Camels and the Wilderness

Today's post is a short one. I'm going to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher (the site where Jesus is said to have been crucified, buried, and risen) tonight to speak with a Armenian Orthodox priest (and maybe get an "insider" tour!) with a few other friends in the program.


Riding a camel in the Judean hill country! I got him to give me a free ride...but I tipped him 5 shekels ("NIS" = "New Israeli Shekels"), just over a dollar, for his kindness. :-)


Me with the Judean wilderness in the background. Absolutely beautiful. THIS is the type of wilderness in which Jesus spent 40 days.

The terrain in Israel is full of drastic differences. Today we were all over the eastern hill country, into the Rift Valley (including Jericho), and then back west to the coastal plain. The widest part of Israel is about 65 miles! So it's a very small country. But full of history, conflict, and beauty.

Peace.