May 22 - Ashdod to Haifa, an overnight journey through Israel

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This morning found us at the port of Ashdod, Israel.  After going through a face-to-face meeting with Israeli immigration we boarded our bus for an overnight tour of several parts of this interesting country.  As we drove out of the port city we passed through lush agricultural areas and pine forests.  This is amazing because before the Jewish people settled here most of what was then called Palestine was desert or swampland.  The Israelis are masters at irrigation and agricultural management.

Just one example of the fields we saw

We headed southeast toward our first stop at Masada above the Dead Sea. The trip took us from sea level  to roughly 1450 ft below sea level . That makes the Dead Sea the lowest point on the planet on land. To reach Masada we drove along the shore of the sea and I’ll tell you more about that later.

Masada is an ancient Jewish fortification built atop a large type of mesa  overlooking the Dead Sea to its east with a cliff drop off of approx 1300 ft.  King Herod the Great  built two magnificent palaces for himself and massive fortifications between 37 and 31 BC.  During the first Jewish-Roman War after the destruction by the Romans of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, a violent extremist Jewish splinter group which had earlier taken the Roman garrison at Masada essentially made their last stand against the Romans on that high fort.  The Romans constructed over a long period of time an access ramp and siege tower and were preparing to overrun Masada. Rather than being captured and enslaved or killed by the Romans, the 960 Jewish men, women, and children committed suicide and mass murder.  When the Romans entered they found all the buildings ablaze and only two women and five children alive. We tried to figure out why the Romans didn’t just wait the Jewish defenders out.  It didn’t appear that there was any way for them to resupply with food or even water, but I guess for the Romans it was a matter of pride to put down a rebellion.

It's pretty desolate up on Masada.

From Masada we went down to the shore of the Dead Sea to Ein Bokek and the Lot Spa Hotel.  The Dead Sea is bordered on the east by Jordan and on the left by Israel and the West Bank.  Its main tributary is the River Jordan.  It’s one of the saltiest bodies of water on earth; it’s 9.6 times saltier than the ocean with a salinity of more than 34%.  Jordan and Israel have agreed on a project to build a canal from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to try to increase the water level and we could see portions of the canal.

Beach at the Dead Sea Resort

It was incredibly hot along the shores; the temperature was nearly 110° F.  After lunch in the hotel some of our fellow travelers went for a dip in the Sea.  We didn’t.  While there were changing rooms, I had read and been told that it’s impossible to get all the salt washed off in one shower and the prospect of sitting in a bus for the ride to Jerusalem in brine was unappealing.  I walked down to the beach and took pictures but that was it.  As it was, I thought I would melt!

A couple of views of the Dead Sea

As we drove along the shoreline on our ride to Jerusalem we could see large salt flats where the water has completely evaporated.  There were also major sinkholes which had formed wiping out whole communities and the major roads; hence we had to make some detours.  Despite the heat and sand, the Israelis are doing a marvelous thing.  Along the way we passed acres and acres of date palm plantations.  Some are newly planted; others are at full growth.  Within 20 years, who knows, this place may look entirely different, more like a lush tropical forest.  As an aside, Israel is one of the largest producers of Medjool dates in the world.

Date palm plantations. Who knows, in twenty years this may be a tropical paradise.

Along the way we passed the caves at Qumran where in 1946 two Bedouin shepherds found the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The Scrolls are written on papyrus and have tremendous historical significance because they contain the second oldest known versions of the Hebrew canons, essentially the Old Testament.  The shepherds eventually sold the scrolls for the equivalent of about $300.  After passing through a number of hands and being authenticated, they now belong to the Israeli Department of Antiquities.

Our day’s journey ended in Jerusalem at the top of the Mount of Olives.  From there we had a spectacular view of the Old City, with the golden dome of the Temple Mount and the Al-Aqsa Mosque built on the site of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem.  I think it’s important to understand that to Judaism the site of the temple built first by Solomon and after that temple’s destruction the Second Temple, is the most important place on Earth.  It is there that the Ark of the Covenant was supposedly housed.  Because the Muslims who came later built a mosque on the site and to Islam it is their 3^rd holiest site, it is an area of great sensitivity and tension.  Because of this, archaeological digs are limited and neither side is willing to give up the area.  It’s very difficult to see how a resolution can be achieved.

The old city of Jerusalem from Mount of Olives

After looking at the view and hearing a reading from the Book of Psalms we reboarded our bus to check into our hotel right outside the Old City.  We had an opportunity to go for a night visit to the Western Wall, also known as the Wailing Wall.  We decided to pass because we had been there on our last visit to Jerusalem and truthfully we were pooped; I think the heat did us in.