Hello NT friends! I don't have much time right now, but wanted to say hello.

I've been waiting to get on the computer, but had to wait until the Sabbath was over for the Jews. As you probably know, they begin their Sabbath Fri. at sunset and end Sat. at sunset.

We visited the Wailing/Western Wall last night and saw all the different groups bring in the Sabbath. The men and women have separate areas. They had such interesting ways of dressing. For the most part, the women wore a lot of black, including black tights and black flat shoes. But there were others who wore purple and high heels. The teenaged girls gathered together and socialized.

The men had all kinds of different headwear on. Some wore the traditional skull cap (can't think of the official name), some wore disposable white cardboard ones that looked like they'd been made from a discarded Chinese takeout carton. The really spectacular hats were large, flat and round and made of bear fur!

Today we visited the Garden of Gethsemane. Unfortunately, the gardener thought it was time to run his noisy weekwacker. Bleagh. But he finally changed tools and we enjoyed some peace and quiet (this was in the Private garden next to the church that houses the large rock that Christ is said to have knelt next to during his agony).

Also, we visited a cave where the shepherds were told by an angel to go see the newborn Christ. It is only about a mile from where Christ is said to have been born in a large cave. There are three churches that share that same spot on top of the cave, all joined together. The Russian orthodox part is extremely ornate, with three fabulous chandeliers donated centuries ago from the Czar.

There is a silver metal 14 point star on the exact spot where they figure baby Jesus was born, and we got to kneel down and touch that. The whole building was like a labrynth, with tunnels and stairs going in and out of the caves.

There are street vendors everywhere hawking everything from scarves and wooden flutes to necklaces and bottles of water. After dinner tonight I am going to a place that sells hand-carved manger scenes made from olive wood.

Our hotels have been top notch, with the exception of the Bedouin camp we stayed in. There were chalets that had 3 twin beds each, one light and one outlet. I re-charged my little flashlight and blew it up, so I don't know how I'm going to hike thru Hezekiah's cave in a few days in the dark! The blankets smelled like camels had used them under their saddles for a year or two, then placed on our beds. Ugh! Its not a real camp, just a tourist thing.

I actually got to spend some quality time with a group of Bedouin men (you never see the women). We piled in some Jeeps to see the desert of Wadi Rum. Because I had hiked up to the top of the High Place of Inspiration (I think that's what it was called) at Petra, I was really tired. I honestly thought we were going on donkeys again, but that was just a dream. I wasn't sure I'd make it, but finally did. There was a sacrificial altar at the top for animal sacrifice. The view was magnificent -- you could see where the brother of Moses -- Aaron was buried on top of a very tall mountain. There is a mosque there that shone brightly as the sun came up that morning. Spectacular sight! Of course, I got my picture taken on the sacrficial altar with my tongue hanging out.

I managed to lose my camera back at the Bedouin chalet camp. *sigh* But, fortunately, a young man had a spare point-and-shoot that he is letting me use.

Oh, about my time with the Bedouin men. Our group went to see the Siq (a slot canyon). I was cold and didn't want to get out of the Jeep b/c I was so tired from that morning's hike, so sat for awhile with the driver, and fabulous-looking 22yo Bedouin with beautiful dark eyes and eyelashes. He spoke good English (many do) and said how happy they were it had been raining. The sand was damp and so he and another young driver did some 360's and left some interesting tire tracks behind. Then he asked if I wanted to come with him to a 3-sided tent enclosure, so I did.

I had been told that the Bedouins are always very friendly and welcoming to anyone entering their abode and that they would offer you tea. Well, our group doesn't drink tea or coffee (Mormons), so I could sense I had offended them. I explained it was against my religion and he didn't say anything. But there was a jovial mood amongst them, nevertheless. They carried on in their language and teased a little bit. An older man was cooking on a very interesting wood-burning camp stove.

There was a young couple there who were visiting -- she was from Chile, he from Spain. They were both writing in books -- she said it was her diary and that she wanted to remember everything about her trip. She took my picture on the camera I lost. I feel bad about that. I remembered I had some TicTacs in my pocket. When I popped one in my mouth, a young man noticed and I could tell he was curious, so I tossed the little container to him. He poured some in his hand and passed it around, until nearly all had tasted the breath mints.

It was raining a little and I noticed they had 3 plastic washtub-type containers on a table just outside the tent to collect the rain water. Finally I heard our group getting close and my time alone with the Bedouins came to an end.

My time here tonight must come to an end. I am 30 min. late for dinner and there is a meeting after that -- then shopping! My ankles are so swollen with edema from all the walking, but other than that I am well. My cousin and also my roommate are giving me a bad time because I fell asleep during a special meeting last night. Rosina said everyone was commenting on how I could remain sitting upright while so sound asleep. And then it happened again in church today. I guess I need stimulation to keep me awake!

I honestly can't remember where we are going tomorrow. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre? Oh, we went to Masada where 900+ Jews committed suicide rather than become slaves to the Romans. Chilling.

Okay, must leave now. No time to proofread. Thanks for your comments on my Petra thread -- I've read all of them. It costs $8 per hour for me to use the computer, so no time to respond. Shalom!

An addendum:

I forgot to mention my dip in the Dead Sea! It is shrinking because the communities take the water from the contributing rivers. It goes down about 3 feet every year and will be gone eventually.

I donned my swimsuit and waded out a ways, then sat down and floated! I fought it briefly as I tried to orient myself to this new sensation, but got told by the nearby swimmers to quit splashing. Getting salty water in one's eyes or lips is not a pleasant experience. The problem was, once you were floating on your back, you had to then figure out how to stand back up! So weird to think you had to concentrate on something that came so easily in the past.

The young guys said to just grab your legs and you would rotate forward enough to be upright, but they aren't top-heavy like me! Finally, someone gave me a little push and that worked. Then I made my way out into deeper water and stood up with my legs and toes pointing straight down. So much fun!

Now I can say I've floated in the Great Salt Lake in Utah, and the Dead Sea. Pretty cool, huh? I didn't spread the mud on me (didn't see any), but I did purchase a package of it and some black soap.

Okay, late for my meeting. I'll check in again when I can!