If you’re in town at the beginning of August, this looks like fun. Not cheap, but fun…

Rediscover Ancient Jerusalem

The City of David Institute for Jerusalem Studies
Everything you wanted to know about Ancient Jerusalem in one thrilling and up-to date course.

Learn about the most recent discoveries from the experts:
Have we found King David’s Palace?
What did Canaanite Jerusalem really look like?
How did the ancients achieve the engineering wonder of Hezekiah’s tunnel?

The Siloam Pool of the Second Temple Era.
The Hasmonean aqueduct in Armon Hantziv.
Mount of Olives archeological experience- Sift Temple Mount remains with your own hands!

And much more…

Participating Scholars:
Prof. Roni Reich, University of Haifa – Dr. Gabi Barkai, Bar Ilan University – Prof. Joshua Schwartz, Bar Ilan Univarsity – Dr. Eyal Meiron, Hebrew University – Dr. Dan Bahat, Bar Ilan University – Aryeh Rottenberg – Ahron Horowitz – and others.

Where and When:
The course runs from Sunday July 30th 2006 – Wednesday August 2nd 2006. Every day begins with a lecture at the Menachem Begin Center (9.00) followed by light refreshments and a daily tour. Includes a box lunch (dairy), all transportation, and return to the Begin Center at the end of the day (approximately 16.00). The lectures and tours will be conducted in English. Price: 1200 nis, 2000 for couples.

For information and enrollment please contact Ruchama at 054-805-7315, www.cityofdavid.org.il or via email: [email protected]

I can save you some money if you’re just looking for the answers for the three questions above.

1) We don’t know;

2) We don’t know;

3) We don’t know.

 Of course it’s more fun to talk about it for an hour, even if the answer is the same.

Readers of this blog know that we’ve followed the transfer of the Jerusalem model from the Holyland Hotel to the Israel Museum (for example, see here and here). The model is now essentially complete and scheduled to be open in two weeks. We, however, got a sneak peak.

There are various alterations to the model (e.g., valleys added, hippodrome removed), but the biggest change that will affect tourists is the two pathways around the model. One is low and close to the model; the other is more distant and elevated. This should work better for crowd control and photography.