The Red Sea, the Dead Sea and the desert in between

It's Friday and the Jewish Shabbat starts at sundown. We will be staying tonight at a hotel on the shores of the Dead Sea. It feels warmer this morning, and I take my phone to the dining room so I can capture the vista that is the sun lighting up the wall of homes at the other side of Wadi Musa. 

View from the Dining Room

Our resort is of good quality and the meals are excellent. Last night we had spicy salads and today for breakfast, I eat more vegetables, pickled fish, falafels, with meats and cheeses. There is good coffee and juice, and even a chef to whip up an omelet if one so chooses.
  

Not a typical Canadian breakfast!

I discovered this morning that I have a blister on my foot. I wear these shoes day in and day out, but walking in a desert wadi gives me a blister. Where's the logic in that? But I know our friend’s knee hurts, and it's far worse, so I won't say a thing. After we leave Petra, our bus takes us up the eastern side of the wadi to a tourist trap which has a spectacular view from their rooftop. I purchase a few mud face masks, quickly discounted for me when I put them down after learning their price. I see some beautiful purses, but didn’t feel like bartering amidst the crush of tourists.

We head south and it’s not until we reach our destination that I realize we’re at the Red Sea! Although our driver doesn’t take us along the shore, we can see sparkling blue in the distance. I read once that the name 'Red Sea' was a take on 'Reed Sea', so I forgive them the spectacular colour. 

Above that white building is the Red Sea!

The border towns of Eliat and Aqabah aren't as big as I expected, and security much lighter than when we crossed into Jordan from Israel three years ago.

The air is warm, windy and the sun brilliant. It's a lovely day, with a sky so clear and blue, I almost resent the locals for it. Here in the Middle East, spring comes quickly, not like our blustery province which hangs on to its wet spring for weeks before relenting to a mild summer.

We meet our new guide, a wiry Israeli man named Yossi. His first words are, "Welcome home." Welcome back to your spiritual roots. It's a pleasant greeting. I like it.
He seems quite knowledgeable, which will impress us further as time goes on, and he asks if we can bypass lunch to head straight to the Wilderness Tabernacle. He has a lot to tell us, he claims, a lot to show us. Little do we know what precedence he's setting here!

On one side of us is the stark Negev desert, rocky and dusty, reds and tans contrasting against an azure sky. On our right are the rich date palms, all lined up like regal soldiers. We learn that the term ‘land of milk and honey’ is talking about date honey. Not bee honey? No. Date juice, so thick and sweet, it can only be called honey.
Soon, we are turning left into Timna Park. The reason we bypassed lunch was to see the majestic Solomon’s Pillars, a curious formation cut by water and wind into the side of a tall cliff. But we will more than to see them. We will experience them.

Solomon's Pillars

They're hauntingly beautiful, but more beauty is to come when Yossi leads us into one of the crevices between the pillars. He scrambles up a large boulder and pulls out a flute. With the help of wireless speakers and Bluetooth, he treats us to Bach, showing off the natural acoustics of the crevice. We sit in awe, relaxing in the cool shade as the classical music fills the fissure around us.

Too soon, the music ends. A full sized replica of the Wilderness Tabernacle awaits us.  
And a chance to enter a place so exclusive, it is reserved for one man once a year.

The Treasury!

Our walk down to the Treasury has many stops as our tour guide, Hanson, (who was our guide the last time we were here) stops along the way and tells us little facts and such, all the while ignoring the armed guard who seems to have fallen off an Indiana Jones movie poster. Seriously! Look at this guy!
Not to worry. The armed guard ignored us as well.

A guard a Petra

We stop and look up at the carvings, seeing imaginative creatures, created by both man and wind. Elephants, grand facades and raptor claws.

A taste of the grandness to come!

Wind has erased most of this camel.

Is it an elephant or a fish?

Can you see the raptor claw?

A silly pair getting married!

 

There are also camels and a pair of wayward souls participating in a traditional wedding ceremony. Can you guess who they are?

Then, finally, we're urged to peek on an angle into the final part of the wadi, and there we see the masterpiece. 

The Treasury.

It's incredible to be here!

Just to stand here, as the day warms up, within the busy courtyard, fending off hawkers and staring up at the high red walls, we are just in awe.  

There is still much to see. I can barely take it all in. 

A panoramic view beyond the treasury.

Didn't I see him in the Caribbean?

Lunch is at a cafeteria at the far end, past the treasury, past Johnny Depp above, where we had stopped for photos, camel rides, and to purchase things off the local hawkers. My husband bartered for bracelets and a fake coin, and came away without a hat, sunglasses and his watch. Me? I bought two fridge magnets.

For lunch, some choose the $10 US bag lunch and others eat the snacks they brought with them. We make sure we get a photo of our local Sackville group. We have some with sore joints who shouldn’t attempt the climb back up to the entrance; they take first a donkey ride, then a cart ride. 

A motley crew if there ever was one!

They race up and down the wadi, for $30US, mind you.

The day has been a great one, getting to know the others, huffing and puffing and laughing at those who chose a camel or donkey ride. We're starting to ache and I look forward to the steamy indoor pool back at the resort. 

 

Can you see the steam? It's getting cold again.

A welcomed end to the day!

Our first full day is ending, but tomorrow we start a new chapter. On to Israel!

Let's back up a bit

First, I want to skim over our experience of traveling. Secondly, I want to tell you that I did my best to write down all our guides told us. Any mistakes are my own.

Our Moncton to Toronto flight is delayed until 6 pm due to weather in Toronto. Then it's delayed again. And again. We soon realize that we'll miss our connection to Frankfurt and won't meet up with the rest of the team until Jordan. One team member reminds us that Rick Warren says to pray with surety. 

So we do.

I'll jump over this part and all our layovers in Montreal and London, and happily announce that late in the next evening, (or is it the next one?  It doesn't matter.) we make it to Jordan! We’re met at the airport by a man who has arranged for VIP treatment through customs. Our luggage arrives in good order, something we have learned that the remaining team members are unable to say. It will take them three days to get their checked luggage!

The trip to our hotel in Petra takes about 2.5 hours and we arrive in the wee hours.

We're staying two nights at the Old Village Resort, a lovely complex designed to mimic a village from ancient days. Several of our team, however, have trouble getting into their room, and end up in another room. Only much later do we realize the key should turn in the opposite direction. Old fashioned keys! What are we to do with them? 

Inside ours, we have to put on the heat. It’s surprisingly cold after the sun goes down. 

The Old Village Resort

The next morning is brisk and clear, a day full of promise. Breakfast is excellent, as we meet up with our team leader and the rest of the group. I choose pickled fish, vegetables, mixed fruit, sausages, falafels and good coffee. It may seem a strange combination, but I'm always up for trying new things.
The view outside the dining room is magnificent, a look into Wadi Musa, the canyon that extents down to the site of old Petra.The sun is peeking over the eastern edge, lighting the houses that fill the western hillside like jigsaw pieces.
Now it's on to a UNESCO world heritage site. Petra!

Welcome Home!

You may think I'm greeting you at the airport. Nope. Rather, I'm asking you to take a trip with me. 
Yes, a trip.
To be a pilgrim. We're going to the Holy Land, and I've tucked you into my suitcase. 
Don't worry, it was a smooth flight and the air is warm and the sun is shining. We have found our bus and settled in.
Our guide steps into the aisle, takes the microphone and says with a smile, "Welcome Home."
In the coming weeks, and with a lot of daily blogs, you and I are going to explore the Holy Land together. I recently returned from there and want to share my experience with you.
And since I'm not currently writing anything, my blog has become my creative outlet. But not to worry. Each day will be friendly and peaceful and completely enjoyable. 

Garden of Gethsemane

So, please bookmark this page, fill your mug with whatever drink you prefer, and relax. This will be worth your time. 
See you tomorrow.

You never thought your Kindle could explain the Bible to you!

Let's admit it. The Bible, (which is free here) while being an amazing collection of books, is still pretty enigmatic to most of us. There will always be questions and what appear to be contradictions. And scholars will tell you that you must study it, yet those same scholars spend their lifetimes doing so.

But did you know your Kindle can help you? Okay, it won't explain the mystery of the Trinity, or what to do when your faith wavers, but the simple dictionary in your Kindle can do wonders. 

Free Bible

I've decided to read through the entire Bible, the Contemporary English Version that is free for Kindle. I've done it before, but am doing it again. I'm in Joshua right now. (I'm a slow reader) and in chapter 24, I read this:

'Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve him...'

Okay. I'm reading the Contemporary English Version, and when I read 'fear', I read it in a negative light. Fear isn't something we want to do. 

But try this:

Touch the word 'fear' and its definition will pop up. You may have to touch 'full definition' so if that comes up, do so.
scroll down to read:


Archaic - regard (God) with reverence and awe.

Well! We need not dread God, but rather, we are to revere and be in awe of God. 

Then, further along in Joshua 24, we read "...he is a holy God. He is a jealous God."

Again, a negative sounding word. So touch the word 'jealous', and go to the full definition. 

-fiercely protective and vigilant of one's rights or possessions
Special usage
- (of God) demanding faithfulness and exclusive worship

Take note that the word jealous comes from 'zelosus', a Latin word from which we get 'zealous'. Touch 'zealous'.

It means having great zeal, which means having great energy or enthusiasm in the pursuit of a cause or object.

So, God demands faithfulness and is enthusiastic in protecting us. Pretty good trade off for our faithfulness, I would say. 

What I don't get is why the Contemporary English Version doesn't change those two words that have such negative feelings about them, to something like:

"Now, be in awe of the LORD and revere and serve him..." Joshua 24:1

"...he is a holy God. He is a God who demands faithfulness and exclusive worship and who is enthusiastic in his protection of us."  Joshua 24:19

Hmm. Maybe that's a bit wordy. What do you think?

At least we have now, at a our fingertips, an opportunity to discover the real meaning of those sentences. 

So, try it today, instead of being turned off by a wording in the Bible, use your Kindle to discover what it really means.