Invisible visits

Well, apparently, these last two days were for visiting places that cannot be photographed. It seemed everywhere I went, I was told, "No pictures!" I saw interesting stuff at the Rockefeller Museum, the Armenian Church of St. James, and other such spots. But the highlight was this morning, when Dr. Yigal Sitry took me on a tour of the lab where the Israeli Antiquities Authority stores its organic artifacts -- textiles, rope, leather and, of course, wood. In my hands I held a beautifully formed wooded cup from Qumran, the community that wrote the Dead Sea scrolls. It was 2,000 years old! Yigal did a great job explaining to me methods of archaeology and the kinds of discoveries he's made of objects in the archives, such as a guitar bridge from the ancient spice trade route. But, alas, no pictures.

I did some shopping for souvenirs and gifts. I couldn't resisting picking up this t-shirt for my baby brother. It combines two of his great loves!

Tomorrow night I fly on to Lilongwe, Malawi. I'm not sure about whether there's internet at my next hotel, so it may be a few days before you hear from me again.