Western Wall - Old City Jerusalem
Dome of the Rock
A view out toward the Dead Sea and Jordan from the peak of Masada
Looking down on the side-cliff fortress of Masada
Relaxing in the Dead SeaSunday, November 14th
Coming to you live from the outside deck of the Dalton Restaurant in the Mimila Shopping Plaza in Jerusalem, Israel. Great view of the city from the deck. Back to what I know, I'm eating a tomato/cucumber/onion salad and some sort of Asian pasta dish. It's all good - and the atmosphere is really nice. I decided to write the blog this evening from here. My hotel has internet - but it's not very powerful. This is the reason I was unable to post pictures last night.
Today was unique - and awesome. I started early. I left my hotel, within the confines of the Old City, and walked down to the Western Wall (Wailing Wall). This is one of the most sacred places in the Jewish faith. It's a 187-ft exposed section of ancient wall situated on the western flank of the Temple Mount. I found many people standing at the wall doing morning prayers. This place felt a little like Our Lady of Lourdes - the respectful, thoughtful atmosphere that was portrayed. I then stood in a queu to go visit the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock. There are only certain times of the day this can be done. After looking at old pictures of what this area once looked like, it was amazing to be standing right where all this history took place.
I then walked out of the Old City (it's truly a maze of streets and alleyways - I'm starting to figure it out a little). I walked over to the Mamila Hotel where I would depart for my full day tour to the Dead Sea and Masada at 9am.
We headed out of Jerusalem into the desert. Within about 10 minutes, we passed through a gate that brought us into the West Bank (Palestinian territory). As mentioned a couple days ago, I believe this area is more stable than the Gaza Strip. We weren't even stopped by the guards - we passed right through.
Our first stop was Masada. This is a fortress that was build by King Herod during the Year 0. King Herod was the person who killed all the babies of Bethlehem because he heard the Messiah was born and that he would threaten his power. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph had fled to Egypt during this time (I believe). Masada is famous for two reasons - it was the fortress that King Herod could use if he needed refuge and it was also the place where 967 Jewish men, women, and children defied their Roman attackers for a number of years around 73 A.D. Really interesting story. It's even a movie - 'Masada'. (I want to watch this when I return to the states). The Romans had built a ramp leading up to the mountain. When the Jewish people realized they could not defend themselves any further, they committed mass suicide. Only a couple women and children (who had hid out) were saved. It's a national tradition to make the ascent on foot as least once to pay homage to one of the most tragic and heroic incidents in Jewish history.
We next ate lunch at a small working Israel community (Kibbutz) near the Dead Sea. I learned a little about these communities from Debbie yesterday. She lived and worked on a couple in the past. It's a community that shares things and works together - kind of like a family. Many today are focused on growing agricultural products. Great lunch spot. I talked with a couple ladies from Charlotte, NC. They were touring Israel for about the same number of days as me. They were very impressed as well.
Next, we headed to the lowest point on the face of the earth - the Dead Sea (1,305 ft below sea level). Death Valley in California is America's lowest - at 282 feet below sea level. We had about 1-1/2 hours to swim in the water. First, the Dead Sea is actually a lake. It has 10 times the concentration of salt than any normal ocean. Because of this, you float like a cork in the water. See my picture attached. You can lay on your back, with your hands behind your head, and read the paper -- exactly as if you were on a raft. It's incredible. It's like having a wetsuit on. You can swim unbelievably fast. It was amusing to see all these people in the water. Many of which were elderly women who may or may not have ever been in the water before. Because of the buoyancy, it was difficult to actually sit up once you were laying on your back or stomach. People were wallering around -- it was great fun just to watch this scene.
We headed back into Jerusalem, back into the Holy Land. I went to pick up my bag I had stored at my hotel. They told me yesterday that there were no rooms available for tonight. I got lucky - a single room opened. I am now staying at the same place again today. Excellent.
It's now 10:15pm - I'm finished with dinner and about ready to call it a day. Tomorrow morning I get to do something extremely unique. Debbie's husband, Amos, has connections with the Old City and they have gotten me on a tour of the architectural tunnels that go below the Temple Mount. This should be amazing. I then do a walking tour of the entire Old City before I'll make my way to the airport late tomorrow evening.
Good night from the Holy Land.
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