studying or have graduated from Boise State College.

Below are some images from my visit:

Cost: The Old Pen is open seven days a week, except state holidays. Memorial Day to Labor Day, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.; Labor Day to Memorial Day, 12:00 noon to 5:00 p.m. Adult,$5; 60 and over, $4; ages 6 to 12, $3; under 6, free. 

Location and information: 2445 Old Penitentiary Road, Boise, Idaho 83712; 208-334-2844.

Palestine: Day 8, Jerusalem

Winding down at the Temple Mount and old city

Our group started our light Day 8 schedule with a tour of the Temple Mount (Haram ash-Sharif in Arabic), At the bottom is Western Wall (Wailing Wall), the last remnant of the Israelites' Second Temple and a sacred to Jews. Men and women, facing the wall, pray separately, and respectful visitors are welcome. The two key Muslim sites flanking a broad plaza built atop of the former temple, are the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock.

Like so many other Holy Land sites, control of the Temple Mount has over time shifted from religion to religion, jurisdiction to jurisdiction and often at great cost of life and/or treasure. King Solomon built the First Temple there in 967 B.C. The Babylonians destroyed it in 586 B.C. Jews rebuilt it as the Second Temple six decades later, but the Romans under Herod first expanded the site and later destroyed the temple in 70 A.D. Emperor Constantine's mother, Helen, was a 4th-century Christian activist who established the nearby Church of the Holy Sepulchre. And did I mention earthquakes?

In the 7th century, Muslims conquered Jerusalem and built the al-Aqsa Mosque and Dome of the Rock. Over time, all or parts of the Temple Mount were under Byzantine, Persian, Jewish,  Crusader, Muslim, British Mandate, Israeli, Jewish and Muslim control. The timeline spans centuries. A visit to the compound in September 2000 by Ariel Sharon of Israel's rightwing Likud Party accompanied by  1with ,000 armed guards infuriated Palestinians. who started hurling stones at Israeli riot police, who in turn tear gas and rubber bullets at the crowd. Sharon's visit set off a five-year Palestinian uprising often called the Second Infitada. The day after Sharon's provocative visit. On September 29, the Israeli government deployed 2,000 riot police to the complex. The prospect of peace hasn't been very encouraging since then.

Since then, it hasn't seemed to take much to set off a confrontation. Whenever archaeologists dig somewhere, they outrage some group. In the last five years alone, Jewish zealots' proposal to build a synagogue on the Temple Mountain infuriated Muslims, and Muslim proposals to add a fifth minaret ticked off Jews. Arabs protested a plan to rebuild an old earthen ramp leading to the Mugrabi gate. When a posse of right-wing Zionist rabbis entered the Temple Mount, provoking Palestinians and also both religious and secular Israelis who decried that particular provocation.,Also. some critics noted that Jews are not supposed to enter the Temple Mount but confine themselves to the Western Wall until the Messiah comes -- or something.

It was against this background that we visited the Temple Mount, again passing airport-style metal detectors, X-rays and bag inspection stations. Day 7 was a Sunday, the Christian sabbath and a "weekday" for Jews and Muslims. The large plaza was largely empty, save for small groups of Muslims reading the Koran or something under shake trees and some sightseers like us. Neither the Dome of the Rock nor the mosque is open to non-Muslims these days, but I can recall which particular incident caused the closure. In the old city beyond the Temple Mount, Christian churches welcomed worshippers from all over the world, while Jewish and Muslim shopkeepers and vendors in the old city welcomed shoppers, also from all over the world.

I reveled in some unscheduled time, sharing some quiet conversation and coffee with a couple of my traveling companions in a shaded cafe. I wandered through the narrow, shop-lined streets for a while. But I bought nothing. In the end, the endless displays of Christianiana made of olive wood, glitzy yarmulkes, rosaries, pottery, T-shirts with slogans like "Guns and Moses," metalwork, religious and secular costume jewelry, keychains, scarves and shawls were oddly dispiriting. I normally love prowling around marketplaces, but I began preparing for re-entry by spending a quiet, somewhat contemplative afternoon in a day room thoughtfully booked for each of us at the Holy Land Hotel.

Security procedures at Tel Aviv Airport were lengthy, as expected, but not excessive or unpleasant. And then, we boarded our Continental plane for the first of our respective flights home.

Palestine Day 7: Ramallah and Ein Areek

Two more faces of Palestine: the capital and a small town with no major landmarks from antiquity

Much of the West Bank and Ramallah in particular remind me of every developing country I have ever visited: Roads in various states of disrepair. Incomplete buildings that are either under construction or abandoned and crumbling. Graffiti. Weed- and litter-choked empty lots. Wrecked cars. Busy markets with small shops open to the street that exemplify the most basic form of capitalism. No big-box stores here. Call it small-box retail.

Roadside repair businesses. Street vendors. Tailors and cobblers working out of impossibly small shops. Storefront doctors and dentists. In short, providers of goods and services that keep a community functioning, along with schools, houses of worship. There are also sparkling office buildings, banks, government buildings, good hotels, high-rise apartment buildings and prosperous residential neighborhoods, symbols of hope for better times to come.

Ramallah

Ramallah, the capital of the Palestinian territories north of Jerusalem, was often in the headlines during the two Infitadas. Originally an agricultural community and primarily a Christian town, its residents were early adopters of resistance, many joining frequent protests, strikes and demonstrations. It is currently the capital of the Palestinian Territories and, if and when Palestine gains independence, it will be the capital of the country.

We started with a lavish poolside buffet breakfast at the Grand Park Resort and Hotel, a pristine property catering largely to business travelers and those with business at consulates in the Palestinian capital. The hotel was built in 1997 as a two-story building and renovated and expanded with three additional floors last year. A large screen was put up in the pool area for World Cup games.

Also, a new Mövenpick Hotel is under construction. The project began in 1999, remained in limbo between 2003 and 2005, was restarted with an anticipated completion date of 2007 and finally seems on track to open fairly soon. The renovation and expansion of one find property and the projected open of another are positive signs that things are getting better in Ramallah, even if progress is sometimes slow.

To Westerners, the name Yasser Arafat is m most often associated with his early years of Palestine Liberation Organization violence. To Palestinians, he not unlike George Washington to Americans or, in fact, David Ben-Gurion to Israelis -- in short, a leader in the battles for their respective independence and the first head of government once it was achieved (or in Palestine's case, partially achieved). Arafat achieved world recognition as a terrorist and was co-laureate with Israel's Itzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres of the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. Peres is still alive and active in government, but Rabin was assassinated by an ultra-Orthodox Jew for his peace-making efforts. A decade later, Israel re-declared Arafat to be terrorist and kept him under house arrest for some two years, releasing him only to die in Paris. His simple mausoleum of Palestine stone and glass remains a pilgrimage place for Palestinians, many of whom are willing to overlook the corruption that the political movement he had started eventually deteriorated into.

The Riwaq Center (Center for Architectural Conservation) is an NGO that seeks to inventory, document, protect, rehabilitate and reuse Palestine's architectural heritage, with the additional benefit of job creation and community involvement. With 50,320 historic buildings in 422 towns and villages, it has already been a Herculean task but one that has already earned it a prestigious UNESCO World Habitat prize in 2006. According to Riwaq's Farahat Mihawee, the immediate priority is to protect 50 of those 422 identified centers and 50 percent of the the historic (i.e., pre-concrete) buildings within them. Sixteen protection plans for cultural heritage protection have been drawn up. Funding is currently available for three out of those 50 priority sites. For visitors interested in antiquities and community, Riwaq's concept of a mapped Cultural Tourism Trail linking traditional villages is in the works with help from a Swedish International Development Agency. 

Ein Areek

We drove to the village or Ein Areek (aka, Ain Arik), where we were welcomed by Father Giovanni Santee of the monastic community of St. Benedict. He has been in the Holy Land (here and in Jordan) for 30 years and is one of three brothers and five sisters who maintain this Catholic church as a "place of prayer and peace." Although they are all original from Italy, as part of their seven hours of daily devotion, they read the Old and New Testaments  pray, say the Rosary and celebrate Mass in Arabic. He says that they maintain good relations with the increasingly Muslim community and also with the local Imam and Orthodox priest. The clerics communicate on social issues, especially education, that affect the community but stay away from each others' theologies. He says there are "no fundamentalists" in the village and that neighbors have "lived together for centuries."

Back to Jerusalem

Even after short time in the gentle tranquility of Ein Areek, it was a shock to return to Jerusalem passing yet another choked checkpoint, aggressive graffiti on the wall, children who should be in school hawking CDs and occasionally throwing rocks, and a tattered United Nations flag flying over a World Food Program warehouse.

This was the last full day of touring the West Bank.

Palestine: Day 6: Wadi Qilt and Jerusalem

Wadi Qilt, a final desert drive and the last checkpoint into Jerusalem

At a Society of American Travel Writers' conference in Israel a quarter of a century ago, Wadi Qlt (or Wadi Qelt) was the first stop out of Jerusalem en route to several days of hiking and camping in the Judean and Negev Deserts. Back then, we drove to spot a spot directly below St. George's Monastery -- it might have been by van or by US Army surplus personnel carriers that made their way through the Israeli Army to an outfitter called Desert Safari that might no longer exist. 

I can't rememver how we reached the inner Wadi Qilt canyon to visit the Monastery of St. George of Koziba, a 5th-century Greek Orthodox structure built against the canyon walls -- much like Jericho's Mt. Temptation Monastery, but it was the first I had ever seen other than in a book or travelogue. Wadi Qilt is also the site of an ancient synagogue dating from the first century B.C. and part of a Maccabean winter palace. I don't recall the synagogue (I'm not even sure whether it had been excavated then), but we visited the monastery and took a short hike along a shaded trail. I was still living back East and was unfamiliar with deserts, deep canyons and oases where there is a source of water, so this was all new climatic territory for me.

Flickr photo

Wadi Qilt

Since then, there has been considerable road damage to the route into the canyon, and it is impassable by bus. The Israeli government, which enthusiastically builds fine highways to its settlements, hasn't repaired the road leading to this landmark monastery on land that is still in Palestinian hands -- and neither has the Palestinian Authority. This time, the bus could reach a pullout with a short trail leading to a Wadi Qlt overlook. A few Bedouins were selling jewelry (lots of camel bone), scarves and miscellaneous souvenirs. Business isn't too good these days. I bought camel-bone earrings and a white scarp, which our guide Wasim (below, bottom image) said that, judging by the label, probably came from Iran.

Jerusalem
As we approached Jerusalem, traffic built up and finally crawled on the apporach to the city. We stopped at an overlook on the Mount of Olives for a view over the Old City of Jerusalem, which from a distance looks peaceful and harmonious. We then walked down a steep paved route. Partway down, we passed  through a tranquil garden to Dominus Flevit, a small, tear-drop-shaped church that represents Jesus' tears as he looked over the Kidron Valley toward the city and wept for the destroyed Second Temple. In the church, a nun was reading for a small group of worshippers, who than sang a gentle Hallelujah!

The lower slopes of the Mount of Olives is covered with shoulder-to-shoulder graves, because in Christian belief that Jesus will return to Jerusalem, and in Jewish belief when the Messiah comes, it will be to Jerusalem and the Kidron Valley. It seems that everyone wants a prime spot for event. While a sister conducted a service at Dominus Flevis, the only people at the nearby Jewish cemetery where black-clad men, praying at graves. There is also a Moslem cemetery on the lower slopes of the Mount of Olives.

We continued down to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus prayed following the Last Supper and where Judas betrayed him. Ancient olive trees and lovely flowers make this a tranquil spot. The Church of All Nations stands beside the garden. One can only wish that the reality of Jerusalem mirrored the implication of that church's name, but it is a city full of religious and political contention.

We entered the old city via the Arab Quarter and walked its narrow lanes, following the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, that today encompass the sites of Jesus' crucifixion and burial. Writing in hindsight, this section of Arab Quarter is less congested than the Christian Quarter, and there appear to be proportionally more residents and fewer souvenir shops.

The original church that dates back to the fourth century was damaged in the seventh century, destroyed in the 11th century and soon reconstructed. The cavernous basilica was seriously damaged by fire in the early 19th century, though considering the amount of stone, it is difficult to understand how. It is a complicated place -- a church within a church built over other, older churches and small churches and chapels annexed to the main. Every one is presided over by a different denominations, and despite the obvious devotion shown by hordes of pilgrims from the world over, it is a contentious place rather than a place of peace.

  

In truth, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is the focal point for unholy tussles among a number of Christian denominations. The Greek Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic and Roman Catholic churches each control large parts of the complex, and one order of Eastern Rite monks has been living on the roof for centuries. Competing denominations have even come to blows. In 2002, a Coptic monk assigned to a spot on roof to maintain some kind of ancient claim on Ethiopian place moved his chair from its official position into the shade, which the Ethiopians took as an affront. A monastic brawl broke out, and 11 were monks hospitalized.

As recently as 2008, there were two clashes that sank into violence. On Palm Sunday, a brawl erupted  when a Greek monk was kicked out of the building by religious rivals and the police called to control the disturbance were attacked by the brawlers. In November, Armenian and Greek monks fought over something during the Feast of the Holy Cross. If Jesus did return, I believe he'd send them all to bed without supper.

The Jews don't behave any better toward one another. On June 17, two days before our group's depature for this trip, literally thousands of Israeli police were deployed in Jerusalem in an ugly dispute about court-ordered "integration" of the Beit Yaakov girls’ school in a West Bank settlement. Ultra-Orthodox Ashkenazi (Jews of European origin) parents defied the ruling forcing them to send their daughters to school with ultra-orthodox Sephardic girls (Middle East origin). The day we were traveling to Israel/Palestine, what was reported as hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews battled riot police, again in Jerusalem, to protest against the city's decision to open a municipal parking lot on the Jewish Sabbath, which they view as desecration of the day.

Discord aside, of course, there was food in Jerusalem. We enjoyed another abundant lunch buffet at the Golden Walls Hotel in East Jerusalem and a talk by Father Attala Hannah aarchbishop of the of the Greek Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, and after checking in to the Ritz Hotel, walked over to the Jerusalem Hotel Garden Restaurant for dinner to the sounds traditional, though over-amplified, Middle Eastern music. It was our last night in the Holy Land, and thoughout the trip, I felt personally safe, even walking through the dimly lit streets of East Jersusalem to and from dinner. centuries of contention, conflict and violence continue to this day.

Palestine: Day 5, Part 1: Galilee, Jordan River Valley and Jericho

From the lush Galilee to the parched Negev Desert

After the blinding light and barenness of the desert, Galilee green soothes the eyes and lifts the spirit. Much of the water that drains out of the south end of the lake and used to replendish the Jordan River's flow is now diverted for irrigation, causing the Dead Sea's level to drop.

Sea of Galilee
Galilee is the name of a huge lake and lush agricultural area in northern Israel and Palestine. It and the Jordan River Valley are the two nation's breadbaskets. Olive trees grow in dry, rocky soil, but just about everything else needs water and therefore grows in the Galilee. Christian pilgrims head for the Church of Beatitudes, an octagonal church set amid beautifully landscaped grounds on the north end of the lake. This enchanting locale was were Jesus is said to have given the Sermon on the Mount, Nearby, in the fishing village of Cana, he performed the Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes.

The Jordan River Valley and Jericho

Continuing south and paralleling the river, we passed into territory controlled by the Palestinian Authority. The farms looked ever rougher and less sophisticated. Eventually we entered the desert (below) and later drove up and over a sandy hill and here was the oasis where Jericho is located. It lays claim to being the oldest city on earth. It intends to celebrate its 10,000th anniversary on 10/10/2010, a clever date. No plans are in place yet, however, so it might come off --- and maybe not. Jericho is the lowest city in elevation on the planet. We experienced searing desert heat at 1,200 feet below sea level on a sunny day in almost-July.

As always, stay tuned for more.

Palestine: Day 4, Part 2: Nazareth

Nazareth remains one of the world's major Christian pilgrimage centers, plus it's got a disco

As the site of Christ's birth and, equally important, a Palestinian town in Israel rather than in the Occupied Territories, Nazareth is set up for day-tripping tourists from Jerusalem, including the Nativity Village I wrote about previously.

Nazareth

As is so often the case in the Holy Land, Nazareth boasts a number of sites built and maintained by various denominations celebrating the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to Mary telling her that she would give birth to a very special child. Nazareth is also the city of Jesus' early years. Our group had time to visit only two -- and in the context of this land of old stones and ancient buildings, both are quite new.

The Basilica of the Annunciation, an enormous two-level Roman Catholic church on the site where Mary's home is believed to have been located. Consecrated in 1969, it is a contemporary structure with a large lower level built where many people can mill about. Small groups can reserve a sunken chapel-size area to hold their own services (below, top photo), and there is also an opening in the floor to reveal a beautiful mosaic floor from a fifth-century Byzantine church, one of several at that location. The nave of the upstairs church (middle photo) features depictions of the Madonna and Child that were given by Roman Catholics in countries from around the world -- each in the style of the country (bottom image, Japan). Outside, ruins of a Crusader church are also visible.

St. Gabriel's Church is an alternative site where the Angel Gabriel told her that she was pregnant with the Son of God. Work on this opulent Greek Orthodox church began, was stopped for decades, restarted and completed in the late 20th century. Visitors can sip water hand-drawn from a 125-foot deep well in a grotto under the church or buy items in the tiny gift shop.

My guidebooks indicate that Nazareth, the largest Palestinian town within Israel, is lively and has a great old market. But we were on a tight schedule, so we never saw it, but we did pass several other denominations' churches in the town where Joseph had his workshop and where Jesus grew up.

Another opulent dinner -- this time with whole St. Peter's fish from the Sea of Galilee as the entree -- was at La Fontana de Maria Restaurant, a large, attractive eatery. When we left, we heard blaring music from a disco down the street that demonstrates that not everything in the Holy Land is ancient or restrained.

Then, up up the mountain to the St. Gabriel Hotel, once a convent or monastery, with small, simple and dim guest rooms (below). The foot of the bed and the desk are so close that I had to lift the chair over the bed in order to work at the desk -- and I had to climb over the bed to sit on the chair. Who says travel writers always are accommodated in shameless luxury?

Palestine: Day 4, Part 1, Sebastia, Checkpoint Hassles and Nazareth

Excursion into antiquity marred by arbitrary stop at Israeli checkpoint

What should have an easy trip from Nablus to Nazareth via modern highway was marred by a one-hour delay at a sizable checkpoint and an unexpected detour.

Sebastia
Sebastia, now a sleepy rural town in the hills above Nablus, traces six cultures spanning some 10,000 years: Canaanite, Israelite, Hellenistic, Herodian, Roman and Byzantine plus "modern." It was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Herod the Great -- a great builder but a cruel and blood-thirsty ruler in other respects -- created the city of Sebaste on the site. On the outskirts are drive-to ruins of a grand public building with a shuttered cafe next to it. So many ancient sites are understandably roped off to protect them from crowds, visitors can roam freely among the remnants of walls and columns.  A short loop trail leads up a hill past a Roman amphitheater, a small Crusader chapel and other ruins.

In the small village itself are the remains of a Crusader church , where John the Baptist was supposedly beheaded. The grotto is currently being stabilized.

A deep excavation shows an ancient Roman cemetery (below). The wooden frame remains from a pulley system used to hoist up artifacts that now reside in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. We did not have time to descend the stairs to see the cemetery more closely.

Checkpoint Hassles
As we were heading to Nazareth in Galilee, we were held up for an hour at a highway barrier checkpoint near the settlement of Ari'el, one of the hundreds of Israeli checkpoints that erupt from the Palestinian landscape like festering wounds. I often have been critical of the US Transportation Security Agency, but TSA screeners are amateur hasslers compared with the Israeli Army.,Often young, always armed soldiers are empowered to make arbitrary decisions about who may pass and who may not, who is searched and who is not. At small checkpoints, there are often only two soldiers, immediately answerable to no one. At larger checkpoints, there may be more soldiers and some kind of chain of command.

At the checkpoint near Air'el, our bus -- 14 American visitors, one Canadian, three Israeli Palestinians (including the driver) and one West Bank Palestinian with a permit to enter -- was diverted to a special screening area. We were asked to get off the bus and bring all our luggage -- the bigger pieces under the bus and all of our carryons -- to be X-rayed. Laptops were checked twice. We had to open our suitcases, and one of the guards poked around every one, riffling through the pages of books and generally wasting time by looking for things that were not there. We had to walk through a metal detector. In the end, our West Bank friend, who I repeat has a permit to enter enter Israel, was denied admittance through that checkpoint. We were ordered around politely. I suspect that Palestinians are not treated politely at all.

Our friend waited at the checkpoint while the driver continued to the next exit, turned around to pick him up and then took a long detour to another smaller checkpoint where the soldiers glanced at our assorted passports and IDs and let us through. The detour through stark and arid Bedouin country reminded me of Navajo Nation land. It was interesting to see, but it was not because the Army wanted us visitors to go sightseeing in an area we would have missed. It was simply to harass the Palestinians.

Nazareth
When we finally arrived in Nazareth in time for a late lunch and truncated tour at the Nazareth Village, an excellent living-history recreation of life in the this area at the time of Christ. It is the brainchild of the Herschend family, key developers in Branson, Missouri, and therefore is done very well. We sat on rough benches and ate food from that time brought by servers in period dress. There was soft round, chewy unleavened bread similar to a tortilla, delicious, lentil soup, chicken and vegetables all served rough pottery vessels.

The interpretive tour was guided by a young theology student from California, who was not in period garb. He took us through the recreated home, meeting house that served as a community gathering place and synagogue, workshop and showed how olives were pressed back then. We were so late that we didn't have time to visit the agricultural area.

More later on the Church of the Annunciation, lodging and dinner in Nazareth.