shephelah field trip.

Today felt like a blur. We had the Shephelah Field Trip today, it was good, but long. Everyone was tired from the superbowl. I didn't end up watching it because I fell asleep...but it was good cause I needed sleep. But my boys won!!! I don't know how I go without barely any sleep. All of us don't get sleep. The Shephelah means low hills. It is in between the coastal plain and the hills. 

It was a really nice day out and all of the stories we heard were really cool. These are more than stories, they are history. Our first stop was Beth Shemesh and the Sorek Valley. Sorek is one of the five valleys of the Judean Shephelah. Beth Shemesh was fortified by the Israelites as a safeguard in the Sorek Valley against Philistine invasion eastward into the Judean highlands.

Phil holding the mirror to flash the other group across the valley.

These guys wanted a picture haha

The next stop was Azekah which was the site of an Israelite fortress in the Valley of Elah, probably first constructed during the era of the Judges and is best associated with the story of David and Goliath. Azekah guarded the Valley of Elah, which was one of the five valleys of the Judean Shephelah. The valley of Elah begins in the rolling hills of the Shephelah and ascends to the Judean Mountains near Bethlehem. 

dove cotes.

Oil Press

tombs.

awkward touching.

Bell Caves

Our third stop was Maresh/Beth Guvrin. During the divided monarchy, Mareshah was an important fortress manned by soldiers from the Kingdom of Judah to guard the nearby Guvrin Valley system that ascended to the strategic Judean Highlands. Mareshah later flourished as an Idumaean-Sidonian economic center, called Marisa, in the 4th-3rd centuries BC, as a Roman/Byzantine city, and as the site of a crusader fortress. We sang in Bell Caves and it was so awesome. It echoed like crazy. There were bats in there and they smelled so bad. 

The forth stop was Tel Lachish which provides evidence of Joshua and the Israelite conquest. It was beautiful and the grass was so green. We read the scriptures and studied from where the stories took place.

This was my favorite part of the trip was using sling shots. This was in the Elah Valley. This is where David slayed Goliath with a stone. It was really fun and the guys got so into it haha.