This morning we departed Jerusalem for the Dead
Sea. However, we did not get off to a
good start. We had asked for a 6:30
wake-up so when the phone rang we thought it was the wake-up call. Wrong!
It was Lior asking where we were – it was 7:50 (the bus was supposed to
leave at 7:45) and everyone was on the bus.
You never saw two people move as quickly as we did. I’m still not sure where some of the things
we threw into suitcases are. We made it
down to the bus at 8:05. It seemed that
the hotel had written the wrong room number down for our wake-up call, as one
of the couples on the trip got an unexpected 6:30 wake-up. But we made it and were finally on our trip southward.
We again had to drive on Road 1 through the
Palestinian-controlled West Bank, but the road was actually maintained and
secured by the Israeli Defense Force.
Trying to sort out who controlled what in Israel is a maze of
complexity.
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| Cave where first scroll found |
Our first stop was to the Qumran Caves where the
first Dead Sea scroll was found. Since
then they have found 981 hidden in caves in this area. There are eleven caves at Qumran, which is a
dry plateau. Some of the caves were formed naturally while others were dug out
by the Essenes, an ascetic Jewish sect that lived in Qumran in the second and
first centuries BC. We first visited the
ruins of the Essenes community.
The Essenes have gained fame in modern times due to
the discovery of the extensive library of religious literature discovered at
Qumran and known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. This group lived an ascetic life and
trained priests to purify the Temple of Jerusalem in preparation for the coming
of the Messianic kingdom. They also preserved multiple copies of many of the
Old Testament books, untouched until their discovery in 1946. It also produced
its own unique religious literature, found nowhere else.
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| Ritual Bath |
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| Ruins of a ritual bath |
They believed in the purity of the human body and
participated in several ritualistic baths every day. In the ruins of their community are found
more bath sites than homes. Women
supposedly were not permitted in the community, but bones of two women and a
child were found in the burial grounds.
Non one could explain their existence.
After viewing the ruins, Lior pointed out the cave where the first
scroll was found.
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| Male Ibex |
Our next stop was at Ein Gedi, a nature
preserve. As we approached the entrance
we saw a small herd of Ibex with the alpha male. They are protected here so they quite
common. We took a short hike to a small
waterfall, where we all had fun cooling off under the waterfall. On the hike back, Lior pointed out the jujube
tree – the branches of this tree have thorns and they were used to make the
wreath of thorns Jesus wore to his crucifixion.
As the bus was leaving the park, a large herd of Ibex crossed the road
in front of us.
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| Burial Tombs at Ein Gedi |
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| Enjoying the waterfall |
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| Enjoying the waterfall |
Then it was off to Masada, the last Jewish
stronghold to fall to the Romans after Jerusalem was conquered. In 66 AD, a group of Jewish rebels left
Jerusalem and took up residence at Masada, built by King Herod in 73-71 BC as
his summer home. Then, in 73 CE, Roman governor Flavius Silva marched against
Masada with the Tenth Legion, auxiliary units, and thousands of Jewish
prisoners-of-war. The Romans established camps at the base of Masada, laid siege
to it and built a circumvallation wall to ensure that no one from the site
could escape. They then constructed a rampart of thousands of tons of stones
and beaten earth against the western approaches of the fortress and, in the
spring of 74 CE, moved a battering ram up the ramp to breach the wall of the
fortress.
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| Ruins of King Herod's Palace |
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| Replica of King Herod's Palace |
As they
watched the Roman troops advancing , they made the decision to die on their own
terms. The Jewish Zealots cast lots to choose 10 men to kill the remainder
(over 1.000 men, women, and children). They then chose among themselves the one
man who would kill the survivors. That last Jew then killed himself. When the
Romans finally entered the fortress the next morning, the first things they saw
were a pile of weapons and a pile of food.
Then they discovered the bodies.
Apparently two women and a child had hidden in a store room and were
able to escape to Jerusalem where they told the story of Masada. Today you can either walk up the Snake Trail
(because it is shaped like a snake) or take the cable car. The trail was closed today because of the
intense heat. At the top we saw the
ruins of King Herod’s summer palace, the bath house, storage areas, and the
water system King Herod had built to bring water up to the fortress from nearby
springs. You can also see the remains of
the ramp the Romans built as well as the areas where they camped prior to
capturing the fortress.
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| Square where Roman encampment was |
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| Ruins of a Jewish Synagogue |
Then it was on to the Dead Sea. We spent the night at a lovely hotel, The
Oasis, which was just a short walk to the Dead Sea. We all quickly changed into our bathing suits
and walked to the sea. The water was
very warm and extremely salty. The sea
bed is nothing but salt crystals.
Because of the density of the salt water, they do not want you to swim –
just float. The floating is easy – just
sit back. It’s the getting up that is
hard. Some people had to have help to
stand up. But your skin feels so soft
and smooth. It was a shame to rinse it
off, but you must. You don’t want the
salt to dry on your skin. Back at the
hotel, it was time to rest before dinner (some people took advantage of the spa
and had massages). After dinner it was
time for sleep. Being in the hot sun for
most of the day can certainly wear you out.
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| Fun floating in the Dead Sea |
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| Salt crystals from sea bed |
Today is Tuesday, 22 Sep. It has been hard trying to keep up with what day it is. Tomorrow is Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement. It is a national holiday and all of Israel
shuts down – vehicles are not allowed on the streets, restaurants and shops are
closed, and even the airports are shut down (no flights in or out of Israel)
until 7:13 PM Wednesday evening. As a
result, OAT made the decision to bring us back to Tel Aviv a day early –
otherwise we would not arrive in Tel Aviv until about 10 PM on Wednesday and a
lot of people had early morning flights home on Thursday. This morning we had a four-hour ride in the
Judean desert before leaving for Tel Aviv.
We went in 4x4’s – not the most comfortable ride. The desert scenery and rock formations were
pretty in the beginning, but it become more and more boring as the ride
continued. We did stop on the top of
Mount Sedom (or Mt Sodom – area best known for Sodom and Gomorra in the Bible)
which is also the lowest highest mountain in the world. Its peak is 200’ below sea level. We had some really great views of the Dead
Sea. Our ride ended with a picnic in the
desert on a 3rd millennium salt road and then we were back to the
hotel to catch our bus for Tel Aviv. The
ride to Tel Aviv took about 3 hours and I think most of us were resting or
asleep.
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| Judean Desert |
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| Judean Desert |
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| View from Mt. Sedom |
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You see all sorts of vehicles on the
road to Tel Aviv |
What a unique experience it was to be in Tel Aviv on
Yom Kippur. The streets are totally
deserted except for bicycles and walkers.
Lior took us on a 30 minute bike ride around the hotel and down by the
beach. It was a beautiful day and people
were out enjoying themselves. As it was
still warm the beaches were filling up fast.
The hotel did have a minimum staff that provided breakfast and lunch for
its guests. At 4:30 we held our own
Happy Hour, followed by a wrap-up meeting by Lior. Then we walked to a synagogue in the local
area to listen to the blowing of the ram’s horn (Sofar) at 7:13– the signal
that the fast of Yom Kippur was over. At
7:14, the streets were once again crowded with cars. We then walked to the beachfront restaurant
where we had had our welcome dinner 15 days ago for our farewell dinner. The food was great, the company fantastic,
and even the weather cooperated – there was a nice breeze blowing. Lior’s parents and her girlfriend also
joined us for the celebration.
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| Enjoying a bike ride |
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| Tel Aviv beaches |
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| What? No cars! |
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| Our Farewell Dinner |
Our flight tomorrow is at 1030 AM so we will have to
leave at about 7 AM. When we first
arrived in Israel we did not know what to really expect, but it turned out to
be an exceptional experience. We saw all
parts of Israel, parts of Palestine, heard from both sides on the continuing
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and saw a country as diverse in its natural
beauty as it is in its political climate.
So now it is off to Greece and another tour of the Dalmatian Coast.
