A Pair of Brown Shoes: ISRAEL: MASADA-DEAD SEA-QUMRAN CAVES-THE DEAD SEA

THIS MORNING WE DROVE VIA THE JUDEAN DESERT TO THE DEAD SEA; THE LOWEST POINT ON THE EARTH. AS WE TRAVELED WE OBSERVED SHEPHERDS IN THEIR FIELDS. IT SEEMED TIME HAD STOOD STILL. THEY LIVE IN MAKE SHIFT SHELTERS OR CAVES AMONG THE SHEEP THEY CARE FOR.

SAUNA BATH HOUSES AT MASADA

A BEAUTIFUL NEW ROAD TAKES US SOUTH ALONG THE SHORES OF THE DEAD SEA TO MASADA, TRULY A REMARKABE PIECE OF HISTORY.

WE ASCENDED MASADA BY CABLE CAR TO WALK AMONG THE MAGNIFICIENT RUINS OF THE FORTRESS, WHERE FROM 70-73 A.D. THE JEWISH DEFENDERS MADE THE LAST STAND OF THE JUDEAN REVOLT AGAINST ROME AND WHERE THE REMAINS OF STOREHOUSES, CISTERNS AND A 6TH CENTURY BYZANTINE CHURCH ARE STILL ON VIEW.

AS WE VIEWED THIS PLACE CALLED MASADA, I AM ONCE AGAIN REMINDED HOW DIFFICULT TRAVEL WAS IN THE TIMES OF THE APOSTLES. EVEN WITH MAN MADE STEPS, WE TOOK A CABLE CAR UP THE SIDE OF THIS MOUNTAIN. FOLKS DO FIND THIS A FAVORED PLACE TO HIKE. I AM AFRAID THAT WOULD BE A VACATION WEEK WITHIN ITSELF FOR US!

WE RETURNED ALONG THE DEAD SEA TO QUMRAN, WHERE THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS WERE DISCOVERED. THE STORY GOES THAT SHEPHERDS DISCOVERED THEM IN ONE OF THE NUMEROUS CAVES IN THIS COUNTRY. THEY WERE CAREFULLY HIDDEN IN CLAY JARS. THERE IS THAT WORD 'HIDDEN' AGAIN.

THERE WAS A STOP I REALLY WAS UNSURE ABOUT. IT WAS TIME FOR THOSE WHO DARED TO FLOAT IN THE DEAD SEA. I DECIDED NOT TO LOOK BACK WITH REGRETS AT HAVING MISSED OUT ON ANYTHING ON OUR TRIP.

MUCKY BOTTOM ASIDE...IS THIS NOT A BEAUTIFUL DEAD SEA?

THOSE OF US, WHO DARED, STRUGGLED THROUGH THE BLACK CLAY MUD INTO THE WATER. YOU NEED NOT WORRY ABOUT DROWNING IN THIS SEA THAT IS VOID OF ALL LIFE. IT HAS SO MUCH SALT AND MINERALS YOU CAN NOT SINK. YOU MIGHT HOWEVER, FIND IT DIFFICULT TO ROLL OVER OR GET UP!

I DID FLOAT, BUT THAT IS ABOUT ALL I CAN SAY. THE CITY GIRL CAME OUT IN ME. ALLISON, A CO-TRAVLER WAS THE MOST POPULAR PERSON AT THE SEA. SHE REMEMBERD TO BRING SOAP! I WAS TOTALLY AMAZED THAT WHAT I CONSIDERED BLACK MUCK ACTUALLY SUPPORTS A POPULAR COSMETIC LINE. SO MUCH SO IN FACT, THE STATE OF ISRAEL IS LIMITING THIS VALUABLE RESOURCE. WHO KNEW?

FEW WERE AMUSED WHEN I COMMENTED HAD I KNOWN IT WAS SUCH A LUXURY ITEM, PERHAPS I WOULD NOT HAVE WASHED THE YUK FROM BETWEEN MY TOES. LATER WHILE TOURING THE UNDER GROUND CISTERNS BELOW THE DUNG GATE, I LEARNED ALL THE WASTE EMPTIED INTO THE DEAD SEA. JUST IMAGINE MY DELIGHT.

WE DID MAKE A VERY BRIEF STOP IN JERICO. I WAS NOT PARTICULARLY THRILLED TO BE THERE EITHER. NEWS WAS THERE HAD BEEN ‘SOME ROCK THROWING’ IN THE AREA. THAT IS CODE FOR CIVIL UNREST. ME, I WAS READY TO MOUNT THE CAMEL AND RIDE IF NEED BE!