Israel Museum

I am so glad I took the time to write this post while still in Israel. It is much richer than it would have been had I waited. For one thing, I left my trusty notebook in the locker, for another, time blends memories.

Enjoy!

As luck would have it, the night before I left my friend Nancy stopped by to wish me Bon Voyage. She put me in touch with her college friend, Connie, who works for the Israel Museum. Julie and I decided to go on the day we landed because Tuesdays are their late night. The museum was fairly quiet -- and very air conditioned. At the museum I saw a French film crew was filming. It was jarring to hear French as I typically hear French while traveling, but I didn't expect to hear it on this trip. Throughout the trip I was surprised just how often I heard people speaking French, and how quickly my mind shifted to answer the questions they were asking each other.

Connie is a conservator (she explained the difference between what she does and what a curator does, I may have mixed this up). She is on the team creating awesome displays and figuring out the best way to highlight the artifacts. Sounds like a dreamy job to me given my background in both history and library science. She introduced us to colleagues and showed us where she works. She also gave us the high level tour. Did you know the Israelis inventedglass blowing? Israel has so much more to offer than being the birthplace of monotheism (though that is quite amazing in and of itself). 

The Israel Museum has a lot more than just Israeli items. Hoping my pictures freshen my memory so I can still flesh this out. Being sleep deprived (a theme of the trip), and the retention rate is low.

A new exhibit just opened comparing Peter Pan with the mythical Pan. Yes, they are related. Again, odd seeing a bit of Disney in a museum filled with ancient treasures.

I enjoyed their exhibit of the notebook found a year after a space shuttle exploded with notes from the first Israeli (Ilan Ramon) to go into space. A Torah similar to the one he brought with him was on display.

The biggest highlight of the museum is the Shrine of the Book -- bits of the Dead Sea Scrolls housed in a building the shape of the container where they were found 72 years ago. I would have taken pictures, but I heeded the no photo warning. Years ago the Franklin Institute had an exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls. That was sort of meh, THIS was amazing -- large chunks put together to give the sense of something bigger.

A small back track, as we were driving from the Tel Aviv airport to Jerusalem (or maybe it was on the way to Masada) I saw cliffs that brought to life what I had heard about the cliffs where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. I was too tired to take a picture, but the image is stuck in my head.

Julie and I parted ways for the return trip. After the long plane ride, I needed to stretch my legs so I took the map the hostel provided and walked back. I took a detour through the Wohl Rose Garden -- which is not nearly as stunning as the one in Portland, OR or the one in Columbus, OH where cousin Allie and Doug were married last summer. 

I found the hostel. After setting the timer to warm up the shower (for which I am glad we are not sharing a room), I pulled out my laptop to get some thoughts down. I wish they were more inspiring. 

Nearly two months later as I am still working on blogging, I am so grateful to my past self (as Ashley refers to it) that I took the time to blog when I had WiFi and a working keyboard.