Middle East Adventure, 10/5/11
In an email to Rob and Liza:
In an email to Rob and Liza:
We've not had email access for several days, so we thought we'd write a note before beginning the third part of our trip, tomorrow. We hope you are all well!
We just returned from our farewell dinner for the Israel trip. All 12 travelers/pilgrims and our guide Nurit and driver Amitai had unforgettable experiences that were made all the better because of what each of us brought to the group. We will miss nine as they head back to their homes in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Arizona. We embark on the Palestine Territory adventure tomorrow morning, the two of us and Evelyn (who is from NJ).
Today was much more than traveling from one hotel to another and eating a big meal in the old (and interesting) part of Tel Aviv!
This morning was another beautiful dawn over the Dead Sea. (George proposed that it be renamed the Salty Sea, but Larry amended the proposal to "Salt Sea"; George agreed to the friendly change, and we all had a good laugh.) Bathers were already floating in the sea by 6:00 a.m. while we prepared our bags for pick up.
After breakfast, we headed north along the Dead Sea, stopping at Masada for about two hours to explore the ruins of this fortress which Herod the Great expanded and made into his place, complete with palace, baths (plural), huge cisterns, huge storehouses, and rooms for sleeping. The place and its stories are amazing. There is a movie (made quite awhile ago) about Masada and with that name for its title. Guess we'll see it sometime in November!
We continued north, gazing always at the Dead Sea as we passed first the south part and then the north part, finally seeing only the Jordan River where it feeds into the Dead Sea.
Our final stop before continuing to Tel Aviv was Qumran where we explored the ruins of the Essenes monastic-like community, all men who were ultra-orthodox Jews who were scribes writing copies of Old Testament books and also coda of how they lived. The scrolls they prepared are among those discovered in ca. 1947, and so named the Dead Sea scrolls. Although we were only at the site long enough to view some of the ruins, see two of the caves where the scrolls were hidden, see a short film, and eat a quick lunch in an inadequate and chaotic cafeteria, we're glad we had the experience. And we were sad to leave the Dead Sea, alias Salt Sea.
Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, Dad and I walked along the promenade by the Mediterranean Sea, to Old Jaffa (to find the house of Simon the Tanner where Simon Peter had stayed) and back, stopping so that I could wade in the Mediterranean Sea (see photo below)!
References:
We just returned from our farewell dinner for the Israel trip. All 12 travelers/pilgrims and our guide Nurit and driver Amitai had unforgettable experiences that were made all the better because of what each of us brought to the group. We will miss nine as they head back to their homes in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Arizona. We embark on the Palestine Territory adventure tomorrow morning, the two of us and Evelyn (who is from NJ).
Today was much more than traveling from one hotel to another and eating a big meal in the old (and interesting) part of Tel Aviv!
This morning was another beautiful dawn over the Dead Sea. (George proposed that it be renamed the Salty Sea, but Larry amended the proposal to "Salt Sea"; George agreed to the friendly change, and we all had a good laugh.) Bathers were already floating in the sea by 6:00 a.m. while we prepared our bags for pick up.
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| start of our Masada discovery |
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| view from Masada |
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| north end, Dead Sea |
Our final stop before continuing to Tel Aviv was Qumran where we explored the ruins of the Essenes monastic-like community, all men who were ultra-orthodox Jews who were scribes writing copies of Old Testament books and also coda of how they lived. The scrolls they prepared are among those discovered in ca. 1947, and so named the Dead Sea scrolls. Although we were only at the site long enough to view some of the ruins, see two of the caves where the scrolls were hidden, see a short film, and eat a quick lunch in an inadequate and chaotic cafeteria, we're glad we had the experience. And we were sad to leave the Dead Sea, alias Salt Sea.Upon arrival in Tel Aviv, Dad and I walked along the promenade by the Mediterranean Sea, to Old Jaffa (to find the house of Simon the Tanner where Simon Peter had stayed) and back, stopping so that I could wade in the Mediterranean Sea (see photo below)!
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| Tel Aviv skyline |
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| Bev in the Mediterranean Sea |
References:
Ithaca, by Constantine P Cavafy (1911)
Poem that Nurit read Tuesday night, our last night of the Israel discovery OAT trip.
Flavius Josephus, The Essential Writings, and The Jewish War (two books), Edited by Paul Maier
Poem that Nurit read Tuesday night, our last night of the Israel discovery OAT trip.
Flavius Josephus, The Essential Writings, and The Jewish War (two books), Edited by Paul Maier
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