Dead Sea and Jericho

Monday June 14th we went to the Dead Sea in the morning followed by a great BBQ chicken lunch in Jericho.

The Dead Sea is known for its minerals and its high salt content (33.3%) which means that everyone floats! So, in order to fully enjoy the experience I purchased a T-shirt and some shorts and mushed my way to a muddy part of the shore in order to coat myself with the mineral-rich black and somewhat stinky mud. Only my arms and legs were treated to this spa treatment. I then walk in up to my knees at which point I had to just sit down and float! The water was warm with a few cool places and very clear. The area of the Dead Sea we went to was the Northernmost part which does not smell of sulfur and the shore is sandy and rocky rather than salty. Needless to say, there are many beauty products from the dead Sea.

After our 'swim' we went into Jericho for a wonderful BBQ'd chicken lunch at a local Palestinian restaurant. The food was excellent with half a chicken, fries, pita bread and an assortment of salads: various types of hummus, pickled beats and cucumber, hot peppers, cabbage, etc., etc. Yummy! After the meal we wandered into the next-door bakery and purchased goat cheese with honey and something else as a crust(??). It was tasty and you would not know that you were eating cheese unless you were told. I also purchased some baklava and was given a free sample of honey cake. Yummy, they were!

Next was going to a small shopping area by Elijah's spring where we got onto a tram that took to the top of the Mount of Temptation. Built into the side of the mountain is a monastery which I climb up and down the many, many stairs to. It didn't seem to be open, so I walked down and up the stairs back to the shops located in ancient caves. Yup, I made my first purchase of the trip there. Ohhh!

Then, back down to the bottom in the tram. While traveling by tram you will see the ruins of the old city of Jericho. I didn't really get any good pictures of old Jericho, though I can see that it would not take too long to march around it 7 times.

Upon arriving home we watched and movie and I decided to call it a night, being rather pooped!