Masada and the Dead Sea

Tuesday was the day! We set off early in the morning on our way to Masada and the Dead Sea. Stopping only for an oh-so-healthy breakfast of delicious baked goods, we made good time and saw some interesting and amusing things along the way. I was in awe of how quickly the landscape changed from forested alpine to a much more barren desert, it was really amazing. We passed Bedouin villages camped out on the hillsides outside the city, markers on the road showing our descending elevation, and camels. 

Sea level, and a camel.

Once we descended into the valley we passed several palm orchards, which in my opinion, is fantastic. 

Landscapes in the valley reminded me of New Mexico and southern Utah

There were signs all along the road warning of floods and marking rivers where empty river beds rested. Raz told me that when it rains heavily here waterfalls flow down these hills and rivers overflow their beds and command the roads. I was certainly glad it was a sunny day. 

Masada.

Masada. The last stand for the Jewish rebells agains the Roman invasion. The King of Judea, Herod, build Masada as fortress of refugee and his winter palace. The ruins left today only shadow what once was a phenomenal palace and city atop the mountain. 

There are two options to get up to the top of the mountain. A 3 minute tram ride, or a 45 minute hike. We chose the hike. Although it's mid February and the low elevation of the Dead Sea brings balmy temperatures of 24 C degrees (75F), so in shorts and sandals we climbed the mountain, all 450 meters (1,475 feet) with the breeze cooling us as we went. We took the Snake Path:

The view part way up the path

long way down...

This model shows what Masada probably looked like in all it's old glory. 

The ruins were fantastic. 

This is one of the many storage rooms that used to hold hundreds of vases filled with oil, wine, and dried fruit. We were invited to tag along with one of the many tour groups and learned that they found date pits in these storage rooms that were 2000 years old, but thanks to the dry climate, were preserved perfectly. They were planted and now 4 of them have grown into producing date trees at the En Gedi Kibbutz. 

One of my favorite parts was the Roman style bathhouse.

These are steps that used to lead down into the water in the cool room of the bathhouse.

this is a changing room in the bathhouse. The black line shows where the original ruins stood when excavated. everything above them has been reconstructed as best as they could guess.

Sauna Room. This was amazing. The little pillars on the lower floor used to hold up the upper floor. A fire was lit under the upper floor to warm the tiles. Hot air would pipe up the small red clay ovals on the wall and heat the it. Water was then piped in to create steam when it hit the hot tiles. It's a shame I couldn't come here back in the day.

The middle hole in the wall is where the water was piped in. The bottom hole is where the fire was built.

Original moulding for the tiles on the floor. 

Original tile work

This man was transcribing the Torah by hand with a feather quill. 

This room was used to house doves that were a source of meat for the community of Masada. The walls were built so the doves could roost in the checkerboard spaces. 

How Masada finally fell. The Romans built a ramp of earth up to the base of the mountain (in the picture below). They then built a wooden support up to the city(picture above). When it became apparent that the Romans were inevitably going to succeed in their invasion the community decided it would be better to die willingly at their own hands than become slaves or die by the sword of an invader. 

When the Romans finally breeched the walls and entered the city they found all the inhabitants dead. Then they discovered two women and five children who had hidden inside one of the cisterns on the mountain. They told the Romans what had happened. 

Dead Sea!    (Yām Ha-Melaḥ) יָם הַ‏‏מֶּ‏‏לַ‏ח

1,388 feet below sea level, the lowest point on earth. There was so much atmosphere and a cloud of dust and pollution blew in so the sun quite weak. 

you really do float... it's such a phenomenal feeling. 

no hands, no feet, only effort I'm exerting is keeping my head out of the salty water.

The sea giveth, and the sea taketh away. 

the sea gave me joy and an unforgettable experience, minerals and oils to heal my body. Unfortunately it wanted blood in return. The salt formations in the shallows got the better of me on my hand and my poor little toe.

As the afternoon continued the air grew thicker with a heavy cloud. Not wanting to get caught in bad weather we decided to leave wanting more, the perfect excuse to return.  

The Dead Sea is really phenomenal. The mud is soft and luxuriously rich. The salt in the water swirls in oily designs around your body as you disrupt the natural flow of the water. Floating without effort is such a lovely feeling, I could stretch my legs straight down into the depths and keep my head and shoulders above water without moving a muscle. Synchronized swimmers would love this water. I cannot wait to return and have some better light for a more thorough picture documentation of such a fantastic place.