Day 5 Dead Sea Sat 11/16/2019

MASADA / DEAD SEA / ENGEDI / QUMRAN / SWIM AT THE DEAD SEA / 

OVERNIGHT AT HOTEL BY DEAD SEA

After breakfast go through customs as we cross to Eilat, Israel and go north through the Arava desert to Masada where we'll take a cable car up to the fortress. Here the defenders held out for three years against the Roman Army and then committed suicide rather than be taken into slavery. "Masada shall not fall again" is the oath taken by cadets who graduate from Israel's military academy. Upon our descent continue to the oasis of Ein Gedi and the cave where David hid from Saul (1 Sam. 23:29). See Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Enjoy floating in the Dead Sea at the end of the day. Dinner and overnight at our hotel at the Dead Sea.

Today turned out a bit different than our itinerary states:
Tomorrow we'll be going to Ein Gedi and Qumran.
We did swim in the Dead Sea as you will see...

We start off the day with breakfast and reading Psalm 8
vs. 9: "LORD our LORD, Your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!"

First order of business is to exit Jordan and enter Israel through customs.

We all made it through...now we wait to get on the bus to head north.

Some of the land forms as we travel north through the desert area of the Negev.

As we get closer to the Dead Sea we see a very large industrial area where we see large amounts of  potash - a large export used as fertilizer throughout the world.

This video shows how large it is as we zip by...

Length: 00:00:27 sec.

These mountains are made of salt.
In fact, if you look closely you can see Lot's wife who turned into a pillar of salt.

 In case you couldn't find Lot's wife - here she is with a circle around her. Yeah, I know, you didn't think she was THAT tall.

On our way to Masada. Looking over the Dead Sea and the strip of hotels where we'll be staying tonight.

Cool cloud reflection on the Dead Sea.

First stop: Masada

Once at Masada, Amir purchased our tickets and we waited in line for the tram.
You can see one coming in the middle of the opening in this picture.

Our first stop was a teaching stop where Amir gave us the background of Masada.

Here our group waits for another lesson.

After checking out the Northern Palace I looked back and took this video of the storeroom complex.

Josephus Flavious (in The Wars of the Jews, VII, 296) wrote, "For here had been stored a mass of corn, amply sufficient to last for years, abundance of wine and oil, besides every variety of pulse and piles of dates." 

Length: 00:00:13 sec.

From the National Park brochure:
The breaching point - Above the Roman siege ramp the perimeter wall is missing where it was destroyed during the assault. In the Hebrew month of Nissan, in the spring of 73 or 74 CE, the Romans raised a tower high enough to overlook the wall and bombarded the area, as attested to by the ballista balls and arrowheads discovered in the excavation. The rebels defended themselves by rolling down large stones on the Romans. After the Romans destroyed the perimeter wall, they burned the wood-and-earth wall the rebels had built to shore it up. Thus, the siege came to an end. From the restored tower you can see the siege wall and the Roman camps at the base of Masada, among them camp F, the camp of the siege's commander.

Insert picture of camp F here

This video takes a 360 degree view of the middle section of Masada

Length: 00:00:21 sec.

Ready to leave Masada.
When we arrived at the bus, there was a rainbow pointing to our bus.

The rainbow stayed for a while as we rode down the road.

It was more brilliant in person.

Next and final stop: Hotel David on the Dead Sea

Arrival at our hotel for the night...David.

Before dinner we went down to the beach of the Dead Sea and floated in the salt water.

A very unique experience.

Then it's time for dinner at David.

Janelle & Pastor Reiner

Marilyn & Granddaughter, Sarah with Terry & Mary Kramer

Jan Berg with Gary Hanson