Dead Sea Region

I stayed up late the night before and thought I had posted this day to the blog, but I guess not. That saddens me, as it was my favorite day of the trip so far and I wanted to post the blogs each day while the memories were still fresh. So, I’m writing this — day 5 — in the afternoon of day 7. Hopefully my memory will serve me well.

The first stop was Masada, a mountain that is 1,432 feet above the shore of the Dead Sea and 231 feet above sea level, 1,950 feet long, 650 wide, surrounded on all sides by deep ravines, and cut off from civilization by the Judean desert. The fortress of Masada was built for the personal needs of King Herod. He was worried that either the Jews or the Romans would try to overthrow him, so he built this private luxurious fortress-palace. He diverted the floods of the Judean desert into cisterns carved into the mountain and stored huge quantities of water, foods, and weapons there — all for his personal use.

Going up to the top in cable cars, I felt a little bit like Indiana Jones. The place was incredible and the view was absolutely grand. I did not look like Indiana, as you can see from this picture…

It was so cool, it kind of reminded me of a Disneyland adventure ride. It almost didn’t seem real. The whole day was like that. You can see that I was wearing my swim trunks in preparations for a dip in the Dead Sea later that day. Here’s some video…

Our next visit was Ein Gedi, a tropical oasis whose Hebrew name means “spring of the young goat.” It is so beautiful that it is found in a poetic description in the Song of Songs. It was here that David fled to the caves when he was hiding from Saul…

At lunch, we found our group going back to the Qumran area, where I was feeling decidedly sick to the stomach. After a somewhat lengthy restroom visit, I was doing much better, though, and was able to enjoy the lunch buffet. (smile) After lunch, I decided to give in and give the camel guy some dough so that I could say that I had ridden a camel in Israel. A friend taped the experience for me. I’m sure the girls back home will enjoy watching this one…

It was just a hop and a skip over to the Dead Sea after lunch. This was another unforgettable experience — again much like a theme park ride. You do not swim in the Dead Sea, as the water is comprised of 33% minerals and salt. Crazy! Daniel warned us not to get it in our eyes or mouth as it stings very sharply and doesn’t taste very good. I learned about the icky taste accidentally — yuck! It was a surreal experience — like laying on a waterbed while on the water which felt a lot like some sort of oily sunscreen. I could literally sit up and read a magazine while floating. I did the “superman”, triple twists, and every other impossible trick that you could imagine.

Daniel also suggested that we cover ourselves in the Dead Sea mud, which is used for healing and cosmetic purposes worldwide. Here’s some footage…

After showering off the Dead Sea — and still feeling tingly all over — we did an hour stop at a rather large Jerusalem gift shop. I had already purchased gifts for my girls and Deanna, so I didn’t do anymore spending…

After we got back to the hotel, I showered, ate, and returned via shuttle for our first night of the convention. It was a powerful evening, as one would have imagined. Ken Medema, an old friend and amazing musician from the Youth Specialties conventions is providing his prophetic voice and musical genius as a backdrop to all of the services. Quite amazing.

Here’s my thoughts at the end of day 5…