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Soenke Groth - July, 2005

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Here is Soenke at the entrance to one of the long, very narrow, tunnels in the underground labyrinth we were exploring. This 3D web of tunnels was dug in the periods before and after the common era, when the jews revolted against the Greek and Roman empires and went underground for refuge.


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Here, Orna, Ron's sister, is trying to make her way through the tunnels. At times you can pass through only if you crawl on your belly.


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At some point, we were not sure if we would ever find the way back to the surface. Here, Ron is relieved after everybody is safely out...


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Then, in a tiny air strip near Ben Gurion University, Ron appeared with a plane...


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Ron is the kind of pilot you don't want to fly with...


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Then, suddenly in the middle of the flight, Ron says to Soenke: "you have the wheel". The fact that Soenke never flew a plane before didn't seem to matter. Ron just wanted to relax...


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So, Soenke saved the day and started flying the plane. If his face looks a little tense that's because he is!


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Soenke flew us east to Messada - a cliff island on the shores of the dead sea. It was here that jews made their last stand against the Roman empire. In the picture, the ramp that the Romans built for their war machines (see arrow).


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Eventually, after a long siege the Romans broke through the walls, just to find that during the night all the inhabitants have commited suicide, rather than being tortured, raped, and sold as slaves.


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Finally, on our way home, Ron did aerobatics, which made the rest shout at him that this old plane is not a jet fighter.