My morning began by meeting John Bartlow for a 4 mile run around Jerusalem. The morning was warm and bright as we hit some different streets around our hotel. It was nice running with my running partner as our pace was faster and we chatted about our experiences so far here in Israel. After we returned to the hotel 45 minutes later, we enjoyed breakfast with our group and then got ready to depart.
Today, we hit the road out of Jerusalem and dropped 4,000 feet in elevation to 1,380 feet below sea level. As our ears popped, we passed Bedouin camps with their sheep, goats or camels and makeshift homes. Bedouins are the nomads of the Judean desert here in Israel. They have lived this way for thousands of years traveling from place to place as they care for their animals. But in the last handful of years, they've stayed in one place as they've been able to tap into the electrical grid, work in the cities, and take advantage of schooling for their children. Now their Bedouin tents have refrigerators and televisions.
Our first stop in the desert was Masada. This isolated mountain-top fortress about 1,300 ft. above the banks of the Dead Sea was fortified as early as the first or second century BC and then enlarged and reinforced by Herod the Great, who added two luxurious palace complexes. Our tour of Masada began with a cable car ride to the top. I would have loved to hike to the top, but the hike takes an hour and I had to my duty as trip videographer. Tony our Tour Guide showed us around the various rooms and sections of Masada including a sauna, synagogue, and the Roman ramp used during the Roman siege of Masada in AD 70-73. I and about 15 or so others decided to hike down from Masada along the Snake Path. Our return route took 25 minutes and was actually a pleasant hike. We passed several hikers taking the long climb up. "You're almost there!" we called to them... regardless of how far they actually had to travel.
After Masada, we drove further south along the shores of the Dead Sea to a Hotel/Spa where we changed our clothes and waded into the Dead Sea. Before I waded in, I stood on the shore and shot some video of our group. I was blown away by how bizarre this looked! People were floating "on top" of the water! I had never seen anything like it. I set down the video camera and waded on out. The "sandy beach" was actually crushed salt crystals. The water felt slightly oily to the touch, like a light salad dressing. It felt denser than regular water and I could feel it pressing on my legs as I waded out to where Susie was already floating. I sat down in the water, laid back, and popped right to the surface! I've never been great at floating on my back. My legs always seem to sink and the rest of me follows. But not here. It was effortless. I laid back in the Judean sun and soaked up the rays while every muscle relaxed in the salty water. At one point, a splash caught my eye. To say it stung really underestimates it! And you can't wipe your eyes with your own salty hands. So Pastor Betsey who was nearby wiped my eyes with her shirt tail and I went back to floating along. When it was time to go, it was had to leave this place. So incredibly relaxing!
Our final stop was in Jericho which lies in the Palestinian-controlled West Bank. Jericho is the oldest, continually occupied city in the world. It's claim to fame in history is it's the first city captured by Israelites under the leadership of Joshua. Later, the prophet Elisha healed the water spring now known as the Ain es-Sultan spring. And in Jesus' day, it was Jesus himself who came through town, met a small man named Zaccheus who was hanging out in a tree to see Jesus better as he walked through town. Jesus called him down from the tree, invited himself to the man's house, and made a new friend. Our time in Jericho was marked by a visit to the Tel Jericho, an archeological dig revealing the 23 cities beneath the current one. There, we took time to pray for the cities of the world. Pastor Jim remarked that God has a love affair with cities. The theme of God loving cities is replete through the Bible. We prayed for our own cities, for Jerusalem, and—as the Muslim call to prayer echoed through the valley—we prayed for Jericho.
Tomorrow will be our final day in Jerusalem. Our visits will be to the Old City, the Rabbinical Tunnels, the Wailing Wall, St. Anne's Church and the Pool of Bethsaida, the Jewish Quarter, and the highlight of the day—the Garden Tomb where we will see what could have been Golgotha where Jesus was crucified and a tomb very similar to where he was buried and rose again three days later. We'll take communion there and celebrate our pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Photos from today are here.
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