Dead Sea, Masada, Ein Gedi, Qumran & Mt Scopus

Me floating in the Dead Sea

It's Wednesday January 24th and we have most of the morning as free time. Many of us had swam the night before in the hotel indoor/outdoor pool which has heated Dead Sea water. However, no trip to Israel could be complete with out a swim in the Dead Sea (click). It was only a 5 minute walk to the beach and it was already around 24 degrees Celsius at 9 am.  The water was cool but it wasn't long before we were floating with our hands and feet in the air like fishing bobbers!  The Dead Sea is ten times saltier than the ocean so you have to be very careful not to get any of the water in your eyes.

By 11 am we were on our way to Masada (click)a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In the time of Jesus, King Herod the Great had build palaces for himself and fortified as a place of refuge in a time of trouble.  The rock faces of this elevated island rise some 300 to 1,300 feet depending depending on which side is being approached.  In any case it's a very difficult piece of property for any army to attack which made it a safe haven for anyone on top of it.

From the top of Masada with the Dead Sea in the background

Our next stop was the Ein Gedi Nature Reserve (click). This is the location where David hid from Saul and his army who were pursuing him. David and his men were far back in the cave when Saul came into the same cave and David stealthily cut off a piece of Saul's robe.  David was able to use this occurrence to show Saul that he could have killed him; but didn't and in so proving his innocence of any wrongdoing or rebellion (1 Samuel 24:1-15).

One of the caves from which scrolls were retrieved

As we continued on to Jerusalem we had a quick lunch break and tour of Qumran National Park (click).  This is the place where in 1947 a Bedouin shepherd boy while looking for one of his lost animals discovered several earthenware jars containing scrolls. Archaeologists then came and working on the site until 1956 discovered up to 900 scrolls in eleven caves in the area.

We continued on our bus on a steady uphill climb to Jerusalem.  After crossing a military check point because we were leaving the West Bank (click) and entering Israeli territory, we came through the Mount Scopus tunnel with the song The Holy City playing on the speakers!

View of the Temple Mount Jerusalem from Mount Scopus

After a stop on Mount Scopus to take pictures we then arrived at the Grand Court Hotel.  We'll be staying here now until we leave Sunday.