Jerusalem - Southern Israel

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The Dome of the Rock mosque, built in 691, is the third...

This is the Greek Orthodox altar over the Golgotha rock, where Jesus...

The wrapping of Christ's body after his death is commemorated at the...

All of the buildings in Jerusalem are constructed of this nice beige...

We were able to explore Jerusalem for three days.

During one of our Jerusalem tours a few of us were asked...

This is an underground tomb which is sealed when the huge round...

No shortage of olives in Israel.

Michael Medved broadcast his national show live from the offices of the...

Nick, Jen and I were able to attend the live broadcast of...

We walked around the Old City one night during a heavy rain.

There were a lot of interesting things to see in the Old...

The Western Wall, aka the Wailing Wall, is Judaism's holiest site.

I met this guy one night by the Western Wall. I am...

We met Moshe Markovich aka Mark one night celebrating Purim. Mark is...

Me and my (ultra orthodox) homies in front of the Western Wall....

Our friend William on the right joined in on some of the...

When you travel with one pair of shoes, and it rains, you...

Next we visited Palestinian controlled Bethlehem. In the photos are current Chair...

That stylish Yasser Arafat look is still hot in the West Bank.

The main site to visit in Bethlehem is the Church of the...

The Door of Humility leading into the church was reduced in size...

The wide nave of the Church of the Nativity survives intact from...

This guy was guarding the entrance to the altar.

You need to walk down underneath the altar to the grotto to...

In the Grotto of the Nativity this silver star set in the...

There is a courtyard outside the Church of the Nativity connecting to...

Christmas Eve mass is celebrated each year by the Pope at the...

Underneath the Church of the Nativity there are grottos where mass is...

A mosaic I found in the grottoes below the Church of the...

Next we visited Shepherd's Field where it is said shepherds saw the...

Me and another member of our group in an underground church at...

Next it was time to find costumes for the crazy Purim holiday.

Michael Medved's producer Jeremy Steiner was on the trip with his father.

Soldier's in the IDF are able to carry their weapons with them...

Only in Israel do you see tourists, a guy with a machine...

Barack Obama was also hanging out in Jerusalem celebrating Purim!

Here we are, the Grateful Med, celebrating Purim with the Medved man...

Just south of Bethlehem are the ruins of King Herod's palace called...

Herodion is an amazing hilltop palace built in the years 24-15 BC.

The hill on which Herodion sits includes a maze of tunnels that...

The famous archeologist in charge of work at Herodian, Ehud Netzer, spoke...

We explored all through the tunnels of Herodion.

Next we went to visit the town of Hebron, which was the...

We switched to armored buses, and our guides checked with the soldiers...

Our armored buses on the left outside the Hebron entrance, guarded by...

The Arab and Jewish sectors of Hebron are carefully guarded to maintain...

Souvenir shops have seen better days since very few tourists visit Hebron...

Michael spoke with us about the history of Hebron, and the Tomb...

The Tomb of the Patriarchs, burial site of Sarah, Isaac and Jacob,...

Many Jews pray at this wall outside the church since until the...

Orthodox Jews praying inside the Cave of the Patriarchs building. The little...

The guy I just saw praying inside with his kids was later...

This cute boy was the son of one of the employees at...

Back in Jerusalem we found a great bar filled with Ethiopians, and...

Everyone at the bar was really nice, maybe because of all the...

I told this guy he looked like Kobe Bryant, and he said...

We had another costume party on our last night in Jerusalem. Here...

Our trip coordinator Marcia Katz re-enacting her matchmaking role for me and...

Karmen works with Michael Medved in Seattle.

Next we headed south to the Masada National Park by the Dead...

Rather than take the tram to the archeological site on the plateau...

A whole bunch of these cool animals called Ibex were grazing along...

The scenery was spectacular on the walk up.

Getting higher we had a great view of the plain and the...

Much easier to take the tram up, but after several days of...

Masada was the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans,...

There is a huge complex of ruins here, located in the Judean...

Hughie giving our group a talk on the history of Masada.

Next we were off to a resort by the Dead Sea. All...

McDonald's has even found its way to the resort area we visited...

Found me some pirate booty!

The Dead Sea resort area had for some reason been infiltrated by...

A sign also in Hebrew and Russian, reminding me that the world's...

Beautiful Israeli sunflower girls greeting me on the way into our Dead...

Wow that water is cold!

Me and my homies throwing some gang signs. There is so much...

The whole bottom of the Dead Sea is covered in salt crystals...

Enjoying the super buoyancy with my buddy William and his dad.