After two exhausting days–Monday to Bethlehem and the West Bank and Tuesday’s day trip to Masada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea, Elias and I took a day to unwind and recoup. I had some laundry to do and some errands to run. Elias had to take care of details for his departure today (Thursday). He said good bye and headed for an overnight in Tel Aviv before flying out to Egypt on Friday to meet up with our oldest-Ben. They’ve booked a cruise on the Nile. I guess that makes them nihilists….cue groan.

For my part today I started my book on the Bethlehem Shepherds. My research on the shepherds has not yielded very much that is new, so I’m writing just a small booklet about the Nativity that should be released by Christmas.

It was great having Elias here for a couple of weeks and because he was here I got up and out of the library and explored some places I would probably have not bothered with as I’d been there before. However, it is good to re-visit and see them afresh with someone for whom it is a first time.

Now I need to get busy and finish my research and work here. Therefore my Jerusalem Diary will probably be a week’s summary rather than a daily journal entry.