A Morning of Sightseeing and Hiking

Shoshi Baum Tropper, IMPACT Israel youth instructor, and Binyamin Tropper, her husband and professional tour guide, picked Mark and me up on Wednesday morning.
We traveled south of Jerusalem, crossing the green line, the pre-1967 boundary that distinguishes Israel and the territories captured during the Six-Day War or 1967 Arab-Israeli War. Because we were traveling with Israelis, being near or just over the Green Line made little difference in our travels—although Binyamin was well aware of which side of the green line we were on at all times. Palestinians who live near the line are also mindful of where they are as they move about.


Herodium Ruins

We visited Herodium National Park, south of Jerusalem and east of Bethlehem and on the edge of the Judean Desert. The palace and surrounding area was built by King Herod between 23 and 15 BCE (before the common era). In lower Herodium, there is a bathhouse, a swimming pool, and the ruins of a Byzantine village. Upper Herodium is at the top of the hill.

View from Herodium National Park

We then made our way to Wadi Faran (wadi refers to a valley or ravine that is dry except in the rainy season), the location of the first monastery in the Judean desert. As we began our walk, I noticed that Binyamin was wearing a firearm. My fleeting thought was I had never taken a hike with someone carrying a gun.


Wadi Faran

The stark but breath-taking views quickly took my attention. St. Chariton, an ascetic monk, found Wadi Faran a peaceful place for prayer and meditation. As we walked we saw openings for ancient monk cells in the cliff walls.






Ancient Monk Cells

We stopped at a large flat rock where Shoshi and Binyamin prepared Turkish coffee and brought out chocolate wafers. I don’t drink coffee and mostly drank water, but even I couldn’t resist the delicious aroma of the Turkish coffee and had a taste. We climbed a bit and went into a cave—amazing how long it seemed to take to go into the cave with a small flashlight and a cell phone to guide the 4 of us and then how it seemed to take no time to get back out. We returned to El Halev and ate a wonderful lunch that Shoshi and Binyamin had prepared. What a lovely morning!


Time for a snack

Take-away: I am conscious of the privileges and comforts I had while traveling as a guest of Israelis. Although we did not participate in any political discussions while in Israel, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was often in my mind.