Today we got dirty. It was a blast. First of all, we visited a dig going on at Beth Shemesh.
After that, on a Browning whim, we visited Sorek cave. It's not an ancient site, but a really cool cavern filled with beautiful stalagtites and stalagmites. Anyway, it was a nice break from old rocks.
Our next stop was yet another spur-of-the-moment Browning idea, and ended up being the coolest part of the day. He read an article recently about these caves and tunnels used by rebels in the 2nd Jewish Revolt, so he wanted to find the entrance. We crawled through tunnels about 1 1/2 feet wide and 2 feet tall, which occasionally turned into rooms. When we got out, we were so filthy, we were like Pigpen from Charlie Brown. Every time we moved, we raised little clouds of dust. Later when I untied my shoelaces, they were smoking.
Next, we went to Maresha, which has a bunch of cisterns and tombs. Cisterns have become a running joke (along with "Burnt House") with our group because it seems like we're always looking at them. Whenever Dr. B asks what something is, we always say it's a cistern. Today I got Hanan to pose for a picture by a "to the cisterns" sign.
Right by Maresha was the Bell Cave, which was kind of neat. Anyhow, we had to wear these funny hard hats.
From there, we drove to the coast -- and we got to swim in the Mediterranean! It was so neat! Then we had a long drive back to our hotel in Jerusalem.
It's our last night here, and we're all going to miss staying in one place (but the kibbutz is only a few days away), not to mention the night life --restaurants, shops, and street bazaars. Bye, Ben Yehuda Street!
Tomorrow we're headed to Galilee.