by Olivia Kelley
We spent day six filming in the desert. We began filming viewing the Qumran caves from a distance where they found the Dead Sea Scrolls. Our A crew filmed several interviews while the B crew shot some B-roll. While the teams were filming, some of the religion students hiked up the mountains towards the caves.
We moved on to a different location and hiked to Ein Geidi, a small oasis in the desert. After a few minutes of hiking, we came upon the waterfall and were able to sit in some shade and get a break 
from the heat. While we were getting ready to film, a group of school children ran down and jumped straight into the water wearing all of their clothes, including their shoes and socks. They stood under the waterfall and splashed each other. It ruined the shot temporarily, but it was so fun to watch them enjoy themselves. When they left, we filmed quickly and then hiked back to the bus.
We drove to Masada and stopped for lunch before making the trip up the mountain. We took a tram up to the top where the ruins of an ancient city are located. Among the ruins are that of King Herod’s palace. We walked through an explored the ruins of the massive city. At one point we came upon a rabbi who was transcribing the Torah by hand in Hebrew. We stopped and watched him and talked with him for a bit. He even wrote Dr. Tim Green’s name on a piece of paper for him to keep. We made our way through as much as we could before heading back down and stopping for a big water break.
Our ne
xt to las stop was one of the most anticipated of the day — the Dead Sea. This stop was purely for the fun of it. We didn’t film here at all. We donned our swimsuits and stepped down into the ultra salty water. We floated on top of it, careful not to get any water in our eyes or mouths. Many students covered themselves in the Dead Sea mud and gave each other facials. We only got to be there for about 20 minutes before it was time to clean up and head back to the bus.
Our final stop was Wadi Qelt, also know as the Valley of the Shadow of Death. We were able to get there and overlook the valley just as the sun was setting. It was a beautiful way to end the day before going back to the hotel for the night.
