So this post is a day late but still just as great. Yesterday we were able to go to Masada, the Dead Sea, and Qumran. Masada is below sea level and is on a plateau in the Judean Desert. You can read more about Masada here and also on Eric's blog here.
We got up early and left shortly after Sam and Rachel went to school. We drove and drove for what seemed like forever through part of the West Bank and along the Dead Sea through the Judean Desert. Despite the fact that we were in a desert the road were still slightly windy. After driving, we arrived at Masada which was just an incredible view. We rode up to the top on the Gonadal, if we had walked the Snake Path it would have taken near an hour for a fit person to climb. The views of the Desert and Dead Sea were just incredible and it was really fun to look at everything and learn about everything. It was also cool because Masada is located 450 meters above the Dead Sea which lies right at the bottom. It is 650 meters long and 300 meters wide. (The Dead Sea lies at 1,388 feet BELOW sea level and is approximately 34% salinity. It is crazy. Here are some pictures from Masada.... I took so many that it is hard to choose so just enjoy the plethora I post :)
Driving up to Masada
Camel at Sea Level
Nana on said Camel
Elaine at Masada
Roman Camp at the base of Masada
Nana and Eric walking down some of the thousands of stairs throughout Masada
One of the Masada overlooks of the Dead Sea
After Masada, we ate lunch and then headed over to the Dead Sea to float around. The Dead Sea has so much salt in it that even the air smells bad when you get out of the car in the parking lot. It is so terrible, but also a great experience. Nana got half way in but then the waves were too rough so she sat on some rocks with Eric while Elaine and I got in. We started floating and it was such a weird feeling that you can just sit there basically on the top of the water and not have to work or kick to hold yourself afloat. We just let ourselves kind of drift and thought we were going to float away to Jordan at one point! It was very fun, but so awful if you get even the slightest amount of salt in your mouth. Overall though, it was so much fun.
Dead Sea Beach
Police at the Dead Sea
No effort at all! Until it felt like your legs were going to flip right over your head ha
After we showered and got at least semi clean from the Dead Sea Salt, we went to Qumran for about 40 minutes before they closed. It was a short and fast trip, but still jsut as fun. It is at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Here are just a few pictures to highlight the experience.
And on our way home, there was a beautiful sunsent......
Overall, it was a very long but wonderful day. I am really loving being in Israel for the holidays and enjoying this time with some extended family :)
