Judean Desert to the Mediterranean

A hike in the desert, lunch in Jericho and a swim in the Mediterranean. Our fifth day was another expedition in Israel. 

We began our adventure in the Judean desert overlooking the Wadi Quelt. FYI – A wadi is another term for valley or ravine. Many times the edges of a wadi or their ground floor was used by travelers for roads. We all emptied out of the tour bus took a quick walk up a hill and over the other side was an expansive view overlooking part of the Judean desert and the Wadi Quelt. With rolling hills below us, the sun rising in the east and the heat escalating, we had the pleasure of having this imposing scene serve as our classroom while Aubrey taught for 30 minutes.

It was such a blessing to be apart of this group and have Aubrey as our instructor. I could not have imagined a better trip if I had chosen to study and tour alone with a small group. Aubrey added details, an abundance of scripture and emotion to her teaching at each inspiring and historical site we visited. Here at the ridge overlooking the desert she read Psalm 139, Jeremiah 2:6, Deuteronomy 1:19 and 32:8. Scriptures talked about the land we were presently in and how it was viewed in the Bible. It is spoken of as a dreadful place and hardly inhabited. Yet, for me who had security in the fact: I knew where my next meal was coming from and how I was getting out; it was a gorgeous sight to marvel at.

Our next adventure for the day was a hike along the Wadi Quelt. I didn’t know exactly what to expect, except that we were going on a hike through the Wadi Quelt and were ending up in Jericho. The hike was optional but most of the group chose to go. We passed St. George Monastery in the first portion of the hike. After that we continued along the upper ridge along the quelt. The hike was pretty much level the whole way through. To our left was a steep drop off to the valley canyon below and to our right was steep walls that possessed numerous caves.

Our hike in the Wadi Quelt

A few of us headed up the front of the group, when Lindi had a minor accident. She tripped and caught her toe on a rock. I have to mention Lindi and Lucas, if they read this I apologize, but these two adventurous duos chose to wear sandals! Albeit it would have been duable with any closed toe shoe but risky with sandals. Lucas made it out unharmed. Lindi unfortunately cut her toe pretty badly about half way through. Lindi is a tough cookie at 18, and once it was wrapped up as best it could be -- she finished without a peep. Her toughness challenged me the rest of the trip, but I still don’t think I’ll ever be as tough. The one thing I remember vividly is the heat! I had chosen not to put on any sunscreen and as a result I watched and felt myself burn through our walk. I soaked it in though cause I hadn’t been burnt yet, and I was still reveling in being in the sun. The whole not wearing sunscreen phase would soon disappear after that. 

A lesson in being in front: know where your going! As I was walking in the front, seemingly following a trail a small girl came up to me and said something. I thought she was just being kind and smiled back at her and kept walking. However as I quickly realized she was trying to show me the right way to go. An embarrassing story to round out the hike but you got to laugh at yourself sometimes I suppose.

We all finally made it out of the Wadi. At the end of the hike was another one of Herod’s palaces. Because of the climate and the fact Jericho is well below sea level; the location of the palace served as an escape from the winter season.  

Following our adventurous hike we piled back into the bus and headed into Jericho. Jericho possesses a tropical climate with mild winters. It is 820 feet below sea level and is considered the lowest city on earth. Archeological evidence suggests it may also be the oldest city on earth, but that is up for debate. What contributed to it is thriving history is good soil, controllable water source and early fortifications. In Judges 3:12 Jericho is referred to as the “City of Palms”. 1 Kings 16:34.

We ate lunch inside a restaurant in Jericho. We had our own packed lunch but were able to sit inside the air-conditioned place at tables. They were selling drinks to us, so I tried Turkish coffee for the first time. It was actually pretty good. They had a large gift shop downstairs. After lunch we walked around and checked out the goods. I ended up buying a poster of the city of Bethlehem. I was exhausted by the time lunch was finished and was looking forward to a quick nap before we stopped at our next site. However, as we pulled away and got back on the road I was still amazed at the views and decided against a quick nap.

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Jericho: Leilani, Jackie and I

Our next stop was a Nebi Samuel. The site is the traditional buriel place for the prophet Samuel. It served more as a visual point as Aubrey taught class. As she was teaching we witnessed a fire start, in a family field below. We watched as the surrounding community rushed to the aid and helped put out the rapidly spreading fire. By the time we left the fire was controlled and for the most part out. Unfortunately the family had lost a bit of their crops.

Tel-Gezer was our next stop. It was a dramatic change in scenery. For we had come from the desert and had ended up in a lush green area of Israel, close to the coast. Aubrey taught for a while here and then we had a chance to go out and experience the area. I felt miserable at Gezer. I was hot, sweaty and tired. I was looking forward to going back and taking a shower. I regret not spending more time and checking Gezer out.

Our last stop was the beach! I felt miserable and hot, but was looking forward to cooling off in the water. Our final destination was Ashkelon. We all exited the bus quickly and went to change into our bathing suits. As soon as we jumped in I managed to swallow enough salt water to make me need fresh water ASAP. This was so frustrating, I don't swallow water - I never swallow water when I swim! And it seemed everyone was enjoying the salt water just fine. I ended up getting out a few times to borrow water from a gracious friend. When I got back in Leilani asked me if I had been stung. Stung? Apparently there were jellyfish in abundance and everyone was being affected. I brushed it aside cause I was fine.

I was amazed by the height of the waves. They were massive and I loved it. In Washington and Oregon the waves are puny but here you could swim out just a bit and experience actual waves. Then it came – I was stung– and it was painful! So on top of my throat burning from the salt water, my wrist was in pain. I finally got out of the water and someone took me over to the lifeguard who directed me to the first aid station, the women there sprayed some vinegar on it (I think thats what it was) on it and the pain actually subsided. It seemed the jellyfish had managed to wrap itself around my wrist and sting me about the whole way around it.

So Ashkelon was definitely an adventure. I got stung by a jellyfish and swam in the Med Sea for the first time and experienced actual waves. I would love to go back though because I never was able to venture over to where some of the archeological sites were in Ashkelon, like some had. Our trip to Ashkelon rounded out our fifth and final day for the first portion of the trip. The next day was a free day and following that would be our first exam.

Our group running into the water  at Ashkelon after a long and hot day
Photo Credit: Victoria B