Reality Check
It's been almost a year since going to Israel, Jordan and Egypt. I've obviously not finished posting everything from that trip here, and much is happening currently. So this blog is now going to cover current events (at least the ones that are in my little corner of the universe) in nearly real-time.
If you discover any errors in my descriptions of the sites in Israel and Egypt, please feel free to leave a comment.
The Dead Sea is truly one of the more amazing locations on the earth. I had heard about it from others who had been there, but one has to truly experience it to appreciate it. The shore of the Dead Sea is the lowest elevation you can go to on the earth and not be under water. And, it's salty. Really salty. The ocean contains 3% salt; the Dead Sea contains 30% salt. It's so salty, that it feels oily or slimy, because of the mineral content. It's so salty, that nothing can live in it.We had been given some pointers by Mickey: don't get your face or ears in the water; if you have any cuts or abrasions on your skin they will hurt; and you will float like a cork.Mari and I took our time walking down to the sea after arriving at our hotel room. By the time we got down there, most of the others in our group were already in the water. So I waded into the water, wearing my sandals, and was told that when I get to about waist-deep, just lean backwards. So I did, and to my amazement and surprise, my feet bobbed to the surface like they were filled with air. I couldn't stop laughing. I swam out to where it was a bit deeper, and tried to get my feet beneath me. I could hardly do it. They wanted to float. I had to struggle to get my feet down underneath me, but once I did, treading water was effortless.
On the way there, the landscape looks desolate.
And there is a very large factory that processes the salts from the Dead Sea into various chemicals.
More information about the Dead Sea can be found in this Wikipedia article, and in other places on the web.
Another stop within a relatively short distance, on the same day as Solomon's Pillars, the Egyptian Miners' Temple and the Tabernacle. Later it's on to the Dead Sea.
One thing that impressed me about this place is that there is absolutely nothing growing here at all. Not a stick, a leaf or a twig anywhere. It's difficult to imagine, in 5,000 B.C., how the slaves who worked these mines could survive. In fact, it's very likely they knew they would die here, as apparently most of them did.
Here's a link to an article about the area.
After our stay down at the Red Sea, we went back north. First stop, Timna. There we viewed a small theater presentation on the Egyptian miners and the Jews who lived there in ancient times.
Back on the bus, went into the park area a few miles to the site of Solomon's Pillars. There we disembarked for a hike up to the top of the trail where there is an Egyptian hieroglyph and down the other side where there's an archaeological site of an Egyptian miners' temple.
I found a couple of resources on the web about the area:
http://sakharov.net/travel/timna.html
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Archaeology/timna.html
We spent two nights in Eilat, a resort town on the coast of the Red Sea. This link to the Google map shows just how close to Jordan and Egypt Eilat is. The red "A" is the center of town in Eilat. That white line on the right running north/south is the Jordanian border. The white line curving around on the left is the Egyptian border.
"I think we should make a right"
The first night we checked into our hotel right before dinner after a full day of visiting the previous sites and driving south. The next morning we rose early and took our bus over to the border crossing to Jordan, where we left our beloved guide Mickey behind to make the day trip to Petra (click here for the blog entry for Petra). Mickey, being an Israeli Jew, was not allowed to go into Jordan; he met us back at the border crossing on our return. At the border, we got off our bus, walked across the border, met our Jordanian guide on the other side, and got on a Jordanian bus for the day. After coming back from Petra, we did the same in reverse. That was one long day.
The next morning the members in our group went in different directions. Some went to the underwater "Oceanarium," with a view of the Red Sea life under the surface of the water. Some went scuba diving, some went snorkeling. I was with the snorkeling group, along with Mari and Mark Collins. That was way cool, but unfortunately I didn't get any underwater pictures. My camera would have gotten wet, and that's not a good thing.
One thing I didn't realize at the time, but found out by looking at the Google Map, was that the place where we went snorkeling was no more than a mile or two from the Egyptian border. See that little round thing sticking out into the water and the cluster of buildings adjacent to it in the satellite photo? That's where we were. I don't know, that just kind of seemed fascinating to me, with all the news reports of the tensions in the Middle East. I guess that explains the tanks.
On our way down towards Eilat, a resort city on the northern tip of the Red Sea, we stopped at Makhtesh Ramon. An important geological feature in the Negev Desert region of Israel, it's the world's largest erosion crater, better explained than I can do at Wikipedia's article here. Walking up to the lip of this crater is a breathtaking view. It's a vast space, in fact it is so big that geologists didn't even know it was a crater until the time of airplanes when they could fly over it. Of course they say it took millions and millions of years to form, but how can they possibly know that? They haven't been around that long.
Click here for Wikipedia's entry on Avdat
This was still only the second day in Israel. We've already been to Beer Sheva, Tel Arad, Mamshit, the Wilderness at Tzin, and now Avdat. Plus spent the night at a really nice hotel in Mizpe Ramon and had two gorgeous meals. You get an idea of the pace of this trip. And to try to absorb all the information being shared by Mickey and by Pastor Paul, I have to trust God that He will give me the power to remember what He wants me to remember.
Anyway, Avdat was fascinating, with its commanding position at the top of a hill, a view of the valley below, and its ancient architecture. It had been built by the Nabateans, and later occupied by the Romans. During the Byzantine period a church was built here, the ruins of which are apparent. It was a fairly large city by the standards of the time, and affluent. The Nabateans prospered from the spice trade such that they were well off.
Left Behind
Ever wonder what it feels like to be left behind in a foreign country? In the middle of the desert? With no water or food? Here's where I got a taste of that experience.
This being only the second day in Israel, I hadn't gotten a feel yet for the pace of the group. Mickey, our guide, had warned us pretty clearly to stay with the group, so I really have no one to blame but myself. I got too involved in taking pictures - fascinated with the columns, the broken-down pillars, the arches and the whole interestingness of the place, when I started to notice that I didn't see any of my friends around anymore. I started back towards the bus, and... the bus wasn't there. "OK, don't panic, there has to be an explanation for this..." I told myself. But I saw nobody around at all except for a few strangers. I looked down at the bottom of the hill, where there was a gas station and a place to eat, plus a little museum/visitor center. "Now what does our bus look like?" There were several buses, some of which were leaving. "That couldn't be my bus, could it?"
The only logical thing to do was to walk down the hill. I don't know, maybe a mile, maybe less, paved road, shouldn't be a problem, right?. All the while I'm walking I'm wondering "did they drive off and forget me?" "Nah, that couldn't happen. They're just teaching me a lesson, that's it."
Anyway, I walked down the hill, and thoughts are going through my mind, like "I wonder what it would be like to be stranded here, in Israel? Could I get back home?" I made it towards the bottom of the hill and started to recognize our bus. I found our group gathered in an outdoor patio having lunch, and walked in and sat down. "Hi. Glad I found you." Turns out, a few of the people had to go to the bathroom really bad, and couldn't wait. Mari said she figured I could handle it, so they took off, figuring I'd do exactly what I did do. A happy ending.
Shoot Like a Tourist
One thing I resolved to do from this little lesson: shoot like a tourist. Don't get overly involved in being a creative artist when you're on a tightly-packed tour with twenty other people and a schedule to keep. That's just dumb. And probably selfish too. After that, it never happened again. Which explains why I got so many "just OK" pictures. But I had a great time getting them.
