We spent the day outside of Jerusalem, seeing an incredible range of country. One of my kids sent an email suggesting that I indicate that we're having fun, instead of sharing so much information. So: YES WE ARE HAVING FUN!!! But we're working pretty hard, too.
We got on our tour bus at 7 a.m. After driving about 12 miles to the east we got off. But that doesn't mean anything unless I explain a bit of geography to you.
Israel can be divided into three narrow strips running north and south. On the west is the coastal plain, a relatively flat, fertile area where many crops are grown. The Mediterranean Sea marks the western terminus of that region. Moving east, the next region is the Hill Country. The hills are pretty high. You go from sea level at Tel Aviv to 2,900 feet at Jerusalem in the space of about 20 miles. The third strip is the low-lying valley east of the hills. This is where the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River and the Dead Sea are located. This region marks the lowest place on earth. The Dead Sea is 1900 feet below sea level. Jericho, which is near the Dead Sea, is 1000 feet below sea level.
So what I'm saying is that by driving 12 miles east of Jerusalem, we were dropping about 3000 feet in elevation--and moving to a completely different climate. Jerusalem is at the top of the hills and, like Mount Hood, receives quite a bit of rain--about 24 inches a year, mostly during the winter. But the low-lying valley to the east is like Oregon east of the Cascades. As soon as you go over to the other side of the mountain, the amount of rainfall decreases. The desert east of Jerusalem gets about 5 inches a year. So when we got out of the bus, we were in country where there was basically no vegetation except for a few thistles. From there we hiked the last 2 1/2 miles to Jericho. It was hot, barren, and starkly beautiful. Along the way we passed a monastery that has been on the same site since the 300s. One of the weird things about this country is that you can be driving or walking in country that looks completely ordinary, then see something that's 2 or 3 or even 4 thousand years old. It's hard for an American to get used to.
So we spent the morning and the lunch hour near Jericho and hiked around the "tell" (ruin) of the old city. After that, we drove up to the hill country and surveyed land once owned by the Israelite tribe of Benjamin. We got an excellent view of some of the towns featured in the Samuel sermons I preached last fall and winter: Gibeah, Gibeon, Ramah, etc.
Finally, late in the afternoon,, we drove out to the coastal plain. There we visited another "tell," this one at Gezer, a site which is briefly mentioned in First Kings and the book of Joshua. Again, there are strange juxtapositions. You drive by a nice housing area that looks like it belongs in San Diego, turn a corner and there's this 3000 year-old tell.
Today we hiked a total of 5 miles in the hot sun, listened to lectures in the hot sun and rode around in an air-conditioned bus. We were dropped off at our hotel at 6 p.m., rounding off an eleven hour day. That's been our typical schedule since we got here. What's also typical is that we are tired. We'd like to go out and see the Old City of Jerusalem (literally at our doorstep) but it's 9 p.m. and we're ready to call it a day. We are grateful that tomorrow is Sunday,and that we have a whole day off. Our plan is to attend an Anglican Church that is about 5 minutes from our hotel.
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