Dead Sea and Masada

            I’m actually not sure that I’ve quite gone full out tourist mode on this blog yet (and feel free to beg to differ), but it’s time (Don’t tell me you didn’t see it coming; there are some things you just have to do in Israel). 

           

            On Thursday right after work, instead of hopping my usual train back to Herzliya, I caught one to Be'er Sheva (where I tried and regretted Sahlab as you saw in my previous post) and then met Isa and Tami to head down to the Dead Sea.  

            It was raining in Be'er Sheva when we got there (but apparently a little drizzle is all the rain they get in the desert).  We headed through the Judean mountains/desert to our accommodation.  I stared out the window, astounded by all the stars.  I liked the backdrop of the mountains against the dark night sky.  When you look across the Dead Sea, you can see lights over in Jordan off in the distance too, which is cool.  Like I said before, so many nations located so close to each other, and the other nations become the biggest landmarks off in the distance.  There's something to be said for that and it also says so much about Israel and it's ability to be here and be successful here, when the Zionists started settling here over a hundred years ago.     

            When we finally arrived, Tami's dog had a field day running around, and we went for a walk.  To be honest, I completely missed that we were staying right by the Dead Sea, so when we headed towards what looked like a tiny hill that was blocking my view of what was beyond but I had my suspicions (and mind that it was dark), I pointed and asked what's that?  Once assured that I wasn't crazy and the Dead Sea was right there, I started sprinting towards it to check it out.  But, you can only see so much at night.  

            Afterwards, we went to bed.  We had an early morning!  It's been a while since I made a habit of rolling out of bed before 5, so it was a slight struggle when it was time to get up, but hey, the sun waits for no one and one of the biggest reasons for our visit?  Seeing the sunrise from the top of Masada!

            So I realize that I keep throwing out these names of places, and my readers have varying degrees of understanding of Israel, so I'm going to backtrack a little bit.  Be'er Sheva is just a city in Israel.  It's in the desert, but now it's built up a little more.  I also saw way more cats there than anywhere else in Israel, and that's saying a lot.  It's a little over an hour from the Dead Sea.  

            I assume you all have heard of the Dead Sea, but if not, it's a big salty lake that you can't really swim in because it's so buoyant that you automatically float.  It's so salty that nothing can survive in it, so for those of you who are afraid or wary of swimming with fish/sharks/jellyfish, it's the perfect place for you!  The irony here, is that the salt water/mud is supposed to have incredible healing qualities for your skin, but that may or may not have to do with additional minerals other than the salt.  These days, the Dead Sea is starting to dry up a little, but there are efforts underway to determine how to flood it again and keep it intact for generations to come.  

            The Dead Sea was the nature/swimming part of last weekend's escapades, but a visit to Israel wouldn't be complete without hitting up some Israeli history as well.  So to Masada, we went!  King Herod (Herod the Great) had a winter palace on top of the rock plateau that is Masada around 30 BCE.  Masada also has a history of tragedy as well.  At the close of the first Jewish-Roman War, the Romans had laid a siege on the Jewish people living on Masada (see the picture of the Roman settlements below Masada), and eventually they succeeded in closing in on the Jewish (Sicarii) rebels.  But, rather than be taken prisoner and enslaved, and avoiding breaking Jewish law and committing suicide (although there are exceptions to that rule), they chose another way out.  They all killed each other before the Romans could get to them.  A few survived, however, living to document the story for generations to come.  In the 20th century, the climb to Masada was used as a training activity for the Israeli Defense Force, especially difficult before the path was well trodden, and soldiers learned to never give up as they carried large volumes of weight up the difficult climb.  

           I won't deny that even with a nearly empty backpack (just water, layers and clementines), it wasn't an easy climb up the Snake Path and all those stairs.  But, it was completely worth it.  There are pretty interesting ruins up there with well done restorations as well.  It's not impossible but definitely tough, but enjoyable, and the sunrise at the top was definitely worth it.  

Me at the top of Masada just in time for sunrise

           Afterwards, we had a traditional breakfast at Aroma (a nationwide chain).  It was a couple eggs, lots of Israeli cheeses, bread (but not toast which confused me at first), and an Israeli salad (lots of cucumbers and tomatoes).  

           Then it was time to pack our bags and go to the Dead Sea.  

           I couldn't believe how blue the water was. And it was just a sandy beach.  Apparently some of the resort beaches dig up mud from the bottom of the Dead Sea and bring it in, but we used a bag of sealed Dead Sea Mud.  I slathered it all over myself, and waited a bit for the nutrients to soak into my skin before heading back into the water.  The water was a little cold at first, and I was sure, based on the horror stories I had heard, that it was going to sting like crazy (any tiny cut you have apparently hurts from the salt), but it felt great.  The water feels pretty oily on your skin (guess that's the salt, but it's really good for you).  I didn't want to leave, but eventually, I rubbed the mud off, showered off and heading onto my next adventure.