Christopher V. Sherman's blog

Back in the USA

After two weeks of travel and stops in Greece, Egypt, Italy and Israel I'm finally back in the USA.  It was a great trip (see previous posts for photos and highlights).  Waiting in the Dulles/ DC airport for the connection back to Austin.  It will be nice to be home. 

Dead Sea Shorts - The Morning After

Dead Sea Shorts. Wore these while floating in the dead sea Thursday evening. Shot is taken the next morning about 12 hours later. They have enough Dead Sea minerals in them that they stand up on their own. Can you tell I'm facinated by this body of water. Simply one of the most fantatic places on the planet earth.

From Wikipedia: The Dead Sea (Hebrew: יָם הַ‏‏מֶ‏ּ‏לַ‏ח‎, Yām Ha-Melaḥ, "Sea of Salt"; Arabic: البَحْر المَيّت‎, al-Baḥr El-Mayyit, "Dead Sea";) is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east. It is 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] and its shores are the lowest point on the surface of Earth on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond and perhaps Lake Vanda) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times as salty as the ocean.[3] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.

Dead Sea Photos

Thanks to Guy Bendov for the Israeli Game Industry Meetup

Thanks to Guy Bendov for hosting a get together with key players of the Israeli game industry. Plus a fantastic Tel Aviv sunset to boot. It was a highlight of my trip to meet local individuals from the game and tech industry. I've only had 3 short days here but have enjoyed getting to know Israeli culture and the land and do hope to make it back again soon for everything that I missed. More photos here.

Floated in The Dead Sea - Uncanny

Magical.  Simply amazing. Other worldly.  Photos tomorrow.  While pictures can show the Sea (which has it's own distinct elements unlike any other body of water) they cannot convey the experience of actually floating in the waters.  Uncanny.

Waiting for A Lift - Negev Desert, Israel

On the drive from Eilat to The Dead Sea, in the middle of the Negev (Israel's desert country) I saw this.  I had to drive back and forth simply to catch it again and see what was up.  He's waiting for his lift, which arrives on my third pass.  Full stream of shots can be found here.

 

Walked Pompeii

Communed with the ghosts of Pompeii under the watchful eye of  Mount Vesuvius.

 

 

Catching a Ride in Egypt (outside of Luxor)

Note the two riders at the top of the photograph.

Talking on Phone While Driving - Outside Luxor, Egypt

I took this shot because I simply thought it was interesting.  Only when he got closer did I realize he was talking on his cell phone.  A odd mixture of old and new. 

Colossi of Memnon, Temple of Hatshepsut and Valley of the Kings

Visited several sites on the west bank of the Nile, near Luxor including Colossi of Memnon, Temple of Hatshepsut and Valley of the Kings (where king tut and 63 other tombs have been found - so far).  They think there are are likely more tombs since there were twice as many kings, but so far no more have been found.  Entered 3 different tombs.  No photos of inside of tombs as it's not allowed.

luxor west bank May 23, 2009 photos: 10