Morning at the Dead Sea

Yesterday was a full day of travel, driving from Tiberius in the north, through the Jordan River Valley to the southern end of the Dead Sea. It was also a full day of touring, visiting three of the most spectacular archeological sites we will see: Bet Shean, Qumran, and Masada. I had seen each of these four times now, but I would gladly return to any of them tomorrow.

Today will hold some new experiences, however. We will visit Beersheba and Arad on our way to Jerusalem. This is as far south as we will travel and the closest we will be to the unrest in Gaza, about 30 miles. Our guide assures us that this is not a problem and the president of our travel agency is actually accompanying us on the trip with her husband and 13 year old grandson. She has been coming here several times a year since the 1960s and is quite familiar with the situation. So as long as she's ok with taking her grandson along, our group feels a level of comfort. Obviously we are a bunch of protective grandparents ourselves.

In Beersheba we will ride camels and have lunch with a family of Bedouins. (I have promised my grand-daughter a photo of Papa on a camel.) Then we will make the final leg of the journey to Bethlehem. For the next three days we will visit sites in and around the city. At the end of the day on Friday, we will head back to Tel Aviv to catch our flight home.

I'll report in from Jerusalem tomorrow. D.V.