I don't recall if I noted that Fred and I (and a few others) went for a night time swim in the Sea of Galilee. If I mentioned that previously...forgive me. The water was about the same temperature as the air...60's. It was a bit cool....but ok. Funny story...when we got to the shore, I put my room key in my shoes and laid my shirt on top of it. After swimming I forgot about the key. Since my shoes were sandals, I assumed the key had fallen out once I had reached the Kibutz. Fred grabbed a flashlight and back we went. We got all the way down there looking forw the key...but could not find it. I then wondered if it was in my shoe....and IT WAS! Dumb me! I'm losing it.
Our first stop today was at the beginning of the Jordan river coming our ot the Sea of Galilee. We are heading south following the Jordan river to the Dead Sea. It was an interesting stop as there were some people all in white baptizing and being baptized in the river. On the door of the visitor center it had times when people could come and be baptized. The river was really clean unlike the Jordan River that runs through the Salt Lake valley. 😄 It was a quick stop and pretty neat.
The second stop was at a place calle Bet She 'an. This was a Roman city that has been uncovered with bath houses, theaters, domes where races were done and places where they lived. It was very large with lots that has been excavated. This city was very important due to its position at the junction of the Jordan River Valley and the Jezreel Valley, essentially controlling access from Jordan and the inland to the coast, as well as from Jerusalem and Jericho to the Galilee. The site was amazing and my pictures will not do it justice.
Our third stop was at a National Park where scolls of scripture have been found (Dead Sea Scrolls). According to our guide, every book in the Bible, except one, had scrolls found here with the writings of those books. It was interesting to see the place where these scrolls were found. Pretty cool...
Our fourth stop was at a cosmetic factory. Yes....a cosmetic factory that makes cosmetics from the chemicals from the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is a large body of water full of crazy chemicals. Nothing lives in the Dead Sea. Anyway, our bus pulled off there. Why...if we stop there, our fee to swim in the Dead Sea is free (instead of $15 per person). Anyway...it was an odd stop and naturally face creams were bought for a significant price.
One thing to note....as we traveled, we could see Palestinian villages on the other side of the border of Jordan. It is interesting that the fence that is up is half a mile from the Jordan River...which is the true line that divides the two countries. But it was easier to build a fence where it is....so we were told. So Israel land is on the other side of the fence....which really seemed to odd.
Our next stop...after a pretty long drive was at Masada. There we ate a nice lunch before we loaded up and ascended to Masada. Wikipedia says "Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish–Roman Warended in the mass suicide of 960 people – the Sicarii rebels and their families hiding there. " This place was AMAZING....one of the best archeological sites I've been to in all my trips. I'm amazed that people actualy engineered this and lived up there for many years. The pictures will not do this justice.
Lastly, we drove to a place on the Dead Sea that allowed you to swim in the Dead Sea. To do this, we all went into a communal bath to put on our swim suits. In the mens area...no stalls...all open. Lots of bare bodies showering and changing their clothes. It has been a long time since I've been in such a setting! Anyway...we walked down to the waters edge...go in and began to float. When you got out to water hat is chest high...it became hard to stand because you float. You can see people from the chest up out of the water and they were not touching the bottom. That is how boyant you are. Pretty crazy. Supposedly, the water has a healing effect on your body due to all the chemicals there. You were encouraged to rub your skin with the mud and many did that. Denise and Khrista looked like they got into a mud fight! So funny. It was a great stop.
After showering with all of Israel and India, we drove 40 minutes to a very nice hotel here in Jerusalem passing the Mount of Olives and the BYU Center. We'll be seeing both tomorrow. To close out the day, we had a wonderful buffet meal and listened to our guide Dan speak about Jewish history in preparation for tomorrow.
Our trip is over half complete. We will be three nights here Jerusalem and then head home. So much to see here though. It is going to be fun.
Pictures...
Jordan River entrance....
The River....
Believers.....
Bet She'An
Columns from one of the many bath houses....
The Theater.....
Still alive and kicking....
Bus travel is our way of life....
Qumran site where the Dead Sea scrolls were uncovered...you can see caves on the side of the hill...
This is cave #4...the most famous cave where scrolls were found.
Examples of how the scrolls were found....
Cosmetic Factory....
Sooo interesting....a presentation on cosmetics. Really? :-)
Masada entrance....
Example of the mountain where the fortress was built.....
Our ascent from the valley floor to the top of the mountain....
It was a big area full of findings of Herod's fortress. Some say he never even came there...they have no proof. But why wouldn't he?
More ruins...
This is an example of how part of the fortress looked on PART of the mountain. So high up...think about how you deal with water, food, etc. in such a high remote place. Crazy...
I found a survivor of the 600+ who took their lives here....
Tired group of travelers... The Tiner's, Payne's and Dixon's.
Before we left, our guide told us that only two Americans had ever died in Israel due to terrorism. One was when a few where hanging out with the military and they were bombed. Standing by these Israeli soldiers...well...should I have felt safe?
Dead Sea float....
So did mom buy cosmetics???
ReplyDeleteMom and Khrista are crazy. Love that they are the only ones with mud on their face.
ReplyDeleteHow fun!!!!!
ReplyDelete