Mt. of Olives, Masada, Dead Sea, Bethlehem

I'm so disappointed I can't upload photos as today was incredible. Because I missed my flight I missed the city tour of Jerusalem yesterday. So the rest of my group got to go to the Mt. of Olives yesterday and this morning our guide said she would make a pitstop there for me on our way to Masada & the Dead Sea. The Mt. of Olives is on a hill overlooking Jerusalem on the other hill and the valley in between. It is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. Because we were in a hurry, I got the short explanation and pointing out of the sites where Jesus had the last supper, where he was betrayed, the place where he ascended, and the Dome of the Rock (where Mohammad is to have ascended). So much going on in this place, its too much to even grasp all at one time.

Upon leaving the Mt. of Olives we made our way to the Dead Sea and Masada. There is literally a line drawn between the Israeli side and the Palestinian side. The West Bank is a saftey zone in between for the Israeli's to access the Dead Sea safely. There are many security checkpoints and lots of areas where the wall separating the two "sides" runs clearly along the highway. Much like how Berlin was, traveling from the West through East Germany to get to Berlin. Leaving Jerusalem, there is basically nothing but desert all the way to the Dead Sea, and then for miles along the northern part of the Dead Sea is still nothing but desert. There are a few Kibutz along the way, but really nothing but isolation. Along this northern portion is where the Dead Sea scrolls were found in some caves we passed.

Masada is a palace fortress that King Herod built back in 35 B.C. It sits in this desert region and is completely inaccessible from all sides, just by being atop a cliff in the middle of the desert and then King Herod built walls on top of that to protect his palace. Historians do not believe he ever actually stayed there, but had it built and stocked with supplies for 1000 men indefinitely if/when he decided to seek refuge there from warring invaders. Lots of history there too from the Romans overtaking the fortress and the Zealots also having their time there. Like all of this region, history just piles itself on top of itself in many layers. Very hard to keep up with as I am overwhelmed by all the information and working on about 4 hours sleep in 2 days.

After leaving Masada, we went to the Dead Sea for lunch and a quick swim. No one else was going swimming except me and another fellow Jerry. I thought we would be "bobbing like corks" in a lovely sandy, warm, salty sea. Oh no. Besides the entire "beach" being black dead sea mud you sank in up to your knees at times, it was Palestinian school boys day. There were probably 200 young Palestinian boys at this beach and 2 women. One was about 75 years old, 200 pounds and wearing a large black moo moo bathing suit covered in mud. The other woman was wearing a small brown bikini. Me. There were men/boys lined up along along the beach and the railing just waiting to watch me walk down to the beach. It was so awful. Jerry and his wife (Kathy) encouraged me to go slipping and sliding through the mud into the water while Kathy took pictures and laughed. We literally floated on top of the water for a few minutes trying to figure out if we would ever get the mud off of our legs. Of course, novelty that we were, we were surrounded by a group of Palestinian boys speaking perfect English telling us how to float and to swim out further and put mud on our bodies. Was hilarious. Getting out was even more hilarious. Showering off in front of all these gawking boys was even worse. Boys and girls don't even go to the same school, let alone be at the beach together. My entire travel group (16 people) teased me that 200 boys were going home to write in their journal about getting to see a woman in a bikini at the Dead Sea. And I know you all know how desperate these boys must be to appreciate me in a bikini! Can't wait to see what the Dead Sea swim in Jordan is going to be like. Can't even imagine...

After the Dead Sea we all opted to take an unplanned side trip to Bethlehem which is a Palestinian city. Our guide, Ilana, is an Israeli citizen and not allowed to enter the Palestinian authority. She arranged for someone (a Palestinian) to walk across the border, greet us and walk us over the border crossing to a bus to take us into Bethlehem to the Church of the nativity where the cave/manger where Jesus was born. What an experience. The crossing was through a big wall with gun towers (again much like Berlin). We are not allowed to take pictures. Coming out the other side we are in Palestine. This side of the wall is covered with grafitti talking about how walls do not create peace and other political slogans.

Right away you can feel the difference of the two cities. Feels much more chaotic and mostly men around as opposed to the bustling contemporary feel Jerusalem has. We went right to the church of the nativity. Someone is waiting for the computer, so I will be very quick here. There is a star marking the place where Jesus was born in a cave beneath this church. Also next to it is the manger where he was laid after being born. It was quite surreal and packed with tourists of all kinds and nationalities. Very interesting. We sort of walked through the streets after this and hit a tourist shop, then back through the wall to Israel and Jerusalem. Quite a moving experience I would like to talk more about later.

Now I am off to bed to catch up on some sleep. Tomorrow we tour more of Jerusalem and then to Tel Aviv for 2 days.