The Dead Sea

Today we went deep into the wilderness. I think many of us saw for the first time just how barren this land can be, especially during the dry season of summer.




Our first stop was Masada, the ancient site of a brave last stand of Jewish freedom fighters against Rome. Masada is for Israel like the Alamo is for Texas. It is a fortress way up on top of a hill/cliff that is almost impossible to get to. But the Romans did, and when they breached the wall, the Jews committed suicide rather than be arrested or killed by the Romans. It is an incredible place.




If you look carefully at this photo taken from the top of Masada, you can still see the square outlines of the ancient Roman army encampments - there are eight of them surrounding Masada. You can also see the remains of a wall that the Romans built so that the Jews could not escape.

Then we went to Qumran, the site of an ancient settlement of Essenes, and the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a cave by Bedouins. Some people think that John the Baptist may have been part of their community, and maybe even Jesus, but that is just speculation. The scrolls found there have advanced biblical studies exponentially.




We ended our day with a dip in the Dead Sea. Believe me, that’s about all you can do. You can’t swim, because if you get the water in your eyes, it burns. If you even splash, you can’t wipe it because you have it on your fingers. You have to get out and wash with fresh water. I speak from experience! But it is fun to float. The salty mineral rich water is so buoyant that you can float effortlessly. It really is amazing.


Tomorrow is our last day here. It is Sunday, the Christian Sabbath, so I will attend what church I can, not many of them are in English, and the ones that are are hard to get to. It hardly seems like it is time to go home. There is so much else left to see, and some things I would like to go back and see again!