Israel - Holy Cultures Day 13
Israel - Holy Cultures
Day 13 - Wednesday, October 27, 2010 - Transfer to the Dead Sea/Qumran Caves/Ein Gedi Nature Reserve/ Masada
Today was a travel day and Ran had arranged for an early departure. The wake-up call was at 6:30 and we had planned to load the bus at 7:45. There was a delay and the bus got to the hotel late, so we left at 8:15.
Our destination today was the Judean Desert. After a 40 minute drive following the shores of the Dead Sea, we arrived in Qumran. In the caves of the Dead Sea Rift Valley the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.
The altitude of the Dead Sea at this point is almost 1,400 feet below sea level. The level of the Sea is going down dramatically each year because of evaporation, settlements and agriculture irrigation pulling water from the Jordan River.
We entered the Visitors Center of the Qumran National Park at the archeological site and watched a very explanatory film about the Essenes, a very strict sect of Jews who came to the desert to pray and to write down the Gospels between 150 BCE and 70CE.
We were able to enter the archeological site of the Essenes’ settlement and see the caves that they had hidden the scrolls over 2000 years ago.
When we left Qumran, we continued on to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve Park. Here we saw a small herd of ibex and rock hyrax. We hiked to the top of the falls and were able to cool our feet in the streams originating from springs of the Judean Mountains.
Our lunch was at a buffet and salad bar. We were much more thirsty than hungry as the temperature was 84º with 58% humidity. We left the restaurant at 1:00 and continued south along the shores of the Dead Sea to Masada.
We rode a cable car to the top of Masada, a rock outcropping about 1476 feet above the level of the Dead Sea. The original fortress was built by King Herod on top of the rock.
The site itself is remembered in Jewish history as the last bastion of the Jewish Great Revolt against the Romans in 74 CE. The Jewish zealots killed their own families and then took their own lives rather than live in shame as Roman slaves.
We toured the site and Ran helped us to understand the period of King Herod as well as the later times of the Jewish siege. At the very top we observed a Jewish Scribe copying the Torah by hand, understanding that a single error will require him to rewrite the whole document from the beginning.
Instead of going back to the Visitor’s Center on the cable car, six of us opted to walk on the Snake Path that serpentined back down the mountain.
Everyone waited for us and cheered as we returned from our trek. After a few photos, we got back in the bus for our short trip to the Leonardo Hotel on the Dead Sea.
We checked in at 5:00 and had time to start the journal, shower, and get ready for dinner with our OAT group at the hotel.
After our meal and a lively discussion, we came back to the room to post the journal and get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow is another adventure!
Accommodations: Leonardo Hotel, Neve Zohar, Dead Sea - - - Meal: B, D
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Comments
why didn't you take the snake path up rather than down?!
Post a Comment!Is that the snake path behind you in the picture; looks dangerous.
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