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	Travel Pictures - ISRAEL - 1991
	All images © Ron Miller

	I entered Israel at a relatively peaceful time, and I freely traveled around the country on the public transportation - years before the Palestinian, suicide murderers began their horrific bombing campaign against Israelis. I was quite apprehensive entering the Holy Land and expected to encounter unwelcoming, religious zealots but found a modern country with a western mindset. I enjoyed visiting the multitude of religious and historic sites such as the Temple Mount where I was able to climb the same marble stairs worn down by thousands of visitors before me - including Jesus of Nazareth.


	Tel Aviv's lovely Mediterranean coastline as viewed from the ancient port city of Jaffa, which is believed to be one of the oldest cities in the world - Tel Aviv, Israel


	The resort-like waterfront of Israel's largest metropolitan area - Tel Aviv, Israel


	The vista from the Mount of Olives includes the Temple Mount, the Old City, the Dome of the Rock, and the modern buildings of the new city - Jerusalem, Israel


	Me standing alongside a desert SUV that is peacefully parked at the Mount of Olives - Jerusalem, Israel


	A blurry, sunset photo of the Old City from the rooftops (Dome of the Rock in distance) - Jerusalem, Israel


	Overview of the Wailing Wall - a retaining wall supporting the Temple Mount as well as the glistening Dome of the Rock - Jerusalem, Israel


	Me (left of center - blue & white shirt) observing the massive stone blocks that form the Western Wall (Wailing Wall), a 187-foot exposed section of retaining wall along the western end of the Temple Mount. The overall length of the wall is 1,600 feet, and the largest of the precise-fitting stones is more than 40 feet long and weighs 570 tons! - Jerusalem, Israel


	Israel is such a small country that the tourist attractions must double as military training grounds. During my innocent visit to these Roman ruins, I nearly panicked when I spotted several machine gun toting soldiers moving rapidly toward me in the theater. However, before I actually fled into the bowels of the theater, I realized that the soldiers were friendly - Roman ruins of Caesarea, Israel


	My hotel owner modeling some of the "clothing" worn during the scud missile attacks of the first Gulf War. He said that he and many of his guests were watching the scud missiles streak across the night sky from this very location - Tiberias, Israel


	A very Biblical vista at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee - near Tiberias, Israel


	A miracle was reported to have occurred at this location - near Tiberias, Israel


	The Jordan River does not seem worthy of its Biblical reference. However, the stream provides the majority of Israel's fresh water - Jordan River, near the Sea of Galilee


	This Syrian tank was hastily abandoned during the 1967 War when several Arab nations attacked Israel simultaneously - Golan Heights, Israel


	The Banias Spring is one of the three sources of the Jordan River. It was here that Jesus asked his disciples, "Who do people say the Son of Man is?" Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus then replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven" and gave Peter the keys to the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 16:13-20) - Banias Falls, Israel


	Posing for a photo on the Lebanese border - northern Israel


	Bruce, a fellow American traveler, poses in front of the cliffs that concealed the Dead Sea Scrolls for nearly 2,000 years. The Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest known records of the Hebrew Bible, were most likely written by the Essenes during the period from about 200 B.C. to 68 A.D. They were accidentally discovered in 1947 in 11 different caves. The scrolls were most commonly made from animal skins but several were made of papyrus and one of copper - near the Dead Sea, Israel


	Visitors lounging on TOP of the dense waters of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is 1,083 feet deep, and it is also the world's second saltiest body of water, 8.6 times saltier than the ocean - Dead Sea, Israel


	The high salt content of the Dead Sea increases the water's density and enables "swimmers" to float like a cork. The body of water is the lowest spot on earth (1,370 feet below sea level), and the additional layer of atmosphere in which sunlight must penetrate blocks more of the sun's harmful UV rays. The aptly-named Dead Sea has no plants or aquatic life of any kind (except tourists) - Dead Sea, Israel


	Near the lifeless shores of the Dead Sea, the spring-fed waters and warm climate of Ein Gedi provide an oasis for the local wildlife. The abundance of animals in the park includes ibex, hyrax, foxes, wolves, striped hyenas, and even leopards! - Ein Gedi, Israel


	After a moderate hike, there is an inviting waterfall at the head of the canyon - Ein Gedi National Park, Israel


	View out to the shores of the Dead Sea from the cliffs of the Masada, an ancient fortress built by King Herod atop a cliff-lined, mesa. In 66 A.D., at the beginning of the Revolt of the Jews against the Romans, a group of Judaic extremist rebels called the Sicarii overcame the Roman garrison of Masada. After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.), they were joined by other Sicarii and their families who had fled Jerusalem. With the Masada as their base, they raided and harassed the Romans for two years. Then, in 73 A.D., the Roman governor Flavius Silva marched against the Masada with the Tenth Legion, auxiliary units, and thousands of Jewish prisoners-of-war. The Romans laid siege to Masada in the spring of 74 A.D. and, rather than face certain capture, defeat, slavery, or execution by their enemies, the 936 Jewish rebels were said to have committed mass suicide - Masada, Israel


	The modern resort town of Eilat rests on the Gulf of Aqaba, an arm of the Red Sea (Jordan is located across the bay) - Eilat, Israel


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	All images © Ron Miller For authorized use of these photos, please contact Ron Miller at TheHappyCannibal@gmail.com