A to Z Challenge: I is for Israel, Internet connections, Ibex, etc.

I should have asked for help with letter “I” – last night, we had a reunion of our Holy Land travelers and I wish I had thought to ask for suggestions for the letter “I” but I didn’t so bear with me.

I is for Israel

Yeah Yeah I know that I is for Israel is sort of a cheat but if you get the chance, go to Israel. Don’t let folks tell you that it is not safe. If you travel with a good agency, they will work hard to keep you safe. Israel is a country of surprises – from beautiful plants to stark desert . . .from blue water in the Mediterranean Sea to bright yellow sunshine.

I is for Internet connections

Yes, Internet connection is indeed a stretch BUT it really matters if you like to blog or email with the folks back home or post pictures on Facebook or Instagram.

Our first hotel, located in Tiberius, provided internet but it was slow, slow, slow. It was the same way when I was there two years ago.  When the group arrives back at the hotel each day everyone is posting and the internet slows down considerably.

Our bus (a Mercedes bus, mind you!) had Wi-Fi and you could post some things from the bus.

Our second hotel in Jerusalem is one of my all time favorite hotels and the internet at that hotel was much better – much faster.

Let me just remind you that we are very spoiled in the US. We are accustomed to fast internet connections.

I is for Ibex

What is an Ibex? It is any of various Old World wild goats – the male has large, backward curved horns and can weigh up to 220 pounds and the female has much smaller horns and usually weighs about half that – 110 pounds or so. I am no expert. I just read these fact on the internet!!

The Ibex live in small herds that have about 20 members in it. The males have a strong odor about them that helps them to mark their territory (no, I did not get close enough to smell this order and I’m glad I didn’t. To be honest, our tour guide did not mention this odor either (probably not a good tourism selling point!!). This smell also enables them to be able to determine dominance in their herds. The males usually live alone and only join a herd for mating purposes. There can be a great deal of fighting and aggression among the males (why is this not surprising to me??).

I mentioned the Ibex on this day and you can see the pictures taken through the bus window by my friend, Jean, here.

I is for Israel Museum

I didn’t visit the Israel Museum but our friends who stayed the extra night did indeed go to the museum so I asked my friend, Laura, to give me a short blurb. Here are her words, “The National Museum of Israel is filled with wonderful artwork done by many of the European classical artists but the most wonderful treasures are the items more historic to the Jewish cultures around the world!  Some of the Dead Sea scrolls found in Qumran are housed in a magnificently designed building whose white dome stands in contrast to the black basalt wall close by, representing the sons of light and the struggle against the sons of darkness.  The Jewish Art and Life wing is filled with all matters of items showcasing Jewish heritage from costuming and jewelry, to ritual scroll ornamentation to reconstructed synagogues.  We could easily have spent the entire day there!”

Just two more quick “I’s”

I is for Invaders

Israel has had a tumultuous past. List to this list of many different invaders:

Assyrians

Babylonians

Persians

Greeks

Maccabees

Romans

Crusaders

Mamelukes

Ottomans

British

Last but not least,

I is for Ill

On our trip two years ago, I think we all stayed healthy! This year, the flu was in full force when we left Alabama. We had several folks come down with the flu during the trip and one person was so ill on the trip home that she spent the entire six hour lay-over in the Chicago airport in the infirmary. Her daughter was traveling with her and they went straight from the Birmingham airport to the ER and she was in the hospital for 10 days. This has NOTHING to do with Israel but everything to do with traveling with a group. Even when sick, these folks didn’t whine and complain and I know they felt horrible. I’m so thankful they all have finally recovered!

footnote: all pictures for today's blog were borrowed from other wonderful people on the  thing we know as "THE internet" -- I didn't plan ahead enough to take pictures of things that begin with "I" while in Israel and in hindsight, I'm glad I didn't take pictures of our sick folks!!