Israel: The Dead Sea and Masada

When people ask me what my most memorable experience is Israel was, it is hard to answer. It's like picking your favorite ingredient in a really great sauce. However, the Dead Sea and Masada do stand out among the favorites.

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is beautiful.

What you see on the shore is not sand. It is salt. Across the Sea where you see those hills lies Jordan.

The Dead Sea is some 35% salt! There has been a drought for the past five years causing it to become even saltier. In normal years the area, which lies 1385 feet below sea level, receives only some three inches of rain per year.

The Dead Sea is so salty that you cannot sink. Helaine and I both donned bathing suits and waded out into it. You have to wear shoes because the "rocks" are actually chunks of salt and will not only cut your feet but will then "pour salt into the wound."

After wading out, everyone tries to sit down on the bottom. But you can't because you float. It's an unusual feeling to be able to sit on top of the water without sinking!

The Dead Sea was the world's first health spa! Herod used it as such. The mud from the flats and quicksand areas around the Dead Sea are supposed to have therapeutic and cosmetic benefits. I rubbed mud on my bad shoulders and knees. Did it help? I don't know.

There is a great spa at the Dead Sea, called Ein Gedi.
King David is said to have hidden from Saul at Ein Gedi. We ate a sumptuous meal at the spa. Helaine asked if the meal was kosher. The employee rolled her eyes then said, "of course." At the spa we shopped. A cosmetics company has its headquarters there. The cosmetics are made from the minerals of the Dead Sea.

Here is Helaine standing outside the spa at Ein Gedi. The desert is behind her; the Dead sea is in front of her. What scenery!

From the Dead Sea, we drove straight uphill until we reached the Masada.

Here you can see the Dead Sea as we climb up to Masada. There is a cable car. The option of climbing by foot on what is called the "snake trail" is available. Like most, we opted for the cable car.

Masada

I love Masada. It is an architectural, interior-design and engineering marvel. It also holds a tragic story within its walls.

The ancient walls still stand.

When you walk through Masada, you feel you have become a part of ancient history.

Herod (also called by some Herod the Great) built Masada between 37-31 B.C.E. One thing you can say about Herod--the man knew real estate! He built the place both to impress the Roman Emperor and as a refuge for himself in case of a Jewish revolt. He used slave labor to build the place.

He had a swimming pool built and baths. In the desert. On top of a mountain!

The slaves would have had to carry water to fill the pool and baths! Herod never got to use Masada.

Here is a bath that Herod had built.




Though Herod had the place built in case of Jewish uprising, Masada is most famous for the tragic yet brave tale of its later Jewish inhabitants. According to history, in 66CE a group of Jewish rebels overcame the Roman garrison of the Roman Empire. After the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), the Jewish rebels fled with their families to Masada and used it as their base for harassing the Roman soldiers.

Looking down from the "top floor" to the "bottom floor."

In 72, the Roman governor of Judaea, Lucius Flavius Silva marched against Masada and laid siege to the fortress. but he couldn't breach the wall. Using what was most likely Jewish slaves, the Romans built a ramp of rocks and dirt against the western face of the plateau.
The ramp is 375-feet high! The Romans finally breached the wall of the fortress with a battering ram. But when they entered the fortress, the Romans discovered that its 960 inhabitants had set all the buildings but the food storerooms ablaze and committed mass suicide rather than face certain capture, defeat, slavery or execution by their enemies.

Here is the rampart the Romans had built to get up to the walls of Masada.

Visiting Masada, I was reminded of the tragic history of the Jews whose only desire is to survive, free to worship the one G-d without harassment. And, of course, of the magnificent architecture. Much beauty of Masada still survives. Food stores were found intact!

Here is an oil jug that sits where it was excavated. Many jars still had remnants of oil in them!

Looking down into the living quarters that have been excavated.

No, this is not a rug. This is a mosaic tile floor made to look like a rug. Imagine the man hours it took to make this. But then Herod used slaves. He didn't care about the hours of tedious work.

Yes, I would say that the Dead Sea and Masada were the most fascinating parts of my visit to Israel. But there is so much more.

More later.....

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Israel

Our pilgrimage to Israel was wonderful. Here are a few photos that I thought you might enjoy.

One day, we traveled to along the western border. Israel's western border is the beautiful Mediterranean!. The ancient route we traveled was called Via Maris. Via Maris used to link Egypt with the northern parts of Syria and was one of the most important trade roads in the ancient times.
We followed the Roman Via Maris alongside the western shore of Israel, skirting the beautiful Mediterranean Sea.

Here Helaine and Yvonne pose in front

of a Roman wall (aqueduct?) at Caesarea

on the Mediterranean.

Caesarea was built by Herod.

 

Our trip took us north to the lovely city of Haifa.

Here is a view of Haifa from Mount Carmel.

Haifa is a beautiful city on the Mediterranean

There is a saying: "Jerusalem prays. Tel Aviv plays. Haifa works."

Our travels took us to Acre: the city of Crusaders. In the northern part of Israel, this is an Arab village. Notice the mosque in the background of the ancient well. While there, we had to walk (quickly) through an alleyway where a crowd of men were gathered.

One man had about 20-30 cages filled with CATS! Our guide asked what they were doing. They were releasing the "imported" (and hungry) cats in an attempt to control the rat population.








This is the River Jordan of song and story. The River Jordan is the only river in Israel that has water all year round! These pictures were taken of the river in the town of Tiberias at a spot called "Yardenit." This Jordan River Baptismal complex attracts Christian pilgrims from all
over the world.

The site is touted as the place where John the Baptist baptized Jesus.

Historians, however, place the event further south near Jericho.

But Jericho is in "contested" territory and not as safe as Tiberias. The tourists don't question it. Thousands come here to be baptized in the River Jordan.

We passed a Bedouin village where camels are available for photo opportunities. I, once again, refused to climb aboard the beasts. They are interesting creatures. The Bedouin no longer use them except for charging tourists to sit on them for photos.

Here is the Western Wall, Judaism's most holy site. The wall stands as the only reminder of the Holy Temple. Here Helaine turns from having prayed at the wall.

Here is a beautiful view of the old city of Jerusalem

as seen from Mount Scopus.

The gold dome is the Temple Mount.

You can see the remnants of the

wall that once enclosed the original

city of Jerusalem. The old city to this day has citizens living in apartments that overlook the Wall. We met a lady who lives in the Old City. She kindly invited us to her home. But, alas, we had no time left to take her up on her invitation. Maybe next time.

The Old City is divided into 4 parts: The Jewish Quarter,

The Armenian Quarter,

The Arab Quarter and

The Christian Quarter.

The walled city is a warren of paths, alleys and "roads." It is a continuous

route of vendors' booths hawking mostly religious wares and "locally and personally" crafted goods. Some of them actually are. Many of them have the familiar label "Made in China." Buyer beware!

The famous "Via Dolorosa" is located in the Old City. The Via Dolorosa is the path that tradition says Jesus carried his cross to his crucifixion. In the Armenian Quarter is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a sacred place for Christians.
I will post more photos later. Israel is a special place to all 3 major religions. It is amazing to see the Old City. But even more amazing is the rest of Jerusalem and the rest of the country which has been built in just 62 years. The amazing infrastructure of roads and bridges, trains, power lines, sewer systems, and potable water for everyone is awe inspiring. I remember as a child sending money to "plant a tree in Israel." Well, now the trees are grown and there are forests surrounding Jerusalem!

For a Jew, Israel naturally holds a special place. The only Jewish country in the world, some 6 million of the 7.5 million are Jewish. Of the remaining 1.5 million most (16%)are Muslim. A small number (2%) are Christian. The remaining 2% are Buddhist, Baha'i, etc. There are a lot of Baha'i.

While in Israel, never once did I enter a place and have the familiar and uniquely diaspora Jewish feeling, "I'll bet I'm the only Jew here," a sensation that every Jew in American has very often. Visiting Israel was a special pilgrimage. Israel made me feel proud, special, holy and welcome.

I will post more pictures later. The Masada the Dead Sea were amazing.

More later....

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Night Visitor

I awoke startled last Thursday night. I heard an intruder. In my sleepy haze, I couldn't quite place where the noise was coming from but I definitely heard things falling over. I listened and heard it again. BOOM!!!

It sounded as if something was smacking against the garage door! Apparently someone was trying to get into (or out of?) the garage. I grabbed the phone and my protector and slowly checked all the windows and doors. Then I crept quietly into the laundry room. Yes. The noise was there. I banged on the door; turned on the garage lights from the switch in the laundry room; and yelled, "I've got a gun. Stay where you are."

Silence.

Then I unlocked the door leading to the garage and jumped back. Nothing happened. Nothing was visible through the crack in the door.

I snatched open the door and could see the windows were locked and closed and the garage door was down. But staring me in the face from about 10 feet away was a very angry 'possum. I have to admit I was struck by its beauty. The sharply delineated lines of his color were beautiful. And even angry, his eyes, although beady, were very pretty. I liked this animal. But he had to leave. I couldn't have him waking me up every night. Plus, like all feral creatures, the can be rabid. I had to think of the cat, the dog, and my family.

The opossum at the right is NOT 'Ol Sam. Just a 'possum.

Arming myself with a long walking stick, I looked under the car and all around the garage. No 'possum. "Oh, great," I thought. "The one night everyone else is at the beach and I finally have the house to myself, this happens." I assumed he had left.

I was wrong..

The next morning my daughter-in-law and I spent an hour looking for him in the garage. We searched every corner and looked in the top shelves. No 'possum.

That night, well two o'clock in the morning to be exact, the same thing happened again. BOOM! I recognized it this time as the 'possum. I had decided that he was a male and had dubbed him Ol' Sam. Somehow he looked like an Ol' Sam.

Armed with the walking stick, I snatched open the door to the garage and hit the button to open the electric-controlled garage door. I ran around the car yelling. I raked the floor under the car with the stick. No 'possum. This time he had to be gone

The next day I ordered my son to search high and low to confirm Sam had vacated the premises. He hadn't.

Armed with the same, trusty walking stick, my good son found him fast asleep on the floor behind a screen. A very small space only about four inches wide! Son poked him, expecting him to jump up and dart out. Not Ol' Sam.

He became one angry possum. Being nocturnal creatures, the do not like to be awakened during the day. Being of an opposite but equally irritable nature, I understood his attitude at being awakened. Payback is, as they say, hell.

Ol' Sam opened his mouth like a cat does when it makes the battle hiss. It bit at the stick my son used to try to sweep him out of the garage.

After a brief struggle, Good Son, knowing that wild animals can carry rabies and fearing an imminent attack, grabbed a can of wasp spray that was handy and gave Ol' Sam a spray in the face

Better than mace! The 'possum took of at a rapid waddling crawl. 'Possums are slow.

Ol' Sam headed for the woods and hasn't been seen or heard from since. He did, however, manage to consume a lot of cat food during his brief stay. He was the biggest possum I have ever seen in my life. And I have seen many. However, I must confess that most of the ones I have seen were somewhat flat and lying on the side of the road.

I actually miss seeing Ol' Sam. But I do enjoy a full night's sleep

More later....

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