Tel Gezer & Israel's Beauty

      On my last post on Sunday, I made a small mistake saying the tiyul was supposed to be the next day (yesterday, Monday). But, because the Israeli week starts on Sunday, I was thrown off! I decided not to edit my last post and explain how difficult getting used to that it is!

      Anyway, TODAY, we went to Tel Gezer. Just south of Regional Road 424 and North of Main Road 3, close to Tel-Aviv, Tel Gezer is a hill that basically has 26 different civilizations buried one on top of the other! It was INCREDIBLE walking through the ruins and learning about them all. I LOVE Jewish History and learning while on the actual sites. This learning method is nothing less than fantastic! In fact, I have ran out of every strong adjective to describe Israel and its greatness! 

     To sum up my experience in Israel so far, this is what I wrote to someone recently:

"I literally walk around and just look at everything. I have 600 pictures that are all starting to look alike. EVERYWHERE we turn, it's just simply beautiful... 

Not only that, but it's all historically significant, all having a story. 

It’s just amazing. 

I mean, in the morning I run at 6am and watch the sunrise over Jerusalem. 

I come back and go to eat breakfast with a bunch of Kibbutzniks, followed by tiyuls to visit gorgeous and enthralling historical sites. 

When we come back to Kibbutz Tzuba, I do my homework, which usually is paused for a second or two while I listen at the distant but distinct sounds of the Muslims’ call to worship. 

Then, I go off to school in little shacks and learn things I am genuinely interested in. The sun sets by the time I get out of school so I chill out. 

I usually go to the garden with friends and start singing random songs trying to figure out where the big dipper is painted in stars across the black sky. 

From here we also try to count how many cars we see passing on Jerusalem streets. After being here, physically here, I honestly don’t know how people can't NOT want to live here!"

     Israel is just a mind blowing place to live in. As I walked out of the presence of the Kotel, one of the holiest Jewish sites, I was met by the distinct praying of a nearby mosque. Walking on Tel Gezer we saw F16s in the sky heading to what I believed to be Gaza just a few hundred kilometers south of us. There is peace, just as there is war... but hiking the terrain and meeting the people, even just for a single week, I clearly see the land as a cherished home to so many people. This could very well be why it is so dearly fought over.