We arrived home today after 15 hours of flying around. It is so nice to be home to my own zoo and I am really looking forward to sleeping in my bed. Before I turn in, I thought I would share some more cats from my trip to Jerusalem. If you have not seen the previous cat post this week please check it out – an incredible 2 million cats and I would like to take pictures of every one of them.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo.
We drove to the lowest point on earth, the Dead Sea, and visited the historic site of Masada. Masada is located on a rock cliff in the Judean desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. It was a fortress built by Herod around 31 BCE. A good amount of the original stone and tile still exist.
As you can imagine there is not much wildlife in the desert. We passed a few ornamental camels along the way, dressed up for tourists to ride on the side of the road, but I was driving so I could not get any pictures. And, one really cute goat was eating brush alongside the highway. The nomadic Bedouins, who live in tents and huts in the desert, have goats, sheep, donkeys, and camels, but I only saw them as we past. Yes, they also have cats (not sure about dogs).
Bedouins in the desert and their cats
Google Image
Bedouin with flock
Google Image
The only life I saw at Masada were the blackbirds with reddish-brown under their wings – are they red-winged black birds – and some little scraggly trees.
Life can find a way even in the harshest of climates. Look at this little tree growing in the side of the rock, in a place where it only rains 3 times a year. I am always amazed.
Heading home tonight and will be back in a few days. I have many more cat pictures from the old city. Stay tuned.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo travelling.
It was a beautiful day at the Tisch Family Biblical Zoological Gardens in Jerusalem with Peanut and friends. I am not sure all these animals, reptiles, and birds were really on Noah’s Ark but they were fun to watch. Sadly, their only lion had recently past away and the bears were hibernating. A zoo worth visiting, for sure.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo travelling.
Meet Shoshannah. She is the little feral kitty that Peanut adopted at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel, where she attends school. Shoshannah is about 6 months old and lives in the yard outside Peanut’s building along with tons of other cats. The students are told to not feed or interact with the cats, but how can you leave them alone when they crawl all over you when studying outside and meow sweetly for attention.
If you have not been to Jerusalem, then you are probably not aware of the massive cat problem that they have. “Cats were not prominent in Israel’s streets until the 1930s, when they were brought in to help eradicate a rat problem, but this decision ultimately caused a “cat infestation” in and of itself. No one knows exactly how many of the street cats live in Israel now, but estimates say about 2 million, according to Meow Mission.”
Everywhere you turn, under every bush, in the buildings, in the streets, there are cats.
Cat in the Humanities Building at Hebrew U
It is always amazing how we humans try to solve one problem and just create another. I never knew that Jerusalem was the city of cats. There is a very nice site on Tumblr that has lots of pictures of the Jerusalem City Cats, if you would like to see more.
There are all varieties of cats – long and short hair, calico, tortoiseshell, gingers… it is sad that there are so many homeless kitties, but at the same time, very neat to see how the people have rallied to try to feed and care for them (at least at Peanut’s school).
Do you know of other cities with cat problems? This is on a scale that I never thought of before.
Just another DogDaz morning at the zoo travelling.
DogDaz Zoo 