Day 6- En Gedi/Masada

This day was my favorite of the entire trip (and Dillon's too)... it was just incredible and additionally, is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to. I know thats a funny thing to say about the desert- but there is so much history that you can feel when you are there, and that is part of its beauty. It's so barren but then out of nowhere you can find an oasis, be it a waterfall or stream or salty sea.

We left our hotel on Day 6, leaving Galilee and heading southward, eventually entering into the Judean Wilderness. It was fairly accurate to how I had imagined it. Dry sandy mountains rising up from the dusty desert floor... the Dead Sea to our left and beyond that, the Jordan mountain range. 

We began by hiking the En Gedi nature reserve. We weaved up a trail and eventually came to a beautiful waterfall amidst the caves. We saw the caves where David hid from Saul and cut off a piece of his robe.

"After Saul returned from pursuing the Philistines, he was told, “David is in the Desert of En Gedi.” ² So Saul took three thousand able young men from all Israel and set out to look for David and his men near the Crags of the Wild Goats.

 ³ He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. ⁴ The men said, “This is the day the LORD spoke of when he said^[b] to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe." 

 We headed out, then drove a few miles to Masada (the Hebrew word for Fortress), which is an ancient palace that was fortified by Herod the Great. It served as a refuge for Jews during the Jewish-Roman War (in 66 C.E). Here is the shortened version of the amazing history...

Jews from all over Israel fled to Masada during the Roman invasion. It was the last Jewish stronghold. For several months, the Romans camped at the base of Masada, unable to conquer it. They finally constructed a massive ramp and when they entered the fortress, discovered no one alive...

The Jewish leaders had all agreed to kill the members of their households, and then one by one the leaders murdered each other, until the last man fell on his own sword, in an attempt to die free.

Riding a gandala  to the top was a little scary

At the top, looking out East at the Dead Sea

 
The layout of King Herods quarters

Atop Masada, the ruins of what once was

Below are the lots found with names on them. Possibly the names of the men who were casting to see who the last to die would be.

Below you can see the huge ramp the Romans built to invade Masada.

We explored Masada all afternoon. We stayed the night at a Kabutz commune in the West Bank (occupied by Palestinians). Before we arrived at our hotel we saw this:

The Israel we saw this day was the Israel that I think everyone imagines. I felt like we were on an adventure. Instead of just looking at things, we had a part in experiencing it. The land is breathtaking, ancient, captivating, foreign and rugged. Certainly a day I will cherish forever!