 Club Member Paul Patenaude | Club Member Paul Patenaude told us of his May adventures on an archaeological and hiking tour of the Holy Land. Hot, hilly, and archaeologically rich, some areas held up to 21 layers of past habitation. He saw many Roman, Byzantine, and pre-Roman sites. His small group stayed mostly in modest hotels (and one Bedouin camp). Lots of lamb and eggplant on the menus. The site at Masada was particularly moving. As was Jerusalem. They stayed at guest houses (and an organic goat farm) during part of their hike along the ‘Jesus Walk.’ The southern third of Israel is largely desert. Even taking that into account, the population density of Israel is amazing … Wisconsin has 65,000 square miles with 5.3 million people; Israel has 8,000 square miles with 8.5 million people. Because of the political and cultural blending in the area (as well as the history), you couldn’t miss seeing some tensions. Paul talked about the many sites he visited. We couldn’t get our laptop for his presentation; we’ll have him re-present this talk at a future date, so we can enjoy the visuals. |
