Wednesday, May 30th

I had been apprehensive about today since our leader kept talking about how strenuous it was going to be and how we would need to carry lots of extra water since we would be out in the desert the entire day.

Maybe it was because I was making it so much worse in my mind or maybe I'm starting to get acclimated but it was not as bad as our first full day here.  I did drink more water in one day than I probably do in a normal week but we did make frequent stops and even found some pools to take a quick dip and cool off.

Maybe I should say where we were... We drove about an hour away to the shores of the Dead Sea to an area called En Gadi.  The primary biblical reference we were studying is that this is the area that King Saul pursued King David into and where they finally reconciled.

First waterfall

As we hiked up through the hot desert area and steep trails we kept coming across areas where springs reached the surface forming waterfalls.  The water from the springs originate in Bethlehem and take about 2000 years to travel through the aquifer – making this water that fell at the time Jesus lived.  How amazing that we are here to experience this!

starting up the trail

A nice place to cool off

Us on the trail

As we came up across the top of one of the sections we could see the Dead Sea and the area of Sodom and Gomorrah.










And at the top there we found the remains of what they believe is a temple from that same time.

After we reached the bottom we were treated to great ice cream bars (well earned) and headed over to the Dead Sea for a quick ‘dip’.  The Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth at 1388 feet below sea level.  It is 9 times saltier than the ocean which prevents anything from living in it (hence the name).






Yup, that is me 'sitting' in the Dead Sea.  The water goes down another 3 or 4 feet below me but notice how high I, and the others around me, are above the water line.

All along the shores were salt formations.  It was a great indication of just how salty the water was since these were underwater and did not dissolve.  That white area you see along the edge of the water is all salt.  It seemed to be 6 or more inches thick judging by how hard it was to find a piece to break off (International Geologic Relocation Program - :-)  ).

Salt covered rocks

It is impossible to sink in the water because it is so salty (and dense) and it felt very odd to essentially sit in the water.  I did not want to get sunburned (104 degrees and no clouds) so I just went in fully clothed.  I knew there would be a fresh water shower available and figured I’d drip dry quick enough.  Plus we had one more hiking area to go to and I figured hiking wet would actually help feel cooler and it did.

Thick salt covered rocks

This view shows the salt formations and you can see them extending out into the water.  It was amazing how it did not dissolve.

Our other stop for the day was at Qumran famous for the fact that this is where the Dead Sea scroll were found.  

I'm not sure if you can read this inscription.  The cave is at the top center of the cliff.  This helps give you a feel for the distance from the Essene community and the caves.

They excavated the area where the community which wrote and hid the scrolls lived.  They actually were copying various Old Testament books much like later monks would do and it is believed they hid them when the Romans took over the area around 70 AD.

This scene is looking toward the scribes room where they think the community members worked on making copies of the books of the old testament which were eventually hidden in the caves.

Some of the caves

More caves

We walked around the excavated areas and hiked up toward the caves but did not get close enough to go in – but it was still amazing to be right there.















This shows part of the old aqueduct used to bring water down to the community.  It is in the right center of the picture just to the left of this paragraph.





This shows the aqueduct coming from the base of the cliffs over toward the excavation area in the distance

All our days have been so packed full of theology, history, and experiences that they seem several days long.  I can’t believe that this is only the 3^rd full day.

Judean Desert

I will upload some more pictures tomorrow since the internet connection is slow tonight. (pictures are now uploaded).