May 16, 2006
Bet She'an
Scott's work had another fun activity. It's so nice to have our friends, the Abbotts, here in Haifa, because their daughter Ali is a wonderful babysitter. She takes great care of the kids and they love it when she comes over. The party was held at the Ba Ya'ar Event Garden in Hadera, the same place where our friends Rivi and Efrat were married last year. We had lots of fun food, and then we listened to the Idan Raichel Project, a popular Israeli band. Tiffany was thrilled to have some cotton candy.
Cotton candyOn Friday we went to an archeological site that we have wanted to visit for a while, but hadn't gotten around to until now. The site is Bet She'an, also called Scythopolis in Greek, and was the capital of the Decapolis. The Decapolis was a group of ten cities which formed the easternmost part of the Roman Empire. It is a city with lots of history: Canaanite, Israelite, Egyptian, Greek, Roman and more.
The ruins are amazing. There is an impressive colonnaded street, called Palladius street. The colums were huge.
Palladius streetHere is the capital of a column that may have fallen during the earthquake of 749 AD. Brooke had fun climbing around it.
Corinthian capitalWe hiked to the top of a nearby hill where there are additional Egyptian, Israelite and Canaanite ruins. We took this picture from a lookout point with a view of the rest of the site below.
Bet She'an ruinsBet She'an was a very interesting place. We saw a well preserved Roman Theater, two bathhouses and even a public lavatory. The expansive ruins make it easier to imagine how the city may have looked in its prime.
It was a hot day, so we had ice cream from the park gift shop before driving to the Swiss forest in Tiberias for a branch activity. Ritchie and Judy Whitehead, our service couple, brought a beanbag game that the kids loved.
Beanbags
More beanbag gamesThe sunset from Swiss forest was beautiful. We were amazed at how clear the air was; it was so clear we could see Mount Hermon, the northernmost point in Israel.
Mount HermonA few days after the branch activity we celebrated Lag B'Omer. We had the traditional bonfire at the park near our house with Brooke and Tyler's pre-school class. The kids mostly ate roasted marshmallows, but there were also hot dogs and kebabs. Brooke loves to swing and she even says what Israeli kids say as they swing, "nad ned."
Nad nedTyler-isms:
"We have to wear hats so we don't burn our hair." - Why Tyler thinks he has to wear a hat when we are out in the sun.
"I'm all marshmallowy." - After eating marshmallows on Lag B'Omer.
Brooke-isms:
"Tyler pushed me." - Brooke's first real sentence; sad, but true.
"Happy!" - What she says when she gets what she wants.