Wednesday, July 11, was my day of departure, and there were four others from the dig on my flight. All of us were tired, so we had a lazy morning, then we spent a few hours walking around the newer areas of West Jerusalem. We took a sharut to the Tel Aviv airport that afternoon and underwent four hours of security for El Al, the Israeli airline that boasts of having the most rigorous airline security in the world. We finally boarded at midnight and endured a 12-hour flight to Newark. I am presently writing in my notebook on the final leg of my journey, about an hour away from touching down in Atlanta. These six weeks have certainly been an adventure, and, as I told some of my friends from the dig, it seems that I have been gone much longer that I actually have, because everyone grew so close during the time we spent constantly together. I have already been asked several times if I plan on returning to Israel for another dig, and I have truthfully answered that other destinations are calling before I invest in another dig, but if I had the means, I would certainly do it all over again.

To see many more photos from my trip, feel free to visit my photo page.

Thanks to all for keeping up with my experiences,
Stephen