Holy Land Day 7

Today was about archaeological sites, less biblical and more exploration of the country.

We left Jerusalem at 7:30a and headed toward Masada. This was amazing - Jerusalem is at 2700 ft ABOVE sea level and Masada is located on the southwestern shore of the Dead Sea - 1300 feet BELOW sea level. This is the lowest place on earth! The drive took about 90 minutes.

Masada (http://www.bibleplaces.com/masada.htm)-- this was a place of refuge that Herod the Great built. He was concerned about the relationship between Cleopatra and Marc Anthony and her lobbying to be made ruler of the the entire area. To show his strength, Herod built many palaces when he was king of kings. This particular location is incredibly desolate. There is no vegetation and temperatures easily reach 125F in the summer time. Masada is a mountain, rising 1500 feet above the valley floor - about 200 feet above sea level.

What happened here is of huge importance to the Jews. A band of Jews broke off to be on their own - about 1000 of them. The Romans, in a show of force, ordered armies to retake Masada. 25,000 Roman soldiers were sent to the location, however it could not be easily conquered due to the geography of the location. From all sides but the west, the mountain could not be attached. On the Western side was a plateau, about half way up. From here, the Romans built a ramp, 1300 feet high! No, I am not making this stuff up. It took them two years, and they were finally able to attack. At this point, the Jews knew they were going to lose the battle. In a famous speech they had to decide between death or slavery. They chose death. A mass suicide took place by cutting of the throat of the person next to them, each passing the knife to the next. Then, with 10 soldiers left, they drew straws to determine who would be last and fall on his sword.

When the romans finally breached the wall, all of the Jews were dead.

From there, we traveled north to Ein Gedi (http://www.bibleplaces.com/engedi.htm), where a spring comes from the mountains supplying water (and there is a bible story I do not remember).

Next, Qumran (http://www.bibleplaces.com/qumran.htm) -- the side of the Dead Sea Scrolls. This was interesting because it was something I had seen on TV and the news.

From there, we got to go to the Dead Sea and put our feet in the water. The salt content is about 25%, nothing will live in the water. Also, you cannot drown - as everything floats (unless your are face first!).

Finally, the day ended in Jericho so we could visit the site that remembers the Sycamore tree that Jesus passed by. The city is Palestinian controlled and rather rough looking. I did have Jericho bananas there that were delicious!

Enjoy the few photos.

JRN