The day dawned clear and bright, not a cloud in the skies. When we boarded the bus we headed toward the Dead Sea again. We drove along the shoreline of the Dead Sea with the Judean Mountains on the one side, the Dead Sea on the other, and on the other side of the water Jordan was always visible.
Our first stop was Qumran, the site of the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Within the modern day West Bank, Qumran is perched on the edge of the Judean countryside, overlooking the Dead Sea. Currently, there are 11 caves where Dead Sea Scrolls have been discovered. These ancient texts were written by a community (similar to Hutterites or a Kibbutz) of men, possibly Sadducees. When they sensed they were about to be invaded by the Romans they hid the parchments in clay jars and hid them in caves.
As we left Qumran there was an announcement made that one of our planned stops was not open so there was a change of plans. That we would instead be visiting the town of Jericho. What a lovely surprise! Current day Jericho is an Arabic community with some Muslims and Christians. Our first stop was at a large Sycamore tree. Possibly even the one that Zaccheus would have climbed. It was a large tree with wide spreading limbs.
Then our tour guide took us to his friend’s establishment where we met an Albert Einstein look-alike. We had time for souvenir shopping of Dead Sea skin care products, Shofar horns, beautiful glass items, and dates.
Next we did a quick jog to the top of the building for some history and stories as we overlooked the city.
Then it was time for lunch. They set out an impressive spread for us! Many tasty salads and a special rice dish with chicken and vegetables. They topped it off with a special dessert called knafeh; it was so good it had the ladies asking for the recipe!
The highlight of the day was camel rides! Because time was slipping away, the rides were very short but a ride up on top of a tall camel is an experience not easily forgotten! Not to mention the ones who got camel kisses.
Everyone is very happy to see us. Tourism has been non existent for the past two years due to the war.
Leaving town and heading into the Judean hills the scenery quickly started to change. The ground turned from desert to lush farming ground. Large fields of date palms, mangos, apples, eggplants, corn, bananas and more date palms. The hills were covered with grasses and shrubs in the low lying areas.
We left the Dead Sea behind and started looking for the Jordan River. Surely it’s there somewhere. When we finally crossed it, there was a bit of surprise and disappointment. It was barely larger than a small creek! Then as we rounded a curve the beautiful Sea of Galilee came into view. The sun was setting and it bathed the water and surrounding mountains with a soft glow.
We settled into our hotel on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and enjoyed a delicious supper before retiring for the night.
