In my Grandad’s war diary, he wrote on Wednesday January 27 of his day trip to the Dead Sea, Jordan Valley & Jericho –
… traveling to Jerusalem – passed through parts of Old City & around walls then onto Bethany – where Christ stayed with Mary & Martha on his visits to Jerusalem. Continued to Dead Sea. Jerusalem is 2800ft above sea level while Dead Sea is 1200 below so is 20 mile drop over 4000ft. Hills between Jerusalem & Sea terribly barren. Climate in depression very warm. Had swim – queer sensation – simply cannot sink. After lunch continued on to the River Jordan …
These photos were likely taken on that day. Note the wording is what is written on the back of the photos.
Photos from the River Jordan and Jericho visit in the afternoon are here.
14 Weeks Worth of Socks 
[…] For photos taken on this day, please click here. […]
that was amazing
I love the photos, they are such a snapshot of the era – in more ways than one.
Love the floating in the dead sea photo!
I’m not sure if that was one he took or a souvenir type photo. The first two are definitely his since he must be the photographer in the second one.
My dad was in Palestine about the same time as your grandfather which is one reason why I went to all these places for a fortnight last year. Maybe they met. 😀 ❤
Possibly – many of the allied forces worked together during the major campaigns during the war.
Such a lovely post – looking forward to seeing more like this! Jo x
There will be more photos from his diary in the next couple of days 🙂
I am so pleased to have found your blog as it has helped me to identify a photo from the collection of my partner’s father who was in the Polish Carpathian Brigade in Palestine in 1940/41. The first 2 photos at the cafe at the Dead Sea have the same building as in our photo with its wooden horizontal and vertical boards, the same opening windows with the little curtain across the top windows, the same seats, the same tablecloths! I am currently going through our photos from Palestine and Italy and identifying the places from the background and any other clues I can find especially if the photos have no writing on the back. Although the writing is a challenge as it’s in Polish so Google translate is a big help as are relatives in Poland. I have been trawling the internet and been able to identify many photos that way but I will also check all your grandfather’s photos to see if there are any clues in them to help me ID any mystery photos I have. How lucky are you to have your grandfather’s diary! So thank you for sharing your grandfather’s war time experiences with the world, as you say!
I’m so pleased you found my blog and apologies for not approving this sooner. The blog has been a bit off my radar for a while. I don’t envy you having to do Polish translations, I have a hard enough time with Grandad’s diary and we speak the same language. I have a tonne more photos which I fully intend to post as time permits in future.