The Dead Sea
It's already Thurday afternoon; one day just flows into the next; the camraderie amongst the group grows as we keep up a busy pace and try and take it all in. We left Tiberias yesterday and headed south to this lowest point on earth. It has been very hot these last few days and we are all drinking lots of water which means many bathroom visits!
Our first stop yesterday was to see the ruins of the ancient Bet Alpha Synagogue, built during the early Christian period. The mosaic floor has been beautifully preserved and the designs charmingly reflect both Greek and biblical motifs. From there we drove through the Jordan Valley along the border with Jordan, to arrive at Qumran. It was here in 1947, purely by accident, that the Dead Sea Scrolls, written and then hidden by the Essenes, were discovered in a cave; the extensive excavation of the area began soon after and hundreds of scrolls were later uncovered.
After lunch, some of us took a short walk in the Ein Gedi Natural Reserve to see one of the waterfalls. Then it was back on the bus and our arrival at the hotel. I have a wonderful room on the 7th floor (most of the group are nearby) that faces the Dead Sea. As soon as my suitcase was brought up, I pulled out my bathing suit and went to the fresh water swimming pool. From there I, naturally, had to walk down to the beach and “sample” the Dead Sea. The water has such a high mineral content that one simply floats. You can even sit on the water and read a book! After about 15 minutes, I noticed some people were slathering mud all over their bodies and I asked the lifeguard where I could get some. No longer free and on the beach as I remembered from my first trip to Israel in 1979, the mud is packaged and available for sale in the gift shop. So it was back to my room to get my credit card for this very important purchase. Returning back to the sea, I asked the lifeguard, who told me a very interesting story of how his family had fled Egypt in 1957 when Nasser expelled the Jews, to cut open my packet of mud. He did that and I covered myself completely only to then be told by him that the mud is just for “pictures” and really doesn't do anything for one's skin! Okay, so I bought 3 packs...who knew! Actually, I think he's wrong because the mud of the Dead Sea is well-known and the spa has a number of mud body treatments...and my skin is nice and smooth!
Waking up this morning around 6:00 am, I looked out from my terrace and saw bathers in the sea. Not to miss out on the experience, I was in my bathing suit within minutes and floating at 6:30, in time to see the sunrise. Hard to describe what it was like to be floating on the Dead Sea watching the sun come up...one of those unforgettable moments.
This morning, after a wonderful buffet breakfast, we got on the bus and went to Masada. Built by King Herod, Masada served as a palatial fortress for the king, and is best known as the last bastion of Jewish freedom fighters against the Romans. The tragedy of that last day when the community committed suicide, rather than be taken by the Roman army, has become a symbol of the continuous struggle for freedom from tyranny. In order to reach the fortress, one can walk up, which is long and would be extremely difficult to do in the heat (and it was oppressively hot today) or take the cable car which is what we all did. As I have an extreme fear of heights, I was concerned about the trip up and sat on the floor of the cable car so I wouldn't be able to see out. My fears were unfounded because the ride was so smooth that one wasn't even aware of moving. We toured the excavations-the bathhouses, storerooms, synagogue, family quarters, etc.; each discovery more and more amazing. Although this was my third visit to Masada, the thrill was just as great; the only difficulty was the extreme heat which beat down upon us.
So now I'm off to the spa and then a “Namaste” 75 minute massage...
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