So, we got in so late last night that we just couldn't function enough to type. We had a hard time trying to decide what day it was. Yesterday we left the Dead Sea. We started our day at 5 am. We Skyped with the kids and got to see their cute little faces and to hear some long tales about what was going on. It was Wednesday night after church for them and not quite sunrise for us. Last Thursday, for us, Samuel gave us the entire Wednesday night talk. I don't believe that he left out one word, so thanks to whoever gave the talk that night. We seem to think that our little ones aren't paying attention when they are really soaking up everything they see and hear. We didn't get a Wednesday night recap, but we heard lots of other stories.
Anyway, we head down to the Dead Sea to see if we could float. The sunrise was absolutely breathtaking and the water was so beautiful and clear. I wasn't expecting the water to be this way. It is greasy feeling and it is true, without even trying, the water just forces you to the top and you begin floating. Breakfast was delicious. We have stayed a nice hotels on this trip, but the Dead Sea Spa Hotel was fantastic. Great views, great rooms and great food. You can't beat that combination.
From there we drove north to the Allenby Bridge where we crossed the border into Israel. We met our faithful tour guide, Elie and our driver Fawzy. We missed them while we were in Jordan and we were glad to see them again.
We headed south along the western edge of the Dead Sea to Masada. This fortress was built by Herod the Great. In 70AD, 958 Jewish Zealots retreated to Masada and held out against the powerful Roman army until 73AD. It was a beautiful place. We rode a lift up to the top. The view of the Dead Sea was fabulous from such a high place. It was sunny and pretty hot, but we were glad that we went. Afterwards, we had lunch in front of the cliffs and caves of En Gedi. This is the location where Saul chased David in an attempt to kill him.
Qumran was our next stop. This is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. These scrolls have been dated to the second century BC and helped the world to verify the authenticity of the Biblical translations that we use today.
From there, we drove north to the tel of ancient Jericho. Wow. I understand that story so much more now. From the top of the tel, you could see the possible locations of Gilgal, where the Israelites camped while they marched around the city of Jericho. The excavations that have been going on have detailed many walls and foundations of times prior to the Israelites as well as from that time. It was so easy to see where the Israelite army "marched around the city". I can't wait to tell that story to my Bible class the next time.
We arrived late in Jerusalem (around 8PM). After dinner, we were all exhausted from a long and tiring, but wonderful day.
This morning, we got up and ate breakfast. Shortly before going down to breakfast, we realized that our alarm clock was off by 30 minutes and we were late to breakfast. We ran down, swallowed our breakfast, and just barely made it out to the bus in time.
Today was spent entirely in Jerusalem. Barry's Mom and Dad have been here twice before and they were so excited at the end of the day. Apparently, we did a bunch of things that they had never done before. We started this morning by going to the ancient City of David which lies on the piece of land to the south of the Old City. It was interesting to see the foundation of the palace of David as well as the ancient water system for the city. We were able to see Hezekiah's tunnel, which King Hezekiah built to bring water into the city. We were also able to visit the Pool of Siloam and then climb some steps that citizens of Jerusalem would have climbed when they were returning to the city from the Pool. These steps were only opened a month ago. Elie even said that he had not been able to see these yet.
Next, we entered Jerusalem through the Jaffa Gate. The walk through the shops of Jerusalem was really interesting. Lots of things to buy and lots of shopkeepers that were anxious to sell you something. After lunch, we went to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. This church sits on top of the traditional spot of Golgotha and the Burial Cave of Jesus. Although this is probably the right area, it seems to me like the church curators (which is a separate story) have taken it a little too far.
From the church, we walked the Via Dolorosa (in reverse order) to the Pool of Bethesda near the Lion's Gate. The Pool of Bethesda is mentioned in John 5 and was located outside the city walls at the time of Jesus. After driving around and seeing more views of the city, we headed back to the hotel where we enjoyed a wonderful dinner.
We can't believe that this trip is slowing coming to a close. We have learned so much. We can't wait to get home and tell our kids about all we learned.
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