This is the third and last ‘miscellaneous’ post from Jerusalem. Once again, we just did too much to put everything in its own post.

The first photo is Saint John the Baptists’ birthplace. It’s in the town of Ein Karem, not too far from Jerusalem. It’s inside the Church of Saint John the Baptist which belongs to the Franciscan order. Excavations here date to the 1st century BC. Either this church or one nearby mark the place where the visit from Mary to Elizabeth, John’s mother, was supposed to have happened. We were joined by a lot of pilgrims at this stop.

We didn’t see that much wildlife on this trip so I’m working this sighting into the post. This was in the Judean Desert on our way to Masada. We saw a herd of Ibex, perhaps fifteen or so. Our guide said that there’s a spring nearby and so they stay right in this area. They weren’t too concerned about us taking their photos.

After leaving Masada, we stopped by the Dead Sea for a swim. Actually, it was a float, not a swim. It’s a landlocked salt lake and has the lowest elevation of any body of water on earth. It’s about ten times saltier than the major oceans with a salinity of about 34 percent. Vicky and I thought the Dead Sea needed some color. I think you’ll agree we supplied it.

It was about 100 degrees at the Dead Sea and was too hot to walk barefoot. What it wasn’t too hot for was stopping in at the lowest bar in the world for a tall, cool one.

I will end our time in Jerusalem with a sign I noticed on an outside wall in the area near the Azura restaurant. They had several of these plaques dedicated to some of the old market vendors. What I loved the most about Moshe Elhav was his motto which was, “Count your blessings, not your money.”