June 24

On the last day of our southern tour of Israel, we first went to Masada. This place was amazing. Herod found this large, relatively flat mountain and decided to build a palace and fortress there. He apparently had unlimited funds, great architects and engineers and a paranoia about being taken over by Cleopatra or Rome.

In addition to the many opulent rooms, bathhouses, palace thrones, etc., he also had cisterns constructed that held 11,000,000 gallons of water.

The Israeli Zealots captured the city about 70 AD after Rome destroyed Jerusalem and used it as base for creating problems for Rome. The Romans headed to Masada in about 73 AD and laid siege to the city for about two years. The Zealots had plenty of water and food so they held on until the Romans army built a siege wall.

The night before the Romans were to break through, about 960 Zealots (men, women and children) committed murder/suicide to deny Rome the privilege of killing them.

The walk to the top along the siege ramp path was about 1/2 to 3/4 mile with an elevation increase of about 1,200 feet. It was good that we did this before 9 am. Below is a picture of the path up to Masada from about 2/3 the way up. This was some hike!!

Here is me after arriving at the top (no EMTs were necessary).

This is a Synagogue found at Masada. It was originally a stable in Herod's time and converted into a Synagogue by the Zealots. It is known what type of worship facility it is by the orientation of the altar. Synagogues face toward Jerusalem, Mosques toward Mecca, and Churches to the East.

The area below the black line is original structure, the area above is recreated structure.

The North Palace had three levels, we hiked down (and then back up, of course) to the lower level.

The lower level of the North Palace.

This is a picture from above of an excavation of a Roman camp set up during the siege. These guys were tough - two years in the heat with all the work, plus the only water source was En Gedi, many miles to the north.

The Dead Sea, 36% minerals and salt. The Dead Sea is dying. It is about 85 - 100 feet below its level 50 years ago. Ecological troubles are everywhere.

We then visited En Gedi, the springs famous for David's encounter with Saul during his time of trying to stay away from him. The walk up the Wadi to the waterfalls was steep but worth the trip in beauty and amazement that this existed in this area of Israel.

Below are David's Falls

Our last stop on this trip was at Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. This is a picture of one of the caves. The scrolls were created by a group of men who were committed to copy and preserving the scriptures. Fragments from all of the books of the OT, except Esther, were found here.

June 23

Last night we stayed at a youth hostel in Mitzpe Ramon. This hostel was very nice. Clean, two to a room, private bath rooms.Here is picture from the outside.

Below is a reassembly of a typical four room house that was found in the desert by the military when clearing the land for military facilities. These houses were common all over Israel.

At least one of the rooms on the right or left were probably used for livestock. Think - Jesus born in a manger in a stable.

From here we went up to Avdat, a Nabatean city built in the 1st century BC to control the trade route from Arabia to the Mediterranean. By control, I mean tax. There were at least five other cities dotted across the region. Avdat was amazingly high. From the city you could see for miles around. No one could get through without being detected.

This is an early Christian church - 5th century at Avdat. There is some evidence of a monastery having been here. The pews were pretty hard!

Don and me at Avdat. This picture gives you some idea of the view from this city.

We then visited the Wadi Zen near Avedat and saw numerous ibexes and on long horned ram. Here is a picture of the water that drains through this wadi.

We left here and went to Beersheba, the ancient home of the patriarchs. There is a modern city of Beersheba 3 - 4 miles away. Abraham is specifically mentioned in the bible as coming here. But other cultures and people occupied this city as well. An ancient cultic altar was found here.

Here is a panoramic view of Beersheba from atop a platform.

We stayed that night in another youth hostel in the modern city of Arad. Below is a picture of the courtyard. Very nice place.