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Then we had a nice dish with lamb shishkabob. On the whole it was all horrible but again, an experience. The only redeeming thing was the Coca-cola. It was real, honest to goodness Coke; the bottle was written in both English and Hebrew! Unfortunately we didn't get to see much of Jerusalem in the eight hours we were there. We started at the Citadel in the old city, saw a couple of Synagogues in the Jewish Quarter, the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock (a beautiful mosque) and got to walk through (or should I say had walk through) the Arab market to get there. What a mess that place is!! We left Jerusalem at about 2pm and went to Bethlehem about a five minute drive away. Ive never been much of one for organized religion but I have to admit it felt good to visit someplace that was Christian rather than Jewish or Muslim. We walked through the Church of the Nativity, St. Catherines Church and St. Jerome's Grotto; all are connected in one. I saw the place where Christ was born, a place where he was visited by the wise men (the monks there said that Mary moved him to a spot a few feet away because the original birthplace was too cold & drafty). Right in front of the second place they had a stand of prayer candles. I lit four; one was for you. The icons inside were all faded but beautiful nevertheless. I'm glad I had a course in Byzantine Art before I left. From Bethlehem we drove back through Hebron and Ber-Sheva to home. Starting Wednesday we have four days to travel on our own and then another four-day tour. One of the girls I'm rooming with has relatives in Haifa. We thought we'd spend a day or two there and then return to Jerusalem for a better look. Ruthie is Jewish so we're going to split it up. Friday we watch the Christian Pilgrimmage down the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Saturday we attend an Orthodox Jewish ceremony. We still aren't sure where the tour will take us (four days this time!) but I will definitely write and tell you all about it. Meanwhile I'm getting a little variety in my work schedule---the dining room and greenhouse---and still being "adversely affected" by and all the fantastic fruits & vegetables here. Your letters take 6 or 7 days to get here, so do keep them coming! Love, Kathe