Today we headed south to Masada, the Dead Sea and Jericho. Admittedly, until this trip, I really did not have much knowledge of Masada. Between 37 and 31 BC(E), King Herod established a fortress with a palace on this site. In 66 AD (CE), a group of Jewish zealots overwhelmed the Romans at Masada by some secret manner and took over the fortress. Three years later, the Temple was destroyed and more rebels from Jerusalem joined the zealots so as to avoid being taken slaves...all in all there were 960 people at Masada. The Jews held out at Masada until the Romans built an embankment wall to allow them access to the fortress. Fearing capture and the most uncertainly painful existence as slaves to the Romans, the Jews entered into a murder/suicide pact. When the Romans finally breached the walls, they found all the people dead. To prove they did not die of starvation, the zealots burned everything except one food storage room that was full of food.
To reach the top of Masada, you take a cable car...or you can walk the Snake Path...we opted for the cable car.
If you go, dress in layers as the temps change depending on where you are on the mountain. Also, bring a water bottle to refill as there is no place to buy water once up on the mountain.
The views from the top were amazing!
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| Not a bad background...the Dead Sea and Jordan |
A few pics from the site
Near the site of the synagogue at Masada, there is a small, climate controlled room where a scribe spends his days writing Jewish texts. For a little donation, he will write your name in Hebrew. I had him do a card for my sweet Andrea and Alexandra.
A short drive from Masada are the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. A young Bedouin, Muhammed Edh-Dhib, followed a goat into a cave where he found clay jars that contained the scrolls. All in all, he found seven jars containing the scrolls. Of course, he had no idea what they were but instead saw how the animal skin they were written on could be turned in to a pair of sandals. Fortunately the shoemaker he took them to knew what he was looking at was something important and took them to an antiques dealer. Over the decades, a total of 929 scrolls have been discovered so far. Many of the scrolls are housed in the Israeli Museum in Jerusalem which we will see later in the trip.
The oldest manuscripts of the Hebrew Biblical Scriptures are in the scrolls which based upon research date back to the second century BC(E). They provide so much information about daily life in Qumran of the time as well as the different religious and political views during the Second Temple period.
Next stop...the Dead Sea. At 1,300 feet below sea level, it is the lowest spot in the world. Two nights ago there was a documentary on the BBC about the devastation the current drought is having on the Dead Sea region. There are large sink holes causing roads and, in some cases, buildings to collapse. There were large areas of barren land with evidence of the salt deposits from the water which once occupied the space. As we were driving through the area, I saw many of the exact spots in the documentary.
Three of the crazy kids in our group took a dip in the water. Proper Dead Sea bathing procedure: slather clay, let dry a few minutes, lower yourself into the water and when you feel your feet rising, lay back and enjoy the experience. Because of the high salt content (33% compared to 3% in the ocean), it is recommended you only stay in the water for 20 minutes. Also, you have to be careful not to get any of the water in your eyes or injest the water.
After Betsy, Mark and Bernie cleaned up, we headed to Jericho to the Church of the Good Shepherd where we celebrated mass. Jericho is inside the Palestinian controlled zone but as there was no place for us to leave our tour guide while we were there, she took off her ID and just blended in with us. Nothing says welcome like this sign as we entered Jericho.
Our final stop of the day was the base of the Mount of Temptations. This is where it is believed that when noted in Matthew and Luke, Jesus was tempted by the devil when he was in the desert. Unfortunately, by the time we arrived it was too late to take the cable car to the top. Of course, with any site, there was shopping...and for me some fresh squeeze pomegranate juice. Honestly, it was the best juice I think I've ever had! When I said it was so much better than the juice we get in the States, I was told "of course because these are Jericho pomegranates!"
Another fabulous day in Israel in the books. Tomorrow is a free day and I'm looking forward to the time Mark and I will spend with Yoram just wandering the streets of Jerusalem.
Layla tov!
A short drive from Masada are the Qumran Caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. A young Bedouin, Muhammed Edh-Dhib, followed a goat into a cave where he found clay jars that contained the scrolls. All in all, he found seven jars containing the scrolls. Of course, he had no idea what they were but instead saw how the animal skin they were written on could be turned in to a pair of sandals. Fortunately the shoemaker he took them to knew what he was looking at was something important and took them to an antiques dealer. Over the decades, a total of 929 scrolls have been discovered so far. Many of the scrolls are housed in the Israeli Museum in Jerusalem which we will see later in the trip.
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| One of the caves where the scrolls were found |
Next stop...the Dead Sea. At 1,300 feet below sea level, it is the lowest spot in the world. Two nights ago there was a documentary on the BBC about the devastation the current drought is having on the Dead Sea region. There are large sink holes causing roads and, in some cases, buildings to collapse. There were large areas of barren land with evidence of the salt deposits from the water which once occupied the space. As we were driving through the area, I saw many of the exact spots in the documentary.
Three of the crazy kids in our group took a dip in the water. Proper Dead Sea bathing procedure: slather clay, let dry a few minutes, lower yourself into the water and when you feel your feet rising, lay back and enjoy the experience. Because of the high salt content (33% compared to 3% in the ocean), it is recommended you only stay in the water for 20 minutes. Also, you have to be careful not to get any of the water in your eyes or injest the water.
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| On the more sane side, I just put my feet in the water |
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| This bar totally missed the opportunity by not being open with our crowd! |
After Betsy, Mark and Bernie cleaned up, we headed to Jericho to the Church of the Good Shepherd where we celebrated mass. Jericho is inside the Palestinian controlled zone but as there was no place for us to leave our tour guide while we were there, she took off her ID and just blended in with us. Nothing says welcome like this sign as we entered Jericho.
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| Church of the Good Shepherd |
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| Mosque directly across from church. It was time for evening call to prayers as we were leaving mass. |
Another fabulous day in Israel in the books. Tomorrow is a free day and I'm looking forward to the time Mark and I will spend with Yoram just wandering the streets of Jerusalem.
Layla tov!
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