Holy Land Tour:- Day-5(Wednesday 29-10-2008) :-Qumran caves,Dead sea swim and visit to Bethlehem.

"Church of Nativity" in Bethlehem.

At "Qumran Caves". site.

Qumran Caves.

Woke up at 0500 hrs as usual, a habit that is difficult to cure, holidays or working days!Listened to the T.V channels, brushed and dressed up, ready for breakfast.Strolled around the "Kalia Hotel resort", a unbelievable artificially created forest amidst total desert sand.Clicked a few photographs which are on the blog and later went to the main dining hall for breakfast and as usual i was trumps at eating, especially the Japanese type raw sushi tinned fish.Israel is a majority "European Jewish" country, having been formed by surviving European Jews whose ancestors were the victims of Nazi Germany's genocide against the "Jewish population" of Europe, hence, a total replica of "European living standards" and i felt of being in some "First World European country" rather than in the "Middle East". 

"KALIA RESORT" at Dead Sea.

                                                                                                                     Our Israeli guide Mr Eliezer Gilboa himself was of Polish Jewish descent, spoke English fluently and an excellent guide, answering most questions and also giving the "Israeli version" of the "Arab -Israeli Conflict" akin to Mehud the Egyptian guide giving the "Arab Version".As a neutral tourist with a historical interest in politics i found it extremely uncomfortable of hearing two different versions of the "Arab-Israeli Wars" and thankfully the "Middle-East" country's of Egypt,Israel and Jordan have realized that religious tourism is a good source of income which benefits all of them mutually and hence have allowed travel of tourists within their borders, something unthinkable at the peak of the "Arab-Israeli Conflicts". Ex-Beatle Sir Paul.McCartney had visited Israel in September 2008 to perform a concert at Tel-Aviv and he faced some protests when he visited "The Church of Nativity" in Bethlehem from local Palestinians proving that politics effects everyone,World-class entertainers as well as commoners.As an Indian, i now realize the discomfort felt by neutral tourists when they travel between India and Pakistan or vice-versa, two Country's still at hostility with each other over the "Kashmir" issue.Thats my view of the political turmoil in some of the World's tourist hotspots,"The Holy Land" being one of the worst effected due to the "Palestine problem".

At  the "DEAD SEA"..Lowest point on planet earth.

After breakfast, boarded the "Israeli Tourist Bus" and made our way to the Qumran caves where the "Dead Sea Scrolls" were discovered.Replica's of the "Dead Sea Scrolls" were kept for display to tourists and after visiting these ancient caves purchased some local souvenirs at the "Tourist gift shop". After touring the "Qumran Caves" we drove to the "Kalia Dead sea beach resort" and we all rushed towards the water after changing into swimming costumes.Since school days i have always wondered about the peculiarity of not being able to "DROWN" in the Dead sea and finally at the age of 48 i experienced it personally and not from geographical study.The salinity of the "Dead Sea" could "KILL" you and not "DROWNING" according to my personal opinion as the water was just unpalatable even in minuscule amounts as happens in swimming pools or sea-swimming when water is accidentally gulped while swimming.Sinking is impossible and i experimented it myself by laying flat in the sea on my back without splashing of arms or feet and head just above the water surface, unbelievably true.Later had the famous "Dead sea mud Bath" by splashing its dark soft mud all over my body and the same is reputed to have therapeutic curing powers, especially for my skin colour pigmentation which was turning white akin to "Leucoderma".The Dead sea has no aquatic life as its high salinity makes it impossible for living life to survive and its very true, its salinity if ingested in large quantities could either sicken or worse kill a human.After swimming in the "Dead sea", a cherished wish we then made our way to "Bethlehem" also called the "West Bank" and under "Palestinian Jurisdiction".As a tourist i got to understand the complicated politics of "Palestine" as the Israeli Guide Eliezer was not allowed to enter "Bethlehem" being a Jew and hence after the "Border Check-post" between "Israel/Bethlehem" we were met by the Bethlehem guide Mr Jaber Sadeh, an old man.Strangely, both the Israeli and Palestinian guides were aged people past the normal Indian retirement age of 60 while the Egyptian and Jordanian guides were young individuals something which i observed.We drove through Jericho , considered the World's oldest city and the difference between the "West Bank Palestinian " standard of living and the Israeli standard of living was glaringly obvious even to the casual tourist,totally unaccustomed to "Middle-East politics and living Standards".Stopped at the biblical Sycamore tree and took some photographs later visiting the "Church of Good Shepherd".Plucked some dates from the date palm trees situated in the church garden complex and later visited the "Mount of Temptation" which we viewed from the bottom through binoculars.Lunch was at "Nissan Hotel" in Bethlehem, a large hotel doing excellent business on religious tourism ,serving "Buffet style" Arab food.After a sumptuous lunch we visited a curio and antique shop dealing in "Religious icons" and was surprised to note the expensive costs of some of these religious relics of Christianity.Travel educates and i was surprised to know that i had a treasure trove of religious handicrafts at home in Mumbai, collection of my parents who were devout Catholics and a few my own collection during my first foreign visit in 1983 to a seamens chapel in the port of Ghent in Belgium.Today , my view on religion is the tolerance of various faiths and being a practicing catholic the "Holy Land Tour" made me realize that "Christianity" as a religion has become a "Tourist Attraction" in its own birth place with the original "Palestinian Arab Christian" who were the original followers of Jesus Christ becoming almost extinct, having migrated to other Country's due to the turbulent "Middle-East Politics and conflicts ".Later after visiting the Chapel of Shepherds fieldsds in Bethlehem we entered Christianity's holiest church,"The Church of Nativity".The "Church of Nativity" which is the birthplace of Jesus is huge and enormous with ancient church columns dating back to the crusader era and a myriad of candle chandeliers.The church was packed with tourists of various nationalities and wonder if there were were any local "Palestinian Christians" amongst them, explaining the tragic demise of the local christian population of the "Holy land".The Queue to visit the crypt of Jesus within the church was long and after some time got into the crypt chamber,one of the holiest shrines in Christianity.The church of Nativity is on the international world news during Christmas when the "Christmas Midnight Mass" is celebrated with the Palestinian leadership attending the mass as protocol , most famous being late Yasser Arafat during the turbulent "Palestinian-Israeli conflicts" when the "Holy Land" was closed to pilgrims and tourists a total "war Zone".History and religious nostalgia are interlinked to the "Holy Land", a region always in eternal conflict since biblical times.It was drizzling in Bethlehem, my first experience of rainfall in the dry arid middle-east and hence after a brief shelter in the Church of Nativity portico we boarded the bus after stoppage of rains and proceeded towards Jerusalem.Our Palestinian guide Mr Jaber Saddeh explained me the rigid "Border restrictions" between "West Bank(Palestine)" and Israel, a city within a city where he couldn't visit his son residing in Israel a few kilometres away without the necessary permits which was time consuming ,akin to Israeli guide Eliezer unable to visit Bethlehem, a tragic but true story of politics and conflict.On arrival at the "West Bank/Israel border", the Palestinian guide Mr Jaber departed and we were met by the Israeli guide Mr Eliezer and taken to the "Park Hotel" in Jerusalem.The "Park hotel" was situated in prime modern Jerusalem, a city with broad roads, clean and "First World " in its outlook, the hotel itself packed with a majority of Russian tourists.Stephen and myself were allotted "Room Nos 707" in the hotel, a comfortable room with television.Dinner was "Buffet style" and there was a huge queue for dinner as the hotel was jam packed with tourists, mostly Caucasians.After dinner had a walk outside the hotel and later returned to our room for a good nights sleep.

Entrance to the "CHURCH OF NATIVITY" in Bethlehem.