Israel Day 6

Had another day with our guide today so full if I didnt have the pictures I might have forgotten half of what we did.  Our day started quite early in the morning at the Biblical Forest which has its own story but mine is planting an oak tree.  Both my husband and I, dug a little hole and placed our little oaks into it. I have planted many things in gardens but somehow this time was the most moving experience I have ever had putting something in the earth.  Our guide said a prayer as we shoveled the dirt back in place and we felt right then that we had become part of this land.

We drove towards Jerusalem right through the West Bank and several checkpoints to get there and stopped briefly for a photo op as we looked down onto the Temple ruins and Dome of the Rock.

From there we went to Masada to look at the ruins of what was once King Herods place of safety and then the Jewish rebels last stand against the Romans.  It was another amazing experience.  We entered into an old temple there where a scribe was copying a torah and he asked my name and if I had any wishes and then told me they would come true.  Tears streamed down my face and I can not even tell you why.

On to the dead sea which has receded so much in the last hundred years that if it keeps up this pace it will evaporate completely and leave only salt and minerals in another few hundred.  Since it is there now we decided to take a float and it is the weirdest thing to bob in the water without even trying.  You can completely relax and you will not sink. 

Our guide dropped us off at our hotel in a lovely part of the City of Jerusalem and we took ourselves out for a stroll in the area of the hotel.