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The Charlotte Jewish News - April 2011 - Page 5 eommunn news Israel, Part 9: From the Dead Sea to Dead Tired By Amy Krakovitz Our next stop is a short drive up the road to a “spa” on the Dead Sea. I use the word spa with eau- tion. This is no glamour stop. This is a sulfurous smelling, humid, warm building with loeker rooms, two indoor baths and a tram to the beaeh. It is euriosity that brings me to the sulfur baths first. Though the odor is oppressive (serious rotten egg-like), the pools are warm and eomfortable. Shelley Pawlyk brings me to the baths where we float for a while. I hope that the water is as benefieial as it is mal odorous. Enough is enough. It’s sunny out. I’ve just done a 41-minute elimb up, followed by a 32-minute elimb down from Masada, and what I really want is to go to the beaeh. We head for the shuttle bus stop and take the tram to the shoreline. The wind is brisk but warm. The view aeross the water of the Jordanian mountains is uplifting. As we approaeh the water we ean see thiek salt formations on every thing that the Dead Sea has touehed. Inehes and inehes of salt “towers” have turned into abstraet statuary on every surfaee near the water’s edge. I enter the water and it is warm, warmer even than the sulfur pools, warmer than any bathtub I have ever been in. And the salt from the This European tourist used the spa like effects of the Dead Sea mud. water is heavy in the air; I ean deteet it inside my nose and in my eyes. Then, I float. There’s no stopping the floating. It just hap pens. The salt is impossible to avoid. It stieks to your hands. I make the mistake of touehing my eyes and the bum from the salt is not unlike the diseomfort of touehing your eyes after eutting up several jalapeno peppers. Fortunately, there are hoses part way into the sea that spout fresh water. I rinse my eyes. It’s eonvenient not just for getting salt in your eyes, but the salt is also painful on any open sores or sears. At the immediate shoreline is the famous Dead Sea mud. Many people are eovering themselves in it. Leaving it on is supposed to be benefieial for the skin, but I opt to not get muddy. It appears that washing it off ean be diffieult. Shelley and I don’t stay long at the water. We head baek to the “spa” for luneh. The eafeteria eloses soon and our bus leaves to take us baek to Jemsalem soon as well. It’s late afternoon and I am famished. Our drive baek on the freeways is in the light now and we ean see the neighborhoods along the road. We pass Ma’ale Adumim, a Jemsalem suburb that is often referred to as a “settlement.” But it appears to be more a lot more like Ballantyne Country Club Estates. Doron points out the differenees between the Palestinian and the Israeli villages here in the West Bank. In the Jewish areas, there is a eentral water tower at the highest point in the town that serves the whole eommunity. In the Palestinian settlements, eaeh fam ily has its own water tank - a small blaek tank on their roof. There are 100s of these tanks on the roofs of the apartment build ings. The white ones are for hot water; there are fewer of these. Why? Israel has a eommunity that is willing to pay taxes for a strong infrastmeture and serviees. The money for Palestinian infra stmeture has been subjeet to eor- mption. We’re all a little tired when we arrive baek at the hotel, so a few of us deeide to have din ner elose by, at an Italian restaurant within walking dis- tanee of the Dan Panorama. It’s very niee, the food is good, but we are the loud Amerieans in the plaee. One of the guests singles out Kelly Wilson (she seems to be the one that people think ean eontrol our group) and asks her to keep the noise down. We’re At the Italian restaurant, from left to right: Steve Newman, Joel Blady, the author, Shelley Pawlyk, Kelly Wilson, DJ Wilson, Doug Wilson. all sur prised. We try our best to be qui eter, but we are enthusiastie and happy, and we are having a really good time. I head right for bed after dinner but the next morning I find out that I have missed quite a party at poolside, with bourbon and eigars and a lot of fun for the partiei- pants. Frankly, I’m not sorry that it went on without me. I needed the sleep. ^ Next: The National Cemetery, Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchen, Machane Yehuda. SAVE THE DATE Aug. 18 - 21 Charlotte Yiddish Institute Actor's Th€qtr€ of Chgriotto Presents the REGIONAL PREMIERE of... DEAD MAN'S CELL PHONE By Sqrgh Ruhl Directed by Ann Marie Costq Aprl-25,2011 Pqg l^qt You Cqn Night - Wed, Apr 15th o ^lirKy comedy about connectivity/ is there qn qpp for rigor mortis? 70M.5H2.2251 or ATchqrlotte.org WOMAN WFAE 90.7frn YOvrHNl escape A # ' ■HIMiKIltHVJlliril LDAfINC ACTOR'S THKTREo. CHARLOTTE V -J-" - —1
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