A waterfall...a river...a sea

Melissa was tardy getting to our bus this morning.  However, she was on time arriving on a similar bus! We did not leave her, and eventually she located our group, slightly red-faced.

Barry announced that today's stops would be at hot areas, and he encouraged us to drink plenty of water.  In fact, he told us that today the bottles of water on the bus would be free in order to encourage us to drink, thus saving us $1 a bottle.  He said that Tabatha would pay our water bill today and we should put today's water on "Tab's tab".

Barry told us that we were going to do a plethora of things today.  While the vocabulary-challenged in our group looked confused, he explained, "I read that word last night and wanted to use it."

We drove toward the Mount of Olives and through a tunnel leading out of the city.  On the Jerusalem side of the tunnel the grass was green and the vegetation was plentiful.  On the other side the vegetation changed completely and it was a striking contrast to the Jerusalem side if the tunnel.  When we exited the tunnel we were in the Wilderness of Judea!  To say that the road descended from there would be a gross under statement.  We have learned in Bible class that the road from Jericho led "up" to Jerusalem.  We were driving "down"...no question about it!  We dropped 4000 feet in ten miles!

Barry told us that we all have a mental picture that London is a rainy city. (Apparently his conclusion is based on the fact that, in his favorite movie, Mary Poppins always carried an umbrella).  Anyway, he made the point that both London and Jerusalem get 24 inches of rain each year.  The difference is that in Jerusalem the rain comes all at one time...during the rainy season...rather that off and on during the entire year.  

On our ride toward the Dead Sea we passed a Bedouin herder with a small flock of camels, and also several Bedouin camps.  Some of the semi-permanent tents had TV satellite dishes.  (I hope their selection of programs is better than those we get in the USA!)  Gus entertained us with a story about some Bedouins who decided to take on a new business.  They thought people might enjoy ice cream made from camel milk.  They were wrong!  Gus said it was disgusting and the business went in and out of business fairly rapidly.

Heading south from Jericho we drove past many dry wadis and mountainsides with small caves in them.  With the hot sun beating down, and no shade in sight this certainly made the expression "in the cleft of the rock" more meaningful.  We were in a rush to get to Masada as early as possible in order to tour the area before the worst heat of the day, so we went to Masada first. 

We rode an 80-passenger cable car to the top where we found a small breeze to be a blessing while we toured the site where a group of Jews lived and eventually ended their lives rather than be taken prisoners by the Romans.  

Petie got the royal serrvice again.  Against her objections, Gus insisted that she see the area from a wheel chair, and he pushed her the whole way.  

Once we finished touring and got back on the ground, we saw an Ibex fairly close to the visitor center, and he managed to pose nicely for photos.

When we were back on the bus (where it was cool) Barry read Psalm 63 to us.  This psalm was written by David, and is thought to be referring to Ein Gedi, our next stop.  Ein Gedi is translated the "spring of goats", and is an oasis with a spring among miles of total desert desolation.  When you read about David, there is no reason for us to wonder why David went to En Gedi.  It was and still is a pleasant site in the middle of the wilderness.  We hiked to the waterfall of Ein Gedi, and after hiking there, the clear water looked so good that many in our group could not resist the temptation of wading off in the water.  It was definitely refreshing!

Our next stop was at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947.  By this time it was really hot, so it did not take us too long to see that area.  We had lunch there.  

The air cleared, and from Qumran we were able to look over the Dead Sea to the Land of Moab in the country that is now Jordan.  

We drove up the highway to the "traditional baptismal site" for Jesus, and made a brief stop.  At this location the Jordan River is now only about 20 feet wide, and only inches deep...and the water looked most unpleasant.  When we got back to the bus, we were told that our driver, Fawzie, had just received a phone call that his mother had passed away.  We were all sorry to hear about this, and Tim led the group in prayer for Fawzie's family during this time of grief.  As a Moslem, his mother needed to be buried after evening prayers today, so Fawzie drove us to a spot near Jericho where another driver replaced him so he could get to Hebron for the memorial.

Our new driver, whose real name I can neither pronuounce nor spell, took us on to Jericho, which claims to be oldest city in the world.   I am not qualified to question the title.  We passed "a" sycamore tree (that was probably 200 years old), and Gus sang a little bit of "Zacchaeus Was a Wee Little Man".  We climbed to the top of the tell of Jericho where Barry retold Bible accounts of Joshua, Elijah, and the temptations of Jesus while we looked at the area where the events took place.  Even adults enjoy listening to someone tell a Bible story.

Gus has done such a wonderful job for us...especially when we consider that he had very little warning that he would be guiding our group.  He figured out a way for us to do something that so many of our group had really wanted to do...float in the Dad Sea.  He had not only arranged an area for us to do this, but also talked the hotel staff into loaning us extra towels to use afterwards.  To say, "a good time was had by all" would really be an understatement.  In one photo Becky, Mckenna, Jane and Pam relax in the water.  Melissa also looks relaxed.  The third photo is of several others enjoying the experience of floating in the Dead Sea.  What a special treat this was!  NOTE:  A special thanks to Isaiah for loaning me a pair of his lightweight pants to wear!

So, from the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, we climbed back "up to Jerusalem" for another night at our nice hotel.  In our modern bus, the only way we knew that we were climbing the steep road was when we had to "pop" our ears.  How much more difficult that trip must have been in Bible times!

Another perfect day is complete. We must turn in early because we have a 5:30 wakeup call tomorrow in order to get ahead of the crowds in the Old City and on the Temple Mount.  I anticipate another exciting day tomorrow, too.