Israel 6: The Dead Sea

This was one of the best and most anticipated parts of our trip. I have photographs of my mother grinning and slathered in the healing black mud associated with a visit to the Dead Sea spas. And, another, far more recent of my daughter in much the same pose. Also, I have pictures of them floating in the saline waters. I have always wanted to swim here.

One of the concerns I had about our trip was how we would get from place to place. As it turned out, and much to my relief, bus transportation was excellent and affordable. We took an early bus that brought us  past the beautiful Ein Gedi Kibbutz and gave us a look at Masada, a place we had hoped to visit. However, the outside temperature was 107 degrees. We took this ascent off our itinerary and headed to the beach and the hotel district in Ein Bokek. 

I had been concerned about the proper stop to get off, and had mentioned to Hank that I would ask the bus driver when we got closer to the area. However, as the Dead Sea came in sight, so did our hotel, the Crowne Plaza. I pointed this out to Hank, hopped up and got off the bus, assuming he was right behind. Our luggage was in the underbus storage - far in the back. I had managed to reach mine, and was going for H's when suddenly, the bus pulled away. "My husband is still on there," I exclaimed to the group of Hebrew speaking passengers who had disembarked with me. One offered his phone - but I figured (hoped?) H would notice I was gone. Anyway, I had my luggage, my passport and a reservation …

Several minutes after I rolled into the lobby, he arrived. Let's just say this is not the first time we've mixed our signals. 

The first thing that struck me about this area was its incredible color. The world looked like an abstract painting done in pastels. 

The view from our tenth story windows was a never ending pleasure. And so was the water - I could not get enough of the weirdly oily, warm, salty buoyant sea. Warning signs say to stay in no more than 30 minutes at a time, and there are clocks in easy sea view. I maxed out every time - then headed immediately to wash off in the beach showers. Any salt remaining quickly became pretzel type crystals. Kosher salt anyone? 


The other awesome amenity of our stay was the FOOD. We were really hungry for dinner on our first night. We had purchased dinner tickets, but were unprepared for the array of cold dishes arranged on buffet tables, hot foods of every description, and incredible desserts- all kosher. As I mentioned earlier, kosher food does not mix meat and dairy, so I was particularly impressed by the variety of creamy desserts made without cream. We could hardly wait to see what would appear on the breakfast buffet - now that we knew what an Israeli breakfast consists of. 

Our second night, Friday, was Israel Independence Day, the 70th anniversary. The hotel was filled with celebrants, and decked out in blue and white balloons. The dessert table did not disappoint.

This day, April 18, was also the anniversary of my mother's death. Walking through the lobby I came across a table covered in Yahrzeit (memorial candles). I am sure my mother was pleased and surprised to find her candle glowing in Israel this year.

This trip had so many wonderful moments - but the one that touched me most happened as I was walking out of the water after a mid morning dip. Many of the hotel guests were Russian speakers. I could not tell (or understand) if they were travelers or emigres, however, I noticed a group of about a dozen standing together in the water. As I passed them by, on this memorial day, I heard singing, and turned to see the group, now formed in a circle, singing Hatikvah, (the Hope) the Israel national anthem, in Hebrew, hands on heart. 

In the evenings, after dinner, Hank and I loved strolling out to the covered area over the water to watch the colors change as the day turn to evening. The air was soft, dry and warm. Sitting on the Israel side, we noticed lights coming on across the water …  easy swimming distance away - in Jordan, another country. Another world. I loved our three days here … 

5: Israel Museum

The Israel Museum is described as an Encyclopedic Collection. This means that it has an incredibly broad variety of exhibits, including Chanukah menorahs, actual parts of synagogues from other parts of the world, cultural clothing from many areas, archeological displays, paintings, sculpture, a beautifully painted Sukkah, necklaces worn by Jewish brides in Yemen; and a nail attesting to the practice of crucifixion in Jesus’ time. An urn-shaped building on the grounds of the museum, the Shrine of the Book, houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and artifacts discovered at Masada. 

The museum is on a hill with a sweeping view of Jerusalem. Since it was a beautiful Sunday morning, we decided to walk there from our hotel - about 30 minutes through lovely neighborhoods and a park, and right past the Knesset, the Israeli Supreme Court, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Once at the museum we took advantage of several guided tours, learned a lot, and, at the end of a long day of walking around, took a cab back to our hotel in time to head out for dinner.

On a beautiful Sunday evening, the Jewish Quarter was lively with families, kids, music, shops and places to snack or dine. When we approached the restaurant we had chosen, we were greeted at the entrance by a young woman who handed us two menus - there were two separate restaurants here - one for meat, and one for dairy. This was a unique way to keep kosher - which requires the separation of milk and meat. We chose the meat side - filled with people of every age, and in a variety of head coverings - each which tells its own story about the identity of the wearer. I could not resist - I had chicken soup. It was great.

After dinner we headed back to our hotel to pack and get ready for the next stop on our adventure - the Dead Sea.

OLD CITY 4

The fabulous Shabbat of a Lifetime dinner meant that we got back to our hotel late - after midnight and very full of the great dinner. This did not bode well for a good night's sleep. Nonetheless, bright and early, or actually bleary and early, Hank headed down the street to bring us coffee to have with the pastries we had prepared on Friday - knowing that most places in the area would be closed for Shabbat. I sat on our balcony, enjoying breakfast and the peace of the quiet streets. Then we headed back to the Old City. Walking a different route, we entered the City via a flight of stairs in the same gold stone as the walls.

Our first stop was the City of David Museum to see the archaeological  excavations and the art  in the ancient citadel.  This visit involved endless stairs, but the walls made for great views of Jerusalem all around - a fascinating mix of the ancient and the modern world.

My next discovery, before heading back into the Souk (the covered market), is how delicious a combination of fresh squeezed orange and pomegranate juice can be when you are hot and thirsty. It was good that we refreshed ourselves, because on this Saturday, the souk was teeming with people.

One of the things that makes Jerusalem so intriguing is the mix of cultures,  religions, beliefs and costumes. On this day, a full spectrum was to be found. On the Via Dolorosa, (The Way of the Cross) where Christ is believed to have walked to the crucifixion, a large community of Christians were walking and kneeling the stations of the cross on one side of the narrow passage, while surging crowds of tourists, explored the shops on each side, and men and women in Arab garb bought vegetables and bread from the carts that barged through all. Overall, drums and music throbbed, people yelled, the sound, the heat and the intensity were hard to bear. Nonetheless, on our way out I managed to explore a few of the incredible variety of shops and goods to be had. 

We left the Old City through the Damascus Gate, which put us in the Arab Quarter in East Jerusalem - an authentic market lined with stalls of spices, coffee, bakeries, produce and lots more. From here, we walked up a long hill, back to our hotel - stopping for lunch - a gigantic, delicious and utterly fresh salad served with excellent bread. Then a nap.

At dinner time, as Shabbat was drawing to a close, we walked around our "neighborhood," Jaffa Square, through new and ancient streets and buildings. Dinner was at a Georgian Restaurant - Russian influences, in an old garden off the street. We ate a kind of dumpling - filled with meat and broth, and were informed that we ate them incorrectly - with knife and fork, instead on out of hands. Tourists!

We went back to the Old City on Monday - which turns out to be a Bar Mitzvah day. As we stood on the wall looking down, we heard music- loud, shofars blowing, drumming - and one after another joyful groups - each carrying canopies, under which the 13 year old boy was surrounded by loving and cheering family. The energy was palpable - what a way to become a man.

We then wandered the city through the Armenian Quarter and back to the Jewish Quarter where we talked with a young rabbinical student from New Jersey, studying in one of the Orthodox yeshivas here. It was wonderful to speak English and learn more about all that we were seeing. Then, back up the hill. We needed to make plans and reservations for the next part of our trip.


In my next post I will write about the Israel Museum …. stand by