First, Zippori, then down to the Dead Sea

Because Israel is a small nation, you can detour from your route in order to sightsee and not lose too much time. So after packing up from the Scots Hotel we drove better than halfway across the country to visit Zippori, the sight of a major archaelogical discovery which features dramatic mosaic floors (see above) from an old Roman mansion. It was opened as a national park in 1992. Once the Capital of the Galilee, Zippori was conquered by the Roman General Pompeii and later became the seat of King Herod. Later it became a Christian city and was a center for the Crusaders and then the Moslems.

To reach Zippori we had to drive through Nazareth, the largest Arab city within the original 1948 borders of Israel. Rte 77 connects Tiberias with Haifa, passing Zippori and Armageddon along the way. By the time I realized I'd missed the junction I was at another highway, which I turned right on, and missed the junction back to Hwy 77. In any case I ended up driving through the outskirts of Nazareth which featured few road signs and I ended up south and west of Zippori, driving North, I finally found the correct road and we reached our destination. This took an hour or so, and at one point I was closer to Haifa than I was to Zippori.

After exploring the many impressive mosaics on display, we headed back to find Rte. 90, the longest highway in Israel, reaching from Metula on the Lebanon border to Eilat on the Red Sea. I felt my first sense of 'security weirdness' because the highway passes through the West Bank, paralleling the Jordan River, which is also the border with Jordan.

We crossed into the West Bank just south of Bet She'an. There was a security crossing but we were just waved through by well-armed military guys. Apparently, no Palestinian vehicles are allowed to use the highway. We passed Jericho, but the main intersection had a large trench bulldozed across it and concrete barriers had been set in place. A few miles later we saw another road (there are regular highway signs, such as 'Jericho' and an arrow), single, lane which was open and unguarded. However there was a security gate in the distance. Along the way we passed small, very poor looking Palestinian villages; generally small boys stood along the roadside holding fresh watermelons to sell to passers-by. We also saw goats herded along the roadside and the occasional horse and wagon in the fields.

We didn't cross out of the West Bank until we'd descended to the shores of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth. We were also in a very barren, sandstone colored desert, the Negev. It was stark and surprisingly beautiful as it contrasted with the blue green of the Dead Sea. We came around a curve and saw the green oasis of Ein Gedi. We had reservations to stay the Ein Gedi Kibbutz Hotel for three nights, and were ready for some rest and relaxation after a sometimes tense drive.

Checkpoint on Hwy 90 at the Dead Sea. Two views, atop is wide angle.