Return to Israel Museum

These are the feet that I love. The tour is over, but it left its mark on Ginger. She was delighted to see that her new sandals (made in Israel) left crosses her feet. No better part of the body since our feet have been so active for 10 days. All but seven of the tour group have returned to States, so we had a leisurely morning before heading out to the Israel Museum.

Some people identify with their cats, but Ginger and I tend to identify with sculptures. I mean if this guy’s worried about unseemly odors, I best check me out too. He was the first statue we came to when we visited Israel Museum’s sculpture garden.

And if this stone dude thinks everything’s thumbs up, then that’s okay by me.

I’m more than happy to give a high five to a grumpy guy with a sword. It might improve his day.

I just wasn’t sure how to relate to this one. I kept watching to make sure it didn’t follow me.

Ginger’s reflecting a person being reflective. I wonder if you could get caught in a sort of mental tunnel of mirrors.

How would you like a chessboard with a bunch of pieces this big? You wouldn't be taking too many turns, I'm thinkin'.

Here’s one of those “stick your face in the hole” things. It would have worked better if I’d found he before her wildly successful diet.

Not sure what to make of this one. Being really careful not to touch it. Some art stinks.

Officer, quick! Over here! I think I found the culprit! Tell him to go back and clean it up!

We also looked at the non-art displays inside the museum. Here is an old altar that they reconstructed. It was probably destroyed by Hezekiah who wanted to clean up the worship scene of his day. Notice the zigzaggy snakes on the stone in the center of the picture? They are for increasing fertility. Those ancients were rather modern in their fixation on sex.

At last, proof that people got crucified in days gone by. True. Up until this discovery people wrote about crucifixion, but there was no tangible proof that it happened. Now there’s proof. Apparently the nail hit a knot and bent. The people who came to remove the man from the cross could not extract the nail, so they hacked off his leg and cut the cross. Did you know that only recently they have found proof outside the Bible that David really existed? Archaeologists had been debating it, but now they know.

Here’s the ossuary (OSH-oo-wary), or stone bone box, that held the remains of Caiaphas son of Joseph. Definitely a rich person. Remember this is one solid, carved-out stone, not pieces held together. An unsettling artifact in the same exhibit was a ossuary labeled “Jesus son of Joseph” and next to it another labeled, “Judas son of Jesus.”

Interesting architecture abounds in Old Jerusalem. We returned there to end the day with some shopping.

Even in Old Jerusalem shopping wearies the men and delights the women.

Ginger snapped this photo just after the marring couple popped off a cracker full of heart-shaped confetti. They were on an overlook to the Western Wall, and it was a balmy evening. Nice ambiance for a young couple’s nuptials. By the way, “Ginger snaps” a lot of good photos.