Israel Day 7 - Dead Sea Area

We've reached the halfway point of our trip! I can't believe it's gone by so fast, but it's also incredible to look back at how much we've done in only a week!

Our first stop today was at Ein Gedi, a beautiful Israeli park where it's believed David cut off Saul's skirt (1 Samuel 24) and wrote some of the Psalms! We were able to hike up to see the cave where David met Saul, which is now a really cool waterfall. It probably had water back then since David and Saul both had substantial armies with them at the time, but the landscape would have been a bit different. We also learned that the spring at Ein Gedi is sourced from rainfall that has seeped down deep into the earth instead of flowing out to the Mediterranean or Dead Seas.

Waterfall by the cave David and Saul supposedly met in!

What's left of the cave

Our next stop took us to the ruins of Masada. It was built in the time of Herod so it's a massive fortress on top of a hill in the middle of the desert. It was a beautiful day out today at 70ish degrees, but it can get up to 140/150 up there in the summertime! So, glad we're not here in July. Actually, the mountain is the most visited tourist site in Israel because it's the site of the Zealots' stand against Rome, and it's often used for bar/bat mitzvahs.
The Zealot's stand against Rome was documented by Josephus in the 1st century AD. Basically, the Romans seized the mountain where refugee Jews (or rebels if you're Rome) from the Roman empire were living. They did so by building a wall and then ramp up to the city over several months until they could finally break through the city wall. The massive army surrounded the mountain providing cover fire to anyone working on the ramp below, and those working below were likely Jewish slaves. To kill a slave working on the ramp/wall would be killing one of their own. Here's where the story gets a little crazy. The Romans were notorious for their cruelty towards captured people (I'm talking crucifixion, skinning men alive, raping women to death, enslaving children...seriously evil things). First century Jews also hold ritual purity as one of the highest values in their society. And here's the deal. There's only ONE ending to this story - Roman capture. The full-forced brutality of an entire empire. You're on a mountain surrounded by cliffs and the Roman army. There's no escape. So, rather than succumb to the terrible (and impure) fate at the hands of the Romans, the leading Jewish general convinced his army to destroy any supplies they had, kill their families and then themselves. When the Romans finally broke through the city walls, they found a city already pillaged. So not exactly a victory, but it was a somewhat honorable death in Roman society's view (which doesn't make the Romans look very good). Ultimately, it took the victory away from the Romans and was recounted as an act of heroism for many centuries.

The view from Masada! 

Sorry for the railing, but I prefer to be several feet from any cliff edges

thanks @ my fear of heights

Ok, enough with the war and destruction. I swam in the Dead Sea today! It was awesome! It's technically winter here so the water was cold but what's a little chill, ya know? I was amazed by how easy it was to float! It was such a relaxing way to end the day, and a good breather at the halfway point.

Just floatin'

Tomorrow, we're off to the Jordan Valley!