Masada, Dead Sea, Etc.

Wednesday, July 22

Today we visited En Gedi National Park. It is a beautiful oasis, south of Jerusalem on the Dead Sea in a terribly inhospitable and barren land. A lovely sparkling stream feeds the palm trees and other foliage and numerous Ibex deer and rock badgers frolic around in the area where very little other wildlife… or any other kind of life is evident. We were impressed with the barren harshness of the landscape. It was a retreat site for Saul, David and others and its refreshing beauty is celebrated in the Bible.

Next stop was the historic Masada—a luxury fortress palace built on a mountain top, under the auspices to Herod the Great. It’s where 960 Jewish patriots stood their ground (or mountain top) for a year and a half and then committed suicide rather than live under Roman rule. Marilyn, Bobby Sparks and I walked the 1.5 mile “Snake Path” to the bottom. Our hike went from a few feet above sea level to about 1000 feet below. The temperature was a balmy 110 and we were sweating like heathens when we got to the bottom. The others made the trip up and down on the cable car.

We then moved to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered and learned a little about the Essene-like community that lived there at the time of Christ and hid their precious scrolls in various caves of the community as they foresaw the coming defeat by the advancing Romans in about 70 AD. It was a great a moving experience. The opulence and sophistication of the palace was impressive and the courage of the defenders inspiring.

At last we visited the lowest spot on earth, the Dead Sea. We had brought our trunks to take a float in the sea. What an experience! The water was hot and salty. The mud was black, hot and slimy and supposedly has great therapeutic value for those who would rub it all over their body. It is a strange and somewhat disarming feeling to just float on the water and not be able to put your feet down. The subsequent showers to wash off the briny water and mud were naturally hot… too hot. Marilyn says she has never had a less refreshing swim.

One of the highlights was looking across the sea to see Mount Nebo, where Moses looked over in to the Promised Land, but didn’t enter. We wondered if the terrain had changed over the centuries to make it look more appealing to Father Abraham way back then.

Next two days will be in Jerusalem and then we’re off for home.