We drive past Ma'ale Adumim which started as Jewish settlement in the West Bank and is now a city which will probably be an area fought over if Palestine is granted statehood. It rises out of the Judean desert with beautiful modern apartment complexes.
We drive for about 20 minutes looking at a moon like landscape with hills and mounds and then drive down below sea level onto a flat plain. Near the Dead Sea, we begin to see vegetation, pomegranate orchards and huge date palm orchards.
As we approach Masada we see the spring at En Gedi which was the closest water source to the fortress 12 miles away. Two thousand years ago, the spring was located right next to the Dead Sea but is now 100's of yards away due to evaporation of water from the sea.
We take the cable car up to the top, partly because of time constraints and partly because there is no way most of us could make it up the path. All the Birthright kids march up the trail as a badge of honor.
When we get to the top but before we enter the ruins, we're standing along the rail in the upper right corner of the picture above. Marcia was adjusting her position or trying to take a picture and drops her cane over the side and it clinks and clanks down a couple of hundred feet somewhere onto the snake path (the light brown trails in the above picture). Terri Gerber volunteers to get it and Rick Palm goes to assist her and off they dash as we yell for them to be careful and not take unnecessary risks. It takes a while to locate where the cane has fallen to but they're back within 20 minutes with the cane retrieved. We all have a good laugh over that episode as we go off to tour Masada. Masada - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
During the tour, I read the final suicide speech given in the Synagogue by Eleazer Ben Ya'ir. The speech of Eleazar Ben Ya'ir (excerpts) - NET
Picture above is model of Herod's palace on Masada which was built as a sanctuary and place of safety for Herod in case of war.
We then travel to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found and the museum there contains remnants of some of the scrolls. Qumran - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia which were written in Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek demonstrating Jewish settlements in the area for 2,000 years. Dead Sea Scrolls - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
We have lunch in Qumran and table conversation takes an odd twist. We discuss how to prepare broccoli by heating to at least 180F to wash out any bug parts so it does not contain any meat and is acceptable for Kashrut. I don't remember how we got on this topic but it made it into the journal.
A quick drive to one of the beaches at the Dead Sea for a quick dip. Instructions include: No splashing, don't drink water, don't get any in eyes and we were told on the previous day not to shave (men and women). I gingerly walk into the water and very quickly discover a small cut on my hand that i was unaware of. It is a much more intense sensation then you would expect with Atlantic seawater. Sensation of floating is really odd and floating on your back is preferable. floating face down is really difficult and unstable. The mud on the sea floor is supposed to have curative properties but I thought it was better suited for derm-abrasion.
The beach seems pretty popular with the locals but it is not nearly as enjoyable as a day at St. Augustine Beach. Back on the bus and back to the hotel for a quick shower before heading to the Western Wall.
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