Getting Away From It All

With all the pressures of family that we have been having lately, DH and I decided we just had to take a day off. We signed up for a great tour, which started off in a little village on a mountain, overlooking this view of the Judean Hills, looking down toward the Jordan River Valley.

Right on top of the mountain, looking down at that glorious view, there is a catering hall, where you can have a wedding or a bar mitzvah, etc. The entire east side of the hall is all windows, so you can look down into the valley during the event.

In the entrance, this mosaic was hanging on the wall. I don't know what it is supposed to be, but isn't it beautiful work?

From there, we went down into the Jordan Valley. If you turn right, you will come to the Dead Sea, lowest place on earth. Turning left on the highway, you head north and pass Jericho. This ancient city has been rebuilt and is inhabited to this day. Soon you start to see many greenhouses and fields.

We were able to visit a completely organic farm, where many of the vegetables are being grown in hothouses made of net fabric, which helps keep out the unwanted bugs. We went inside one of them, where the most beautiful peppers are growing. Here and there, one can see little canisters, which are homes to special wasps, used as biological controls. The wasps eat any bugs that might try to hurt the peppers.

Here is a row of pepper plants. I have hardly ever seen such healthy peppers. Everyone on the tour got to pick a pepper, and we were able to eat them right there and then. Since they haven't been sprayed, and nothing can get in to the hothouse to dirty them, there was no need to wash them. Just pull a pepper and eat. Heavenly!