Those of you who are familiar with the topography of Israel will probably guess that my next stop, after Jerusalem, was the Dead Sea -- the lowest point on earth!
As we left Jerusalem, on our way to Modi'in where Sarah was scheduled to spend the weekend with JFI friends, both of us commented that there is no other place quite like Jerusalem. It is truly a holy city and one that is clearly seen that way by an incredible diversity of people. Spending any time at all in J'm, one is likely to see just about every type of Charedi (Ultra-Orthodox) Jew (you can tell them apart by the style of their dress -- my "favorite" were the ones who wear a striped coat so it looks like they are walking around in their bathrobes!), Modern Orthodox, and secular Jews. But you also see all different sorts of Christian priests (again distinguishable by their dress) as well as Moslems of varying degree of "orthodoxy." And virtually ALL of these folks come in all colors :-). At least on the surface, almost all of these folks seem able to share this holy space without conflict.
After dropping Sarah off in Modi'in (along with a very large box of extra stuff that we shipped home rather than pay the exorbitant rates for extra luggage) I set course (thanks to the GPS) for Ein Bokek on the shore of the Dead Sea. It is about a 2 hour trip from the center of the country. And during the course of this trip, one goes down about 4000 ft in altitude!
Most, if not all, of you know that moving to Israel is referred to as making "aliyah". This word comes from the Hebrew root (ayin - lamed - hey) which means to go up. What some of you may not know is that the term has both real and symbolic meaning. Certainly the idea of making aliyah reflects a spiritual homecoming and "going up" to live in the holy land promised as a homeland to the Jews. The significance of this is exemplified by the term used to describe those who emigrate FROM Israel -- "yoredim" -- which means those who go down but usually has a significantly perjorative meaning. [BTW, there is an interesting book called "The Much Too Promised Land" which speaks about how many people see this land has having been promised to them.] But the term also refers to the fact that when one travels to Jerusalem one definitely goes up. The city is at about 2500 ft. ABOVE sea level. The surface of the Dead Sea -- said to be the lowest point on earth -- is at about 1400 ft. BELOW sea level.
The "plunge" begins in earnest about halfway into the trip. The road becomes one lane in each direction and snakes -- and I DO mean snakes -- downward through the desert. The posted speed limit is 90 kmh (which is about 55 mph) but anyone who would drive down that road at that speed has to be completely meshugina which -- pretty much -- describes most Israeli drivers! [Israeli drivers deserve a blog post all to themselves!!!] I did not go more than about 30 mph which meant that I was quickly leading a "train" of cars behind me. From time to time I would move to the right (in places where the shoulder was wider) and let the accumulated masses pass before continuing on. Interestingly, NO ONE blew their horn at me. This is remarkable only because in pretty much any other place in Israel people blow their horns at you if you are even a fraction of a second late going when the light turns green. In fact, in this country they have a signal that the light is ABOUT to turn green (the yellow light comes on along with the red) just so everyone can get ready to floor the accelerator pedal!!!
Driving through the Judean desert is an experience unto itself. From time to time you hear about someone (usually a pilgrim of some sort) getting lost and dying in the desert. When you see it you can readily imagine how easily this could happen. So, although dangerous to get lost in, it is beautiful to behold. Mile after mile of undulating hills which vary in color from almost yellow to a rich shade of red. Interestingly, all along the way you can see caves in the hills. These caves are much like the ones at Qumran in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and their are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of them. The story, as I heard it, goes that the scrolls were discovered when a goat-herd looking for a wayward goat happened, by chance, upon the cave that contained them. It could truly be described as a "shot in the dark." Makes one wonder what treasures others of these caves might hold.
The decline in altitude is very sharp. As a scuba diver one learns that you should equalize the pressure in your ears (usually done by holding your nose and blowing) about every 10 ft. on the way down. That is just impossible on this drive. You would be holding your nose the whole way! So I settled for occasional equalization and tolerating the discomfort the rest of the time. All of the hotels in Ein Bokek are located along a strip perhaps a half mile long (if that). I had made reservations at someplace called the Rimonim -- I thought. Turns out that that is the name of a chain of hotels and this particular one is called the Royal (which is all that is on the building). So it took me three or four trips up and down this strip (and "perfecting" my ability to ask where the darn place was in Hebrew -- for a major tourist destination, there appears to be a real shortage of English speakers) until I discovered that I had been driving right by it all along.
The hotel is "alright." It is clearly dated, but I came for the pool and the sun and they are maginficent! Every few hours some guy comes around to those at the pool offering fresh fruit or ices. They actually do aquaerobic classes at the pool which led to my quickly learning the difference between "go to the right" ("yamina") and "go to the left ("smola"). I needed these in order to avoid crashing into the person next to me! Actually, I have found another great way to learn some Hebrew. There are a couple of cooking shows in Hebrew and since it is clear what the person is doing, listening to the Hebrew allows me to pick up some new words and phrases. One guy constantly refers to the "mixer" (with a Hebrew accent) and I wonder if this is common or unique to him. The same goes for reading the Hebrew subtitles on English-language shows. You do just start to pick things up by hearing them all the time. Yesterday I "eaves dropped" on the conversation of a family sitting next to me at the pool who were deciding when to go up (l'mala) to their room and when to eat dinner (aruchat erev). At the pool you also here a lot of "Bo-ee" = "come to me" (generally shouted by mothers to their children). The same goes, BTW, for the beaches. The Israeli lifeguards are notorious for using their bullhorns to corral swimmers who may be venturing too far out. They generally call to the "yeled" (boy) or the "giveret" (woman) etc. and identify the person by the color of their bathing suit. Unfortunately, their cries sound so imperative that when you first hear them you would think that they had spotted a shark!! I said this to Sarah and she said, "Maybe they did. How would we know?" I assured her that the couple of hundred other folks in the water would probably be heading toward shore if that were the case :-) !!
So one more day at the pool and then I will pick up Sarah and we will be off to Tel Aviv for the wedding and the trip home. Although I have LOVED virtually every minute of this trip (okay -- not being honked at by the Israeli drivers) I am ready to come home. It's a long time to be away. Sarah has been gone even longer and misses her Dad and being able to text her friends (I'm not completely sure which of those is more important)!
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