Going to Israel, February 24 - March 9, 2011

On Thursday afternoon, February 24th, I will be leaving for almost two weeks on a trip to Israel.  During this time, my home base will be Tel Aviv were I will be attending the Shenkar College of Engineering & Design Internal Edelstein Color Symposium on The Science & Art of Color [February 27-28th].  The symposium will focus on the use of color in modern design, urban lighting, painting styles, and fashion and the nature of pigments and dyes in use in historic paintings, medieval manusripts, and ancient textiles.  The scientific discovery of the first authentic Biblical Tekhelet from ancient Israel will be announced and discussed.  More details on the symposium can be found at www.edelstein-center.com/color-symposium
After the symposium, I will be participating in three, one-day Study Tours of Israel.  March 1 will cover old and new Jerusalem where we will visit the famous Chagall stained glass windows, Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum, Mt. Zion, Tomb of King David and the Room of the Last Supper.  We will then enter the Old City and walk through the newly restored Jewish Quarter, visit the Roman Cardo and the Western Wall, view Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock, and walk along the Via Dolorosa to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.
March 2 will focus on the Dead Sea, Qumran, and Masada.  We will drive to the Qumran caves where the Dead Sea scrolls were found, visit Ein Gedi and Masada, ascend by cable car to this last stronghold of the Jewish rebels against Rome, and visit the excavations of Herod's palace, the synagogue and the bath houses.
March 3 involves a tour of Galilee that takes on a drive through the Sharon Valley to Nazareth, on to Cana of Galilee, drive to Tibrias on the Sea of Galilee, continue to Capernaum to see the ruins of the 4th century CE ancient synagogue, and go to Tabgha, Jodan River, and Yadenit.  We will even float in the Dead Sea.
On March 4th, I will be travelling to Beer Sheva to visit my undergraduate roommate who had a career at Ben Gurion Univerity as a professor of mathematics.  We haven't see each other in 48 years.  His daughter, Davida, will be taking us into the Negev desert to see some of her work.  I'll be staying with Ted for a couple of nights and return to Tel Aviv on the morning of March 6th.  This will give me about 2 days of sightseeing to either new or repeat places to see things in more depth before flying back to the States on the night of March 8th.