Rhonda&Don: July 2010

ISRAEL AND JORDAN My posts are in no particular order and will be added to as I have time, so watch this spot.

This was a lovely spot on the River Jordan, where we were able to think about the significance of baptism and what happened in a spot just like this.

John would have baptised the Saviour somewhere along the River Jordan, in a place that looked similar to this....but with more water! Being summer, the water levels were low

Masada, the Fortress of Herod

Masada (Hebrew for fortress) is situated atop a cliff top. We took a cable car to view the ruins. It is in the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. History has it that Herod had it built as a refuge for his safety, because he was so hated by his Jewish subjects. A movie was made about it, it is a very interesting story.

The hottest day was at Masada

Penny had been on tour in Egypt and was prepared for the heat, as was I, after living in the Middle East. Umbrellas are the best shelter!

Two good men....but who are they?

We visited some caves near the Valley of Elah, where David and Goliath fought their battle. I thought this was an amazing picture that I captured.

Don and Grant - you guessed it.

Sycamore tree and song - Jericho

Many of the tourist spots are representative of religious sites but may not be the exact place. This tree is a Sycamore tree like the one that Zaccheas climbed to see the Saviour.

Keith (Thompson) sang us a childhood song he remembered.

"Zaccheas was a wee wee man; And a wee wee man was he;
And he climed up high in a Sycamore tree; Cos he wanted the Lord to see.
And when the good Lord came that way; He looked up in the tree;
And he said: Zaccheas won't you please come down?
'Cos I'm coming to your house for tea."

One of the first places we visited was the Sea of Galilee

The Sea of Galilee is actually not that big, but it is beautiful, bordered by the hills.

Boat ride on the Sea of Galilee

This was more than just a boat ride. Our LDS group sang hymns and could imagine how it was in the Saviour's time.

The Sea of Galilee

I never thought I would swim in the Sea of Galilee. You always imagine doing the boat ride, and we did that too. We stayed in a hotel for 3 nights right on the Sea of Galilee.

Petra, Jordan

The city of Petra was abandoned in 1200AD and its location was concealed for 600 years. The entrance to the ruins is a narrow ravine in the rocks. Two Indiana Jones movies were filmed here. It was an 8km hike on a hot day to see this wonder, but it was well worth it.