Of Seas and a Desert (Israel: Day 5, Friday, October 25, 2013)

Our first glimpse of Israel's Dead Sea, early in the morning.  It is a salt-water sea.

Qumran National Park, on the shores of the Dead Sea, Israel.

Qumran is the site where a wandering nomad found the most important discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, an early Old Testament of the Bible, in the late 1940's.  We are able not only to see the entrance to the cave where, by tossing a rock into the cave, and hearing something break, the nomad found urns with scrolls, we enter the complex where the Essenes lived before Jesus' time.  It is thought that John the Baptist lived here with them at one time.  Since I have read about the Dead Sea Scrolls discovery in the National Geographic Magazine when I was a little girl, and also more recently visited the exhibit in Kansas City, Kansas, U.S.A., I am very excited to actually be at this place.

The Cave where the Scrolls were found, very high on a cliff.

In the museum is a depiction of how the inside of the cave appeared when the Scrolls were found.

Qumran museum is professionally done, with explanations of how well organized was the Essene sect (of the Jewish religion).  The large community of men lived sparsely and prayed often.  The blazing October sun reminded us of how blistering the summer sun must be at over 100 degrees F.

Water, a precious commodity in the desert, was conserved in wells for ritual baths and drinking.  Here has been excavated an irrigation ditch.

Jericho, the oldest city in the world, settled in 8,000 B.C., is one of the first cities we pass through.  Rami points out a sycamore tree, like the tree Zaccheus climbed up into to better see Jesus.  He tells us, "This tree could not have been living at the time of Jesus, it's a young tree, only about 500 years old."  There's some time for shopping in Jericho; I select two blue and white ceramic plates to add to my dining room wall collection.

The 'young' Sycamore Tree

Our bus ride today is most interesting!  There are barbed-wire topped fences everywhere, sometimes two or three lines of fences close to each other.  We see red signs hanging on the Jordan-Israel border, "Danger - Mines," a reminder of a past war with wounds still visible.

This country is hilly, dry, with red soil and nearly no vegetation.  There are a few herds of sheep scattered on hillsides.  We ask Rami what they can possibly eat.  He reports, "They survive on the dried plants."  We marvel at the extensive banana farms, covered with black mesh.  The bananas are covered with blue plastic.  We all joke about the blue bananas.  There are also date palms and citrus orchards. All are fenced. Goats and donkeys keep the weeds down in the date orchards.  We see a line of them scampering inside a fence.

Next: the River Jordan, where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. 

The River Jordan is not much more than a wide stream at this point.  It was gratifying to be able to either stand in the river or put our hands in the river, slow-flowing, and muddy.  The reeds on both sides of the river were tall and lush.  Israeli soldiers with machine guns patrolled our side.  Jordanian soldiers with machine guns patrolled the other side.  I wondered, "Who would possibly want to test these guys by trying to cross over?"  It was very meaningful to renew our Baptismal Vows here.

Father Richard leading us in Baptismal Vow Renewal on the banks of the Jordan River, Israel.

Theresa, knee high in the River Jordan.

Lush vegetation on the banks of the river; desert everywhere else!

Our first view of the beautiful Sea of Galilee, a fresh-water inland sea.

We move our luggage to a new hotel, Rimonim Galei Kinnereth Hotel, in the city of Tiberias, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. Our rooms are large; we feel we are at a resort.  The city of Tiberias has many black stone buildings and fences.  Rami explains that the black rock is volcanic.  We ask, "How long ago did the volcanoes erupt?"  Rami guesses, "Oh, about 40 million years ago!"

After dropping off our luggage, the bus takes us to the Mount of the Beatitudes on the seashore.  To walk where Jesus taught the crowds - it is almost too thrilling to bear, at times!  The retreat center there, and the nuns who are custodians, are very welcoming.  I found myself wishing I could stay there for several weeks. . .

Father Gilbert celebrates Mass for us on the Mount of the Beatitudes, with Father Jeff (left) and Father Richard (right) concelebrating.

View of the Sea of Galilee from the Mount of the Beatitudes.

We then visited the Church of the Multiplication of the Loaves and the Church of the Primacy of Peter.  The undisputed highlight of the day was a long, slow boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. I could imagine Jesus walking on the water toward the boat and also calming the storm when it threatened to overturn the disciples' boat.

FYI:  Gasoline in Israel approaches $10.00 a gallon.

Theresa and Jan at the Mount of the Beatitudes

Our Hotel in Tiberias, Israel.

As the days progressed, we hardly had time to feel tired from walking or climbing hills.  Every meal was a banquet.  And the companionship of our group was wonderful!  For several nights, after dinner, we sat on the hotel patio, drank more wine, and joked for quite some time!