Blogs from Jericho, West Bank, Israel, Middle East

Our wake up call at 5:00 AM this morning (at least in our room) was an overly persistent rooster and the Muslim Call to Prayer over the loudspeaker in town. A buffet breakfast was available at 7:00 am so we had plenty of time to get ready. Following breakfast we boarded the bus for our daily first full day of touring. On our way to our first stop, Herodium, we drove from Bethlehem through Bethany and on to just outside Jerusalem. We learned that Bethany was a place Jesus visited often to get away and relax. According to our guide Bethany stood for the house of the poor. Herodium is that mountain fortress that was created by Herod so he could tower above the rest of Israel, specifically Jerusalem. It was quite a climb to the ... read more

Today was a rainy and chilly day which makes it very difficult to take pictures. You must realize that many of the pictures I take are taken out the window of a moving bus....not the idea setting for picture taking. Today was really tough because when the rain did stop the bus windows were dirty. Our first stop was at the marker that showed Sea Level. We were headed to the Dead Sea which is the lowest place on earth so we had a photo op at the Sea level marker. We headed on down toward the Dead sea but first visited the place where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist called Qasr el Yehud. It was interesting because it was in what is known as no mans land. It was near the border of ... read more

Geo: 31.0461, 34.8516This is an amazing historical site. If anyone does not know the main story of Masada read The Dovekeepers or google it. The history of the site goes back to King Herod. This guy knew how to spend money. He built a winter castle on the mountain complete with saunas and bath houses. The main reason it is so well known though is it was the final home of about 700 Jews fleeing the Romans. I was amazed to see how much of the site has been excavated You can easily picture how everything was managed - living quarters, food storage, water cisterns - amazing. Then, the ramp the Romans built to reach the Jews living there...very sad ending to the story.After Masada we went to a bedouin camp. This is a fun, if ... read more

A Lesson in Time Today we traveled to Jericho; the ancient Natufian people first settled here over 10,000 years ago, before 8,000 BC. When archaeologist Tessa Wheeler excavated Jericho in the 1950's, she discovered evidence of 23 successive settlements upon this ancient tel. Today’s visit (and much of this journey through Turkey, Greece and Israel) has reminded my-American-self, who tends to think of history in years and decades, much of the world measures history in centuries and millennia. This discussion of time enables me to share a summary of the Biblical timeline we have been studying along the way. Numbers are rough estimates. Setting of Genesis Patriarchs (4,000 years ago) Exodus Event (3,500 years ago) Joshua & Israelites appearance in Canaan (3,200 years ago) Saul, David, Solomon & 1st Jerusalem Temple (3,000 years ago) Dest... read more

I’ll just give it to you straight, the unadulterated list, which I wish someone had spelled out for me (or that I’d listened more carefully). My normal narrative will follow, and reasons for some of these rules should become crystal clear, unlike the waters of the Dead Sea. Do any of the things in the “Don’t” list and you will regret doing so. Don’t do things in the “Do” list and the worst that can happen is you might miss a once in a lifetime opportunity. First,the “Don’ts”: 1. Don’t drink the water. (This one is a biggie) 2. Don’t get water in your eyes. 3. Don’t dunk your head in the water. 4. Don’t splash. 5. Don’t try to swim. 6. Don’t go out over your head. 7. Don’t get water in your mouth. 8. ... read more