Day 6 - Qumran, Jericho, and the Mount of Olives

Introduction

Hello and shalom to family, friends, and all of the other folks who have stopped by the blog through the courtesy of the inter-tubes.  Day 6 of our journey takes us to where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, to the oldest and lowest city in the world, and then back to our Jerusalem hotel. 

Fresh from our beds and feeling like our bodies have finally adjusted to the Israel time zone, we began our day traveling about 30 miles east to Qumran, located at the northwestern edge of the Dead Sea.  Jerusalem is approximately 2500 feet above sea level.  On our way to Qumran which is only 30 miles away, we descend to just over 1000 below sea level, ears popping all the way! 

An unexpected but interesting stop along the way proved to be this one on the way to Qumran when we passed below sea level:

I didn't know this but it turns out that camel rides are featured at sea level.  Dad, along with several others from Harrison City are now official camel jockeys!  Take a look and check out the head gear.

It was absolutely priceless to see Dad take the camel ride.  In addition, the rest of our group was cheering him on all the way.  While typing this tonight, I remembered that I forgot to mention in yesterday's post that he beat the oldest guest that our guide, Mick, had previously on the Holy Land trip by 4 years!

Another interesting thing mainly for my wife, Barbara but the rest of you can read along as well.  She drinks Coke, no Pepsi.  Coke products here, just like road signs and seemingly every other sign, have English, Hebrew, and Arabic writing on the container.  Hi honey, hope you can see the detail.

Prominent along our trip to Qumran were many Bedouin camps and them out in the desert tending their goat and sheep herds.  They are not interested in any of what we would call modern civilization and are quite content making their way in what is a very harsh area.  This is called the Judean wilderness and it is extremely barren.  The Arizona desert has similarities but has much more vegetation.  This place is really barren and the summers here are much more extreme, reaching highs between 125 and 130 with much higher humidity than we have in Arizona.  Harsh is an understatement.  Here are a few more pictures:

Qumran

Here in 1947, caves in the nearby cliffs were the location of one of the most significant archeological finds ever in Israel: the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The 2,000 year old scrolls were originally found by a young Bedouin goatherd who found them in earthen jars.  Because they were made from animal hide, he took them to a shoemaker to turn them into sandals.  Fortunately, the shoemaker alerted an antiquities dealer, who eventually contacted Professor Eliezer Sukenik of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the rest is history.  I asked Dad if he remembered the discovery being announced and he did but not until several years after it had occurred.  If something this significant was found today, it would most likely be known across the world in less than 24 hours.

After a short movie introduction that described the Essenes, the sect responsible for recording the scrolls, we had an opportunity to walk through an active archaeological dig uncovering the Essenes settlement and eventually had an opportunity to view the cave where the scrolls were first discovered nearly 67 years ago.  Take a minute to once again appreciate the barren nature of the Judean wilderness along with seeing where history was made when the scrolls were first discovered.  It's the lower cave by the way. 

The picture of me is by request from my wife.  The others are just various perspectives of the cave where the scrolls were first discovered.  Finally from Qumran, here's a little preview for tomorrow. This is the edge of the Dead Sea from the dig site at Qumran.

Jericho

This is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world.  It's also where the walls came a-tumblin' down after the sound of Joshua's mighty trumpets.  Or so the song and bible story goes. Unfortunately, foundations those walls have never been found.  Theologians have speculated that those walls may have been made from something other than block or stone, meaning less sturdy and more prone to trampling or erosion or they simply haven't been located yet.

The nearby Tel-es Sultan easily supports the oldest city claim with over 20 communities discovered going back 11,000 years!  Multiple springs in the area make Jericho literally an oasis in the desert.  As an aside, there is a hotel/casino called Oasis in the city that apparently does quite well for itself.  No pictures of that one, you'll just have to take my word for it.

We started out with an opportunity to see and purchase Hebron Glass, a colored glass made using different types of sand and soda ash.  It was interesting and yes, I bought some. 

It's being shipped home.  I didn't want to try and pack it.

No, sorry, I don't have any pictures.  But I'm happy with it and am excited for it to get home.  (Two weeks, honey.) 

I do have pictures of the dig site.  Not as pretty as Hebron Glass but interesting none the less. 

Mount of Olives

We made our way (more slowly than this morning's trip) back the way we came to stop at the Mount of Olives for a group picture.  However, it started to rain just as we reentered the city and was really cold.  The picture was taken in the rain with everyone looking cold with some hats on and some off.  Although a few folks bought them, we didn't as neither Dad nor I liked it.  There was talk of trying to take another group shot before the trip is over.

The Mount of Olives, east of the old Jerusalem city walls and separated by the deep Kidron valley, provides a panoramic view of the old city with the golden Dome of the Rock in the foreground. We snapped a few pictures before (very quickly) moving on.  You're looking at the old eastern wall, just as the text describes and a close up of the Golden Gate (one of the city gates into Jerusalem).

 Here's a bonus shot of Dad and I in front of the Golden Gate.

Garden of Gethsemane 

As most reading this know, the place Jesus and his disciples came after the Last Supper was to a place called Gethsemane where he was betrayed and arrested.  What you may not know is that "Gethsemane" derives from the Aramaic or Hebrew word for "oil press" referring to the nearly ubiquitous trees that have been standing in this area for thousands of years.  Several of the trees are definitely old and gnarled.  With a lot of olive trees in Arizona, I know what they look like.  I've never seen trees this old.  They have definitely been around a very long time.

Also here is the Church of All Nations.  This church, also designed by Antonio Barluzzi, he of Mount of Beatitudes fame, has a beautiful mosaic facade and interior domes with mosaics of the Catholic communities that contributed to its construction in 1924.  It was built on the remaining foundations of its Byzantine predecessor.  The altar features the Rock of the Agony, where Jesus endured his passion.  The church was quite dark so even with flash the pictures were not all that well lit.  Nevertheless, I have some pictures to see.  I think you'll agree that the mosaic facade is truly beautiful.  The second picture shows the Byzantine foundations and the last shows the altar and the mosaic in the background and the Rock of the Agony in the foreground. 

That puts a wrap on day 6.  Tomorrow we head back to nearly the same area when we travel to see Herod's Masada fortress and then on to the Dead Sea.  Enjoy the rest of you Sunday and Go Broncos!
See you tomorrow,
Tim