Friday, October 27

Today we left Tiberias and began to make our way toward Jerusalem by way of the Jordan Valley. Our first stop was at an area near the southern outlet of the Jordan River from the Sea of Galilee. It is part of the only stretch of the Jordan between Galilee and the Dead Sea that is completely within the borders of Israel. Because it is not along what has been the militarily tense border with Jordan sense 1967, a facility has been constructed there to allow for baptisms in the Jordan River. Although no one was baptized during our visit, Rev. Tim did offer a devotional about the meaning of Jesus' baptism and our own as we set along the banks of the Jordan.

After a brief stop at a kibbutz to shop for date and nut products, we made our way to the city of Beit Shean. The city has an ancient history as the guardian of the eastern end of the Jezreel Valley where it meets the Jordan, the modern site is dominated by two striking features: the majestic ruins of the Roman city of Scythopolis (one of the ten cities of the Decapolis), and a towering tel that rises above it. The excavations of tel Beit Shean have yielded artifacts ranging back to the time of Rameses II around 1200 BCE (one of the proposed dates for the Israelite Exodus from Egypt). It figures in the Old Testament as the city from whose walls the body of King Saul was displayed following his defeat in battle and suicide.

About mid-day we resumed our southward journey, and had our first brush with the events so much in the news about Israel in recent weeks. We had been scheduled to have lunch beside and then tour the ruins of ancient Jericho. However, Israel had ordered Jericho "closed," and all roads into and out of the city were blocked. We made our way around Jericho on the bypass road, and will try to visit the area again on Sunday when we journey back into Jordan Valley for a visit to Masada and the Dead Sea shore at En Gedi.

So we continued on to Qumran where we had lunch and spent a good bit of time touring the ruins of the Essene settlement where the Dead Sea Scrolls were produced. Because of the unusually good visibility, we were also able to see several sites atop the hills on Moab on the opposite shore of the Dead Sea. The views of the rapidly rising mountains that bound the Jordan Valley, and the extensive water capture and preservation system that made the settlement were amazing.

The day ended with a drive up the Jericho Road to Jerusalem. We came over the crest of the Mount of Olives and gained a view of the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif just about as the sun was beginning to set behind Jerusalem to the west. It was a majestic view that will long be remembered.

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