It's been Fun!

My time here in Jerusalem has been full of many incredible experiences, many of which I will remember for the rest of my life. I have made great friends that have made this experience even cooler. This picture is of a few of them. I look forward to seeing everyone back at home soon!

Dead Sea and the HOTTEST day ever

The region is having a record setting heat wave right now, and coincidentally, we went to the hottest part of Israel today as well.  I drank over 4 liters of water and never went to the bathroom once! = HOT! Nonetheless, it was really fun. We visited Masada, which is on top of the cliffs and one of the more impressive places to visit in the country. It was the last Jewish holdout before they were conquered by the Romans. The inhabitants (around 7000 people) all committed suicide the night before the Romans entered the city. Crazy! Then we went to the Dead Sea. Even the water was hot—about shower temperature. But it was worth it! I could tread and be straight up in the water…my upper chest, shoulders, and head would all be out of the water as if I were standing on rocks. When I laid down, all my body was on top of the water. The Dead Sea is also famous for its mud, I took full advantage of it as you can tell. Later we went to Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.  It was a full fun day!

Jordan River

On the way home from Jordan we stopped at the Jordan River in the spot where Christ was baptized. It is just north of the Dead Sea and is very hot. The river itself is smaller than the Provo River, especially in summer. The picture that shows no water is the actual spot some people claim is where John baptized Christ. Notice the flag in the background of the other picture. We were on the Jordanian side and 15 feet away is the Israeli bank. There were soldiers on both sides making sure nobody crossed the border. Instead, we had to drive south for a while and wait in line for an hour and a half. Also, in the other picture is one of the original Dead Sea scrolls-the oldest written copy of the Bible.

Back a few thousand years...

While visiting Gerash, we saw a cool reenactment of Roman soldiers fighting, a real gladiator fight (minus the lions), and a chariot race. One of the BYU students, Ramzi, somehow got to be a gladiator. He’s the one helping me kick the bucket in this picture here. It was pretty cool to see, and very gory too since they even had fake blood.