It's the shabbat, which technically means I am totally free for the day and can finally catch up on the sleep my body is so desperately begging to have.  Only I have decided to take full advantage of every minute I have in Israel and have planned a full-day trip to Masada and the Dead Sea.  It sounded wonderful 2 months ago, but not so much at 2:45 am when my alarm goes off and I've only had 3 1/2 hours of sleep.  Twelve of us are up at this ungodly hour so we can hike up Masada while it's still cool and enjoy the sunrise.  We sleepily pile into the taxi van that will take us there (it's about an hour drive) and travel through two armed military checkpoints.  We arrive at Masada when it's still pitch dark (according to the Mamas and the Papas "the darkest hour is just before dawn" and I think they're right) and begin our ascent. 

Masada is, as a tour guide will later describe, "an island in the desert."  Or as my handy brochure points out, it is a plateau located "on the eastern fringe of the Judean Desert near the shore of the Dead Sea, between Ein Gedi and Sodom (yes, that Sodom).  It is a mountain block that rose and was detached from the fault escarpment...the plateau is 450 meters above the level of the Dead Sea and is approximately 650 meters long and 300 meters wide." 

Masada is historically significant because it is the site of one of the first events of the Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans which occured in 66 BCE.  When Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans, rebel Jews fled to Masada (which had been built as a palace fortress by King Herod).  The Romans eventually caught up with the Jews and planned to capture them and force them into slavery.  Rather than submit to this fate, the Jews drew lots and systematically murdered each other (women and children included) until only remained (who was then to have committed suicide, but decided at the last minute to stay alive in order to share the story).  This was done to show the Romans that they would rather die than live as slaves. 

We climbed the semi-steep snake path to get to the top, all the while trying to stay one step ahead of the rising sun.  We arrived at the top just after 5:30am in plenty of time to watch the 5:45 sunrise over the Dead Sea.  Sunrises are always beautiful, but they seem extra special in places like this and after you've had to work for the reward.  Our group plops down on some rocks along with tourists from many other countries.  As the sun begins to peek out over the lands of Jordan, we all begin singing, "Here comes the sun...do do do do...Here comes the sun."  Proof once again that the Beatles speak all languages as even some Frenchies start singing along. 

Most people descend shortly after sunrise to beat the approaching heat.  The twelve of us in my group are stuck here until 9:30 when another group of less-adventurous Kivunim participants arrive after coming up via cable car.  With them is our guide, Hillel, who tells us more about the history of this place and supplies us with new (and cold) bottles of water.  We all take the cable car back down and at 11am we're already beat.  We were tired before today, but now were just plain exhausted.  I stop to get a frozen coffee--I'm resorting to all sorts of tactics to keep my energy going--before getting back on the bus. 

Next we stop at Ein Gedi--a kibbutz located in the middle of the desert and home to a waterfall and many ibex (Hillel tells us the ibex are native to the New York Times crossword puzzle--Ha Ha!).  We have lunch at a small cafeteria and then drive to the Dead Sea, the lowest point on the planet. 

The Dead Sea is actually a lake, not a sea, nestled between Israel and Jordan.  It is 1378 feet below sea level and its shores are the lowest points of dry land on Earth.   It is the second saltiest body of water in the world (behind Lake Asal in Djibouti) is 30% saline. It is 8.6 times saltier than the ocean.  It has a strong sulphuric smell.  No animals can live inside the water and even boat travel is impossible. 

We change into our bathing suits and head for the water.  It's stinky, but warm like a bath.  It is very easy to float, in fact impossible not to float.  I keep trying to bring my legs down to touch the bottom and I struggle immensely.  The people in my group take turns passing around a newspaper so we can lounge and read in the water.  We discover mud on the banks of the shore that people apply to their bodies.  We coat ourselves in mud then bask in the sunshine before rinsing off.  Our skin is smoother, though still stinky.  We also visit the hot baths (water that is more than 100 degrees Farenheit and smells like a fishbowl).  Finally a good rinse off and then back on the bus toward the hotel. 

Once I get back to my room, I take a really good shower and then sleep soundly for 90 minutes before Sara wakes me to go to another lecture (this one on Israeli literature) and then dinner at an art museum.  Luckily, it is a worthwhile lecture and dinner (fresh Italian food-yum) because I'm still very tired.

The mountain fortress of Masada.  Very hot but worth going.  I had the youth walk down Masada, yep at first they did not like it until I told them that they are now in a very rare group of people who have done that. 

Dead Sea

Love it, floating and all and your skill feels like a new baby for two weeks after too.  This next year I am going again and will go here first and again right before I head home. lol

Sea Level

Ok we had to get the photo on a camel.  LOL

On the way to and past the Dead Sea we stopped off at the historic Israeli fort of Masada. This is the site of the last Jewish stand against the Roman Empire. The fort offers great views of the surrounding area and has what has been called (at least by the tour guide) the oldest surviving Synagogue.

Om 6.30 uur liep de wekker af. Nogal vroeg natuurlijk, maar we hadden voor vandaag een aantal plannen en wel de omgeving van de Dode Zee bezoeken.

Drie kwartier later konden we ontbijten, en nog weer ietsje later gingen we op weg naar het busstation. Op dit uur was de temperatuur prima uit te houden, en we zetten er flink de pas in. Eenmaal bij het busstation bleek dat wij niet alleen die kant opgingen want er stond al een behoorlijk rij mensen.

Even door half negen reed de bus weg en zo’n twee uur later kwamen we aan bij ons eerste doel: Massada.

We besloten eerst even wat koels te drinken, want het was al weer behoorlijk warm aan het worden. (Heb ik trouwens al verteld dat de temperatuur zo’n 10°C hoger ligt dan normaal in deze tijd van het jaar? Dan bij deze!)

Na de verfrissing besloten we maar eens richting kabelbaan te gaan. Het was hier al goed druk, dus we konden weinig anders doen dan maar achteraan te sluiten en geduldig te zijn. Na een half uur waren wij dan ook eindelijk aan de beurt en snel gingen we naar boven. We hadden trouwens iemand in de kabelbaan zitten die bang was, dat lijkt me echt heel erg.

Boven op Massada hebben we zeker een uur rondgelopen, voordat we weer naar beneden gingen.

We hadden afgesproken om vanmorgen om 6.30 uur op te staan om nog even wat te gaan "zwemmen". Dat was wel vroeg maar dat hadden we er voor over. Er stonden vandaag vrij aardige golven op het water zodat je extra moest opletten om geen water in je gezicht te krijgen. We gingen er daarom al gauw weer uit waarna we een lekkere douche namen en even probeerden op te drogen. We hadden onze zwemkleding nog nodig dus die konden we maar beter aanhouden.

We ontbeten om een uur of acht en dat smaakte weer uitstekend. Na het ontbijt leverden we de sleutels in en gingen we op pad.

Het eerste doel van vandaag was Massada waar we met de kabelbaan naar boven gingen. Het was hier om te stikken van de hitte maar dat mag de pret niet drukken. We hebben daar ruim een uur rondgewandeld voordat we weer naar beneden gingen.

Eenmaal beneden gekomen namen we ene verfrissing want daar waren we echt aan toe. Het is echt verbazingwekkend hoeveel je eigenlijk drinkt in zo'n warm land.

Na een snelle lunch reden we snel door naar Masada waar we nog net op tijd waren voor het laatste kabelbaantje van die dag. Naar beneden kun je altijd weer lopen. Je krijgt hier een goed beeld van het paleis dat hier gestaan heeft en van de belegering die hier heeft plaatsgevonden door de Romeinen.

Israel's second most popular tourist site after the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. A mountain top fortress which King Herod transformed in 35 BC into a three tiered winter home, boasts two luxurious palaces, bathhouses, storage rooms and impressive water cisterns. An eternal symbol of Jewish history and heritage, it is the site of heroic defiance by a few Jewish zealots who took their own lives rather than surrender to the might of the Roman empire. Masada offers fabulous views of the Dead Sea and Judean Desert. Easily accessible via a quick cable car ride or by hiking up the serpentine path.

It was suppose to be an ordinary Passover, when a few of my friends decided to go on a trip, and what is more appropriate then going to the south?

So we started planning almost 2 weeks ahed.

And finally we came up with the best trail to walk and best places to see.

We woke up really early started packing everything we will need on a three day camping trip in the south.

Later at the afternoon we (Inbal, Nir and me) went to Tel Aviv to meet our trip friends- Amnon, Neama and Gil.

A few minutes later we were on our way to Masada's camping site.

We spent the night at the bottom of the Masada.

In the morning we started the long walk up.

We took the snake road, which is usually traveled by soldiers, gone up the road that was build by Romains when they were trying to take over the ancient city.

After getting to the top and exploring the ruins of the city we went down another mountain (mount Eliezer)

After getting back to the car we went to the closest Kibutz- Ein Gedi to buy some food, and then a quick dip in the Dead sea.

We came back to the camping site all happy and tiered, build our tents back up and went to sleep.