The Holy City

Well, there it is. The old city of Jerusalem. Since last time, I have traveled the Israeli-Jordan boarder south from the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, into the Negev and north again to Jerusalem. The Dead Sea is one of those things that you have to check out once in your life. It is 30X more salty than the ocean, I don't think you could sink with a ten pound weight tied to you.

The southern shores of the Dead Sea hold an ancient jewel. Built by Herod the Great 2,000 years ago on top of a mountian, the remains of his palace still stand today. The story of this place is full of drama; I won't go into the details, but check out wikipedia.org if you are interested. Present day Israeli soldiers are sworn into service at this place -- a testament to the faith and will of the Jews. The view of the mountians and the Dead Sea is amazing.

The Negev, the Israel Desert comprising 60% of the country, is a sight to see. We visited a agriculture research station that uses brackish water for irrigation. Considering this, the drastic daily temperature swings and the soil -- basically sand and dust, it is amazing that they produce the quality and quantity that they do.

After traveling in a round-about manner to avoid Palastinian areas, we arrived in Jerusalem. As you can see from the picture, the old city of Jerusalem is not large. The city was fully contained within the wall, the grave sites you see in the picture would have been outside. The city is full of history. I am sure that every religion has a different story and view of history and people within each religion have an additional variation. Within the walls, there is a Muslim quarter, a Christian quarter and a Jewish quater. Even within these quarters you find the other religions. It is all very confusing. The bottom line is that several religions share their respective holy places within a very small area.

I was in awe of the workmanship within the city. The sites, sounds and smells touch the senses. The Church of the Holy Seplicur, the Christian holy place, was something else. The energy and passion of the people in addition to the incense, singing and pipe organ and the religious art was a highlight of the city. This church claims one of the current resting locations of Jesus, of course there are more than one.

Well friends, I am signing off. I will be in Isreal for three more days before heading to Europe. Take care.