Dead in the Water

Today we traveled Jericho Road to the Dead Sea.  Driving into the Judean desert was surreal.  For a while there was scrub on the hills, and then the hills grew bigger and the scrub lessened.  By the time we were about 20 miles from the sea, it was just large, dry, rocky mountains, totally barren, with small caves carved into some of them.  It's hard to believe anyone ever survived living here, but in fact this is where many of the Bible stories took place.  It's where Jesus was tempted by the devil with bread and water -- I have a better sense of what a temptation that would be, now that I've seen what desolation is there!  Finally, we arrived at the dead sea and drove all the way down its western coast.  There were many oases in the midst of the desert here, and lots of date palm farms along the coast.  But still those mountains loomed tall, dry, and hot.  They are the site the of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were found in 1957, preserved in a dry, dry cave. 

Very, very dry and dusty and rocky land.

Our first stop was on the southern end of the sea, at a mountain called Masada.  It's been inhabited by sevearl different communities, but the most famous was that of the Zealots, who revolted against the Romans in 70 CE, because they refused to disobey their God to follow Roman rule.  They lived at the top of this giant mountain with ingenious methods of collecting water, where they stayed for several years.  The Romans laid siege to them for months, eventually building a giant ramp up the mountain and battering the wall down.  Just as the Romans were about to break down the last rampart, the community committed mass suicide, and the Romans found only dead bodies after all that work.  The community was left very well preserved, and archaeologists have built a lot of it back up.  It's pretty amazing, with an awesome view of the Dead Sea valley.

A steam room (!) in the mountain compound.  The columns supported the floor over boiling water, and the steam came out from clay pipes.  This fortress was originally built by Herod the Great before it was taken over by Zealots 70 years later.  Herod had a taste for fine bathing.

After that, we made our way back down the mountain (by cable car!) to a beach on the Dead Sea, and immersed ourselves in the famous healing powers of the Dead Sea.  The water was warm and lovely, and felt normal at first, but then, when you got about waist high, you were no longer walking on rocks, but on water!  You just don't sink!  It's so full of salt that it buoys you up very high in the water.  Lots of fun! There were peals of laugher on all sides, all afternoon.

Synchronized floating in the Dead Sea.  Those mountains you see in the background are Jordan!

I also found this a great opportunity to pray.  I could lay back in the water, letting it cover all but my face, and totally relax.  It was perhaps the closest to a womb I've ever gotten since leaving it.  I could relax every muscle without fear of drowning, and let my mind wander completely (until I bumped into someone, anyway.  And then, there would be just more laughter).

Eventually, we all got the extremely salty water in our mouths and eyes too much, and it really stung.  Time to move on...

We had hoped to stop in Jericho that evening, but it was getting too late, so we made our way back to Jerusalem.  Along the way, we stopped for gas, and realized you could get camel rides!  it's totally cheesy, but it was it was a really fun and strange experience.  The way they ratchet themselves into standing is really unusual -- and quite surprising to be on their backs while they do it!

Me on a camel!

Coretta suggested a sing-a-long, and we sang various folk songs on the drive.  I realized about halfway through Kum Ba Yah (yes, really) that we were on Jericho Road, the road on which the story of the Good Samaritan takes place.  As the singing grew louder, I became aware that we were passing several cars pulled off to the side of the road having some kind of problem.  We kept singing, and even though I thought a lot about it, I didn't stop the singing or say anything to the others until we were too far past them and the song had ended.  So, there I am, the minister who passed by on Jericho Road.  Granted, there are a lot of mitigating factors (I don't speak the language, we don't know how to get help in this country, we couldn't even be sure what the problem was), but I bet the Samaritan had those factors, too.  In fact, I'm rather sure that he did.  So I failed a test, and it's a test I fail very often on roads not named Jericho, too.  We all do.  But it was particularly poignant today.

Our tour today ended with the Israel Museum, where they have a giant model of the Second Temple period Jerusalem, which basically means it's what Jerusalem would have looked like in jesus' day.  This is also the home of the Dead Sea Scrolls, which revolutionized the way we understand the bible.  It was amazing to see those things, to be so close to history in that way.  So many of the holy sites here are either "we think this happened here, but have no way to know for sure" or are totally covered with gilded and bejeweled decorations.  But these scrolls, which were in a cave 2000 years ago, are now just inches from my face.  Crazy cool.

And with that, I will say goodnight.  I am not sure when I'll get to write about my Palestinian experience, but it will have to be another time.  Getting up very early tomorrow!