New (Jewish) Year in Bet She'an

Sounds of the Shofar being blown filled the air as we welcomed the 5723rd Jewish new year (Rosh Hashanah) while we watched the sun set from some friends' balcony. The next day, in an attempt to take advantage of the day off of work, we headed north for a quick day trip.

Having been surprised to learn that Israeli National Parks were open for visitors during the new year holiday, we decided to utilize our parks pass (on which my name is officially noted as: "James Baulmer") to visit Bet She'an National Park. 

Located at the intersection of the Jezreel & Jordan valleys, Bet She'an (or Beth Shan, as it may be called in your Bible) has been inhabited for more than 5000 years. You may have read of Beth Shan in 1 Samuel 31, which details how the Philistines fastened King Saul's body to the city wall after killing him on Mount Gilboa. 

Here is a picture of Bet She'an. The older ruins are up on the hill (or "tel"). In fact, 20 layers of civilizations have been found on the tel. The ruins in the foreground are from the Roman city called Scythopolis. That's Jordan in the far background. 

Here is part of the refurbished Roman Theater. It held 7000 people. We learned that there were more than 8000 theaters in the Roman Empire--located all over the Mediterranean region. 

 Random shot. Yes, I was there. 

Nicki was there, too...and it was hot!

This was taken up on the "tel". These are the super-old ruins. The hills in the background are Jordan. 

This is looking east towards Jordan from the top of Tel Bet She'an. The rocky-thing in the bottom left of the picture is what remains of a large bridge from the Roman era. 

This is the Roman Theater as viewed from the Tel, looking west. Those Roman columns in the foreground were set back up during modern times. Most of them had been knocked down after a large earthquake in 749 AD. 

Next, we headed for the Gilboa Scenic Drive, just a few miles away. There isn't really a single "Mount Gilboa"--it's more like a ridge of small mountains. There was a lookout at the peak dubbed Mt. Shaul--this may have been where he was killed. If not, it was surely nearby. Shaul, pronounced "shah-ool", is Hebrew for Saul. I have a co-worker named Shaul. 

This is the view from Mt Shaul. Bet She'an is in the very far background. 

And now, switching to Sammy. He's been having a lot of fun lately. Here is is at the namal (port) fountains near our apartment in Tel Aviv. 

A new favorite "toy" is the toilet (toy-let?). Flushing and dropping items into the bowl are fun pastimes. 

Here he is storming the camera!

We couldn't decide which of the next two to post, so added both :) Sammy loves all things with wheels. Bikes, trains, buses, strollers, trucks, tractors--you name it.