Horowitz Travel-Israel-Jerusalem-Bible
Land-January 26, 2017
We scurried around buying our weekend stash of food this afternoon trying to beat the predicted Shabbat rain. Actually, our scurrying started last night after dinner. My cough/cold hasn't gotten better after over a week, & I started to run a fever. Terry was on her way out anyway so took us to a 24-hour clinic. We'd take a cab home. She assured us that Israeli medicine was excellent & on the cutting edge. I knew that to be true & had full confidence. What I needed to know was whether or not I should start taking the antibiotics we travel with. I put our antibiotics in a bag along with a banana, dried fruit, & nuts. Never know how long it could take. David was getting sick too, so it would be twofer. We are becoming familiar with foreign medical care. We have since learned that many people at Stuart's birthday party have this crud. It's going around.
As for efficiency, we were in and out in an hour. As for aesthetics, it needs a face lift. Many there spoke English or a semblance thereof. When we checked in we were asked for our passports. I thought that would be a hurdle since we secure ours. They accepted a copy. They assured us they'd take VISA, & we could collect from our insurance in the U.S. We knew that ahead of time. Cost:$206.
The good news is that my blood pressure was excellent! The triage person asked about symptoms & allergies & that was it. No interest in what meds I regularly take. The doctor was happy I hadn't started taking my antibiotics, listened to my chest, checked my throat, & decided on an X-ray & blood work to rule out pneumonia & an infection. The X-ray tech asked me to remove my bra. She said there was no need to remove my shirt. When I looked puzzled, she said she did it in the army all the time. I figured it out. The lab tech not only didn't wash his hands or glove, but he put the needle & glass tube on the paper on the examining table. He didn't change the paper when he was finished. I'm sure it hadn't been changed in a while. He used a latex glove (yes, he had them) as a tourniquet on my arm. All in all, it was an easy stick. I couldn't help notice a pile of casts balanced on top of the paper towel dispenser. The results of both were fine so I left with a prescription for Tylenol (325mg) with codeine (15mg) & two starter pills. The Tylenol was for fever & codeine for cough. I added that to my bag of tricks of cough medicine & nasal spray. We carry both separately in our med stash so we knew what to do if David got worse.
We'd cancelled our date with Leah Sass & didn't set an alarm but didn't sleep well. But how could we waste a day here? My temp was down, so we dragged our bones to the pharmacy & got on a bus for the Israel Museum. When we arrived, it looked overwhelming. Across the street was the Bible Land Museum. I kid you not. It seemed more manageable. We envisioned a kitschy Disney-esque amusement venue with actors wearing costumes.
We were so wrong. It's an extensive archaeological collection from the Neolithic through Babylonia. We got the audio guide, went DOWN from the second to the third floor & stayed three hours. It was evident from the artifacts, timelines, maps, & narrative that civilizations have borrowed from each other since time began. Kosher slaughter was used by Sumarians; carvings of the Egyptian goddess Isis holding a child on her lap is echoed in the Madonna & child; the evolution of the alphabet, & multiple flood stories are a few examples. My favorite "creation" story was that the gods got tired of always fighting amongst themselves. They created mankind to fight in their stead. I think humanity has done an excellent job.
One thing I noticed was a mosaic with a hippo depicted in it. As most of you know, our ten year old granddaughter, Rylee collects hippos, & that's a major search every time we travel. As we continued there were artifacts made form hippo bone & mention of hippos as dangerous animals. There were no hippos in the gift shop, nor have I seen hippos in any stores. I stand corrected. There was a malachite hippo in the Old City shouk. It was $100 after bargaining.
For a country obsessed with security, there was none at the museum. Displays were in cases with temperature/humidity monitors, but they weren't alarmed. Many times, we touched the glass to point out an object of interest. I even spotted a few nose prints.
We've been going through a huge amount of Kleenex. Today I saw that the tissues that came with the apartment have a design of a bunny emerging from an egg. Really? Easter bunnies they have, but no hippos?
I'm looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow. We need a break. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep this place warm.
Toby
We scurried around buying our weekend stash of food this afternoon trying to beat the predicted Shabbat rain. Actually, our scurrying started last night after dinner. My cough/cold hasn't gotten better after over a week, & I started to run a fever. Terry was on her way out anyway so took us to a 24-hour clinic. We'd take a cab home. She assured us that Israeli medicine was excellent & on the cutting edge. I knew that to be true & had full confidence. What I needed to know was whether or not I should start taking the antibiotics we travel with. I put our antibiotics in a bag along with a banana, dried fruit, & nuts. Never know how long it could take. David was getting sick too, so it would be twofer. We are becoming familiar with foreign medical care. We have since learned that many people at Stuart's birthday party have this crud. It's going around.
As for efficiency, we were in and out in an hour. As for aesthetics, it needs a face lift. Many there spoke English or a semblance thereof. When we checked in we were asked for our passports. I thought that would be a hurdle since we secure ours. They accepted a copy. They assured us they'd take VISA, & we could collect from our insurance in the U.S. We knew that ahead of time. Cost:$206.
The good news is that my blood pressure was excellent! The triage person asked about symptoms & allergies & that was it. No interest in what meds I regularly take. The doctor was happy I hadn't started taking my antibiotics, listened to my chest, checked my throat, & decided on an X-ray & blood work to rule out pneumonia & an infection. The X-ray tech asked me to remove my bra. She said there was no need to remove my shirt. When I looked puzzled, she said she did it in the army all the time. I figured it out. The lab tech not only didn't wash his hands or glove, but he put the needle & glass tube on the paper on the examining table. He didn't change the paper when he was finished. I'm sure it hadn't been changed in a while. He used a latex glove (yes, he had them) as a tourniquet on my arm. All in all, it was an easy stick. I couldn't help notice a pile of casts balanced on top of the paper towel dispenser. The results of both were fine so I left with a prescription for Tylenol (325mg) with codeine (15mg) & two starter pills. The Tylenol was for fever & codeine for cough. I added that to my bag of tricks of cough medicine & nasal spray. We carry both separately in our med stash so we knew what to do if David got worse.
We'd cancelled our date with Leah Sass & didn't set an alarm but didn't sleep well. But how could we waste a day here? My temp was down, so we dragged our bones to the pharmacy & got on a bus for the Israel Museum. When we arrived, it looked overwhelming. Across the street was the Bible Land Museum. I kid you not. It seemed more manageable. We envisioned a kitschy Disney-esque amusement venue with actors wearing costumes.
We were so wrong. It's an extensive archaeological collection from the Neolithic through Babylonia. We got the audio guide, went DOWN from the second to the third floor & stayed three hours. It was evident from the artifacts, timelines, maps, & narrative that civilizations have borrowed from each other since time began. Kosher slaughter was used by Sumarians; carvings of the Egyptian goddess Isis holding a child on her lap is echoed in the Madonna & child; the evolution of the alphabet, & multiple flood stories are a few examples. My favorite "creation" story was that the gods got tired of always fighting amongst themselves. They created mankind to fight in their stead. I think humanity has done an excellent job.
One thing I noticed was a mosaic with a hippo depicted in it. As most of you know, our ten year old granddaughter, Rylee collects hippos, & that's a major search every time we travel. As we continued there were artifacts made form hippo bone & mention of hippos as dangerous animals. There were no hippos in the gift shop, nor have I seen hippos in any stores. I stand corrected. There was a malachite hippo in the Old City shouk. It was $100 after bargaining.
For a country obsessed with security, there was none at the museum. Displays were in cases with temperature/humidity monitors, but they weren't alarmed. Many times, we touched the glass to point out an object of interest. I even spotted a few nose prints.
We've been going through a huge amount of Kleenex. Today I saw that the tissues that came with the apartment have a design of a bunny emerging from an egg. Really? Easter bunnies they have, but no hippos?
I'm looking forward to a quiet day tomorrow. We need a break. Hopefully, we'll be able to keep this place warm.
Toby
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| Hippo in Mosaic |
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| Examining Room at Clinic |
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