Dead Sea Day

I have tried to post every day. The internet has been too slow, which is frustrating because  I want to record each day. I’m going to try with no pictures and see if that works. If it does I can add them in later and at least go back in write the words.

So today is Saturday. It was Dead Sea day! We drove out of Jerusalem and down into the desert. We saw lots of Bedouin homes as we drove. They live in what looks like make shift tents with camels and kids and sheep roaming around in front. Doran talked to us about the difference between sheep and goats. He said the goats are smart. They can smell water 20 miles away and get to it. The sheep can be standing a few feet away and will miss it unless the shepard takes them there. They need the Shepard to show them the way of life. 

We stopped at sea level and met a very cute camel named Shoshann. I rode him, as did several others in our group. 

We had several stops today. Our first was at En Gobi. This is the place where David went to hide from Solomon. 

Then we went to Masada. This was incredible. Herod built this opulent fortress and castle with gardens and a bath house and every luxury at the top of a huge mountain. We rode up by cable car. It was just amazing. From the top you could see Sodom, or at least where it once was. And the Moab mountains where Ruth was from. It’s crazy how much Doran knows and how much he is telling us about the land and history and Judaism.

Next we went to Quaram where the Dead Sea scrolls were found and learned about them. 

Last on the itinerary was floating in the Dead Sea. This was pretty neat. You feel weightless and it’s super crazy. It was soooo crowded and hard to get to the dressing rooms and the water was kind of slimy feeling. We had fun though. I lost a shoe in the muddy bottom and Rob had to rescue and old guy who got water in his eyes ( a huge no-no ) and we completely lost and unable to get out by himself. It’s so salty that it burns your eyes, you can drown by taking a drink or it and it stings any cut you have.

Unfortunately on the way back to the hotel Nana sprained her ankle. Hopefully she’ll feel better tomorrow but she missed dinner tonight. Abba, Rob and I walked over to the American something hotel to eat in their super swanky restaurant. I had the best lamb I’ve ever had. Our dinner was fancy and yummy. Shortly after we got seated a party came in with several Catholic priests in their group and with 5 bodyguards. We don’t know who it was but we were impressed. 

After dinner we had a mission to find an ace bandage. There are no CVS’s or Walgreens about but we did find a medical clinic that was open and so we went there and explained what happened and eventually were able to buy what we needed. Many people speak English, but with varying degrees of proficiency, so I was impressed that we actually came back with the needed item!

This place is so warm and welcoming and there are people from every country speaking every language. It’s kind of crazy!