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We woke this
morning and looked out our 12th story window of the Crown Plaza hotel to
see the Dead Sea and the mountains of Jordan in the distance. In fact,
we had a very early wake up in order to meet our bus for a 6:40 AM ride
to the base of
Masada. We were instructed not to eat breakfast due to the strenuous
morning ahead. The surface of the Dead Sea itself is about 1200 feet
below sea level making it one of the lowest spots on earth. From the
base of the Dead Sea, Masada rises up 1000 feet more. This was our
challenge, to climb the most severe, eastern slope of Masada along paths
and stairs. It was not an easy climb, but we made it. It probably took
us about 45 minutes in all. Patty and I were near the rear of our group,
but everyone made it to the top without incident.
Masada itself is not
just a 1000 foot hill to climb. It is an former palace of King Herod and
the place in history where Jewish zealots from the first century
survived a siege by the Roman army for many days. In the end however,
they took their own lives rather than letting the Romans desecrate them.
The time between when King Herod built Masada and when the Jewish
Zealots died was less than 80 years. Our guide, Doron, did an excellent
job explaining the story to us and at the same time, we witnessed a Bar
Mitzvah at the summit where the ruins of Herod's palace was partially
restored and many people visit and others do their Bar Mitzvah. Masada
was much larger than I thought. There were amazing cisterns to hold
water for many days. |
Also remains
indicated the magnitude of this place. Our guide explained to us
something called the Jewish "Trinity". It is: the Land (Israel), the
People (Jews), and the Book (Bible). Clearly, part of our guide's
objective is to instill in us a pride for the Jewish people and the land
of Israel. After four impressive days, it is starting to sink in. We
returned to the hotel at 10 AM and enjoyed a late brunch followed by a
relaxing day at the pool and Dead Sea. Patty and I both put on our
swimsuits and floated in the Dead Sea. The water is high in minerals and
you float easily on your back while taking out both arms and both legs
from the water. At 4:30 PM we re-grouped for a late afternoon jeep ride
in the desert. We boarded our jeeps, 6 per vehicle, and headed south
into the desert mountains south of our hotel. It was a might bumpy,
exciting ride. We experienced hairpin turns and steep inclines. At one
point we past a bunch of Orthodox Jews (Rangers?) in an open jeep. When
we made our first stop, it was right next to a large rock of salt. The
salt is what this region is all about. Our guide described how mining of
the salt and other minerals (potassium) are still an important "cash
crop" here. We drove on to the top of a rise and stopped and de-boarded
once again. Here, Doron (our guide) looked across the Dead Sea and told
us the story about Lot and the city of Sodom (lies across the Dead sea),
indicating that it very well might have taken place, just across our
current lookout. We ended our day with a jeep ride back to the hotel to
prepare for our next adventure on Day 5. |
