Day 6: Masada, The Dead Sea & Jerusalem
Hello again,
As I write this, I am at home in Stellenbosch with a cold having arrived back in the country yesterday afternoon. However, since I did promise to keep you in the loop on my travels and because I want to be able to record the memories for myself, I plan to attempt to continue the tale of my travels.
Keren's log: Day 6, April 7th
We began our day with a hike up to David's streams which is a very beautiful national park. It is believed that it was within these mountains David hid from Saul who was trying to kill him. The waterfall there is very beautiful and there is plenty of birdlife and ibex too to enjoy.
Our tour group then journeyed to Masada, which is home to ruins of another of Herod's palaces. In 72 AD however, it was used as the home of a rebel group who attempted to withstand Roman invasion. The Jewish rebel groups stayed in the besieged palace while for two long years the Romans built a ramp to invade the palace and wipe out the remaining Jews. According to the eyewitness historian Josephus Flavius, the group of Jewish rebels committed mass suicide once they realised their choices would be death or slavery to the Romans come morning. It's an impressive but terribly sad story. It has become a site of Jewish pride though after it was excavated once Israel first became a state. While I don't condone it as a heroic story, it is a well-preserved site with a beautiful view. If you would like to read more on it, here is a good source:
Next, we stopped at Qumran which is the site of the eleven caves in which the Dead Sea scrolls were found. These manuscripts are perhaps one of the most significant historical finds ever made. None of the scrolls are kept at Qumran, but I did have the opportunity to see them later in my travels on day 9 (more on that later!)
Our group then headed to the place I had been most excited about: The Dead Sea! I had the amazing opportunity to float and swim in it. Tourists around me were rubbing the slimy mud all over their bodies which was rather entertaining. I gave it a go, but would recommend that one not put mud with ions and heavy salt content on one's face... it burns!
We made our final stop at the hotel in Jerusalem and did some unpacking before a few of us decided to do some night night-time exploring. We had not realised that it being Ramadan and time for people to leave the mosque and break their fast, the streets would be packed. It was quite the most terrifying and overstimulating experience I have ever had. Picture walking down streets where people stand back to back and all around you are the overwhelming smells of incense, spices and cheap plastic. Eventually however, we made our way to the Wailing Wall. This marks the place which is as close to the temple ruins that the Jewish community can get. The golden dome itself is in the Islamic section and Jewish people may not enter it. Unfortunately, since it was Shabbat, I only have a picture of the wall from a distance because pictures are not permitted over this period.
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| The Dead Sea and me 💕 |
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| Cave 4 at Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls were found |
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| Sibling selfies at Masada |
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| Ruins of Herod's palace at Masada |
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| The Wailing Wall |
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