We had a fun day today. Three of us went down to the Dead Sea for the day. We climbed up to Ein Gedi and saw where David hung out while he hid from Saul. It was a difficult climb twenty years ago but was a little harder this time. Why was that ?
Then we went across the street to float in the Dead Sea. It was a Friday, so there were many Arabs also enjoying the beautiful spring day. This is where the strangeness enters in. We floated in our modest bathing suits on the salty water. Some Arab men who don’t swim very often don’t bother with swim suits…so they went swimming in their very white underwear. It seemed that these guys were everywhere!! As we left to shower off, I noticed one woman who was covered head to toe. She wore a face veil that covered her entire face and even had on stockings and gloves. (It was probably 85 degrees at the time) As we pulled out of the parking lot, six men lined up in the distance for prayers. It always strikes me that we live in such a strange place. Men swimming in what became see-through underwear, (woe! WAY too much information!) those same men facing Mecca and praying, women covered head to toe in hot weather, Israelis equally as different. I have no doubt that America is incongruent, as well…but we sure do live in a strange place!
Posted by HL who had no trouble getting out of bed today.... well not much.
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