Rod’s blog for Tuesday 5/8/08

In a departure from the printed programme, Tuesday 5th August was the day we all went to the Jericho area and then to the nearby Dead Sea.

Jericho is about 25 km from Abu Dis and is near, but not on, the Jordan River, which is the international boundary with the kingdom of Jordan. (Prior to the six day war in 1967, East Jerusalem, Jericho and the rest of the West Bank were all part of Jordan).

We drove off from Abu Dis in our trusty minibus, with our usual driver (Mohammed Abu Romi) at the helm. Much of the journey was on a fast dual-carriageway road, which snaked through some barren brown hills until the flat river plain beyond was reached. Not far outside Jericho there were two adjacent checkpoints, one Israeli and then, unusually, a more welcoming Palestinian one.

We made two stops near Jericho. The first was at a huge sycamore tree on a quiet street corner. According to various notices there, this was where Zacchaeus, the wealthy tax collector, was said to have climbed a sycamore tree in order to be able to see Jesus, who was amongst a crowd.

After buying sycamore tree postcards etc. from some persistent vendors, we went on and made another stop at a car park on a barren mountainside. From this car park we looked up and saw the ‘Mount of Temptation’ where Jesus is said to have been tempted by the devil. Way up in the distance there were monastery buildings clinging desperately to a near-vertical cliff face. Unfortunately, we didn’t have time to climb the steep zig-zag path up to this monastery.

We had a refreshment stop in the lively centre of Jericho and there was time for a short look round. At this stage it is worth noting that Jericho is reputed to be both the oldest town in the world and the lowest. Apparently it is 250 metres below sea level. Perhaps, therefore, it is vulnerable to flooding? Maybe it was an unspoken fear of this that triggered a herd instinct that drove most of us to a rare town centre shop that sold a variety of alcoholic drinks. After making purchases of varying volume and potency, we carried our booty back to the minibus prior to travelling to a beach on the nearby Dead Sea.

Swimming in the Dead Sea is dead easy –you just lie back and float. You don’t need to propel yourself and you don’t even need to remove your sun hat. However, don’t splash around otherwise you’ll get the very salty water in your eyes, which can cause much irritation. The cure for this is rapid use of one of the handy freshwater showers that are located near the water’s edge. The other hazard is the sea-floor mud, which is particularly slippery and slimy. Some deranged souls decide to smear this mud over their whole body in the vain hope that this will somehow act as a wonder cosmetic. Following these aquatic exertions, there was a temporary return to Western values. In other words, in the two hours or so before the journey back to Abu Dis, we sat on the beach and consumed much of the alcoholic drink that we had purchased earlier in Jericho. It was a pleasant way to conclude a varied and interesting day out.


[Written by Rod Smith on 14/9/08]