So I decided after my poorly written awkward first post about Palestine, that I will try to post one idea/thought/story at a time. Today, I thought I'd liven it up a bit with a story about our travels in the past few days in the Holy Land.
The past 2 days we traveled in Jerusalem and Jericho. In Jerusalem, we went through the Old City, this large expanse enclosed by a towering stone wall. We followed "Via Dolorosa," the path that Jesus took when he was sentenced to die. It was ... strange, but interesting and kind of cool. Being there, with so much history! It's kind of amazing, definitely surreal. We followed different "stations," first where he was sentenced to die, where he received his cross, several places where he stumbled or where he comforted onlookers, where he met Mary, and finally where he died. In the Holy Church of Sepulchre, there is a long rectangular slab on the floor, lying underneath a row of candles. It is said that if you put yourself or your possessions on the slab, it absorbs the oil of Jesus and can bring luck. So, people were lined up to kneel at the stone, putting bags of small trinkets and clothes on it as well to absorb as much good fortune as they could to pass on to their loved ones. It was loud and crowded in the church, but that was everyone's silent moment. Whether they participated or just observed as I did, it was a spiritual experience to say the least.
Okay so I said this wouldn't be a somber post - talking about Jesus's death seems bit somber, so I'll change it up. The Dead Sea!!!!!!!!
Okay not to get ahead of myself... First Jericho. Crazy hot city. Home to the oldest city in the world (10,000yrs). Also home to the lowest point on earth! I think its 413m below sea level. And it was at least a 100 degrees. But - it's so low that apparently something funky happens with the UV rays to the point where they can't actually burn you. They don't reach? or something. So no tan and no sun burn! No need for sun screen at all!! Weird.
Okay I've been itching to talk about the Dead Sea, so I'll just do it now. It is the coolest thing ever. It has 8x the salt concentration of the ocean, so basically everyone floats. Great news for someone like me that can barely keep her head above water sometimes. I was sitting - and floating. I was STANDING - and FLOATING. Yes, at the same time. I was running through the water, doing fancy spins, ab exercises, you name it - and floating. It was the best water aerobic workout I could ask for. Now I got a little taste in my mouth and it was like drinking acid. So that wasn't fun. And I was lucky enough not to get any in my eye - my friends that did suffered a few excruciting minutes. I did have a burning sensation on my legs, since I'd shaved the day before. Yes, the expression "pouring salt on an open wound" is based on fact. It hurts. However, the Dead Sea is famous for their mud, and you can find it all across the bottom. Slimy greyish-green mud. The best stuff on Earth. We took hand fulls and gave ourselves mud masks, exfoliated our arms, and tossed it around. It was magnificent. Floating in the Dead Sea rubbing mud on ourselves. Yeah, it's as cool as it sounds. People sell the mud in stores, in fancy bottles for up to $92!! For bout 4oz!! So, being the smart med students we are, we took an empty 2L bottle and filled it with mud. We plan on having facials for the rest of the month.
So, I leave you with that image. A bunch of foreign girls, all from different countries, bobbing in the Dead Sea caked with mud, feeling rejuvinated after having "escaped." Next time, I plan on list of short snippets about some of the insane things we've experienced (i.e. back to things that may or may not be so happy, but are reality nonetheless). For now, bask in the non-cancer producing rays that is my memory of traveling.
I love it!
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