Farewell Yerushalayim...Hello Dead Sea


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Middle East » Israel » Jerusalem District » Jerusalem
March 3rd 2011
Published: March 8th 2011
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It was another bright and beautiful morning here in Yerushalayim. We started our day off with a tour of the City of David. King David's capital was originally founded south of the Temple Mount outside the walls of what today is the Old City. It was only in later generations when more space was needed that Yerushalayim was expanded to the north and west beyond the Temple Mount. Today archeologists are still working to uncover and preserve what remains of David's original capital and the earlier Jebusite city that he conquered and rebuilt.

The City of David is an archeological preservation park. We began our tour with a 3-D movie about the site and what it looked like in David's day. We also toured the remains that have already been uncovered. Then we climbed down into the water system. We were able to see the original Caananite tunnel that the Jebusites built to access the spring, and the later tunnel dug during King Hezekiah's reign that brought the Gihon spring inside the City walls and under protection in times of siege. We had planned on walking through the wet tunnel, but recent rains had raised the water level quite high and made the water very cold. So, we took the dry tunnel instead. It was amazing to see what they had accomplished so far beneath the surface with just simple hand tools. When we emerged from Hezekiah's Tunnel, as it is called today, we walked to the Shiloach (or Siloam) pool. We were able to see the remains of the street that went past the Pool in the days of the Second Temple. After completing our tour, we visited the gift shop and took a break for ice cream.

After leaving the City of David, it was time to say farewell to Yerushalayim. As I said last night, it was not a farewell that I wanted to make. I kept my eyes focused on the City until the last possible moment before the walls of the Mount of Olives tunnel blocked my view. There is an old song where the singer says he's left his heart in San Fransisco...Well, I am pretty sure that I have left mine in Yerushalayim. I know that I will get back someday, but everyday between now and then will seem like a day too many. I've barely left, and all I want to do is return.

From Yerushalayim, we drove back into the Judean Desert on our way to Genesis Land. Genesis Land is kind of a living history place dealing with Bibilical figures from, you guessed it, the Book of Genesis. When we arrived at Genesis land, we were greeted by Eliezer, the servant of Avraham. Eliezer told us a little about his master and how much he enjoyed guests, and he invited us to come meet Avraham. First, however, we had to do something about our "strange" clothes. So we donned "robes" to cover our modern clothes. We were led outside to the camels and taught the basics of camel riding (which is hold on and lean back). Then we climbed on our chosen camels and rode down to meet Avraham. Camel riding is nothing like horse back riding, and by the way, the camels really could use shock absorbers. We were greeted by Avraham with cool spring water to wash our hands, and then we were led inside his tent to be treated to his famous hospitality. We were served a feast of royal proportions while Avraham told us about himself and his family. After the feast, we returned to the camels and rode them back to the 21st century. When we arrived, Eliezer presented us with our International Camel Riding Licenses (no, I am not kidding), and we did a little shopping.

We continued through the Judean Desert on the road to the Dead Sea. Our next stop was Qumaran. Qumaran is where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. It also housed a sect of Jews called the Essenes in the Second Temple period. We viewed a short movie about Qumaran before touring the museum that detailed some of the archeological finds that had been discovered there. After that, we toured the site of Qumaran itself, and we were able to see the remains of buildings, cisterns, aqueducts, and mikvahs used by the Essene community. In the distance, we could also see the caves that Essenes lived in and used to store the precious scrolls that would later be discovered and named the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was a clear day and quite warm. I am not sure this is a place I would want to be in the heat of the summer...

After Qumaran, we continued to our hotel at the Dead Sea Resort. It was quite close to the Dead Sea, an easy walking distance in fact. Some of us walked out to the Dead Sea itself, while others elected to visit the hotel's Dead Sea Spa instead. After dinner, we gathered on a balcony overlooking the Dead Sea to enjoy our final night in Israel. We talked about all we had seen and done so far. The trip has been just amazing, and so much more has happened than I have been able to relate in the blog. We all have our own stories to tell and more pictures than I have been able to post. Once we get back, I am planning on creating a gallery of all the pictures and posting it here so everyone can see them. But for now...packing...

Shalom Alechem!


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