dead sea

'having a shower or taking a shower'

she quizzed

my preference whilst traveling is to have a shower, so i did. then wandered downstairs and the cab was sitting pretty in the sun. rode shotgun for the lovely old man who took us down to the dead sea, we got a little lost, the air was very hot.

there are signs warning people not to dunk their heads in the sea due to the high salt content, it couldn't be worse than your mum washing your mouth out when you were a kid though could it. turns out it's rather comparable to tear gas, fucking horrendous.

as we bobbed like four white apples on top of the water, it became clear how someone might walk on it, i wondered if the sea of galilee was salty.

we muddied up, washed down, skin felt like a million pounds, a greasy affair.

hitch-hiked on the dusty old road to Jericho. Carnival come park was a brilliant place there were camel rides, a colourfully lit fountain, it was a place where you didn't mind the awful live music cos it just came together to create a wonderfully spirited atmosphere. i had a little lay down on a bench, surrounded by chatter, had a peep at the stars before closing my eyes.

walking back we met a friend of Muhammed's he was selling ice cream, he seemed elated at our presence or perhaps on a sugar high either way he gave us more ice cream than you could shake a stick at. Jericho really is the friendliest town i know.

got the bus home and my hair was still wet from the salt of the dead sea, so i had a shower, it's as though salt can preserve any state it touches.

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*'La' means 'No' in Arabic.

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-Words and photos by Chris, drawing by Jon.