The West Bank

It seemed like we spent a lot of time on the bus today, but it gave us a bit of a rest.
We started at the Church of the Beattitudes. It was a wonderful church but very touristy. I stopped to reflect for a while, but there was so much going on it was difficult to focus for too long. But it was still a nice experience.
We next traveled to Bet Shaen. I found it interesting that it was "ok" for the Arab towns to be destroyed but the Jewish towns cannot be excavated. There is clearly a preference here.
We then traveled to Hisham's palace from the Umayyid dynasty. Also interesting.
We traveled into the West Bank today. This was a drastic difference. First, the landscape changed. Green mountains to mounds of sand. Plus, the "opulence" disappeared. We also had to go through many check points to get here. It also seems that the towns are more impoverished looking. This is just my immediate impression.
Our hotel, however, is quite different. It is VERY nice. It reminds me of the Shining, thanks to Brandie. It's gorgeous, but pretty empty.
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow - we're supposed to go to the Dead Sea! :)
Peace,
K ><>