Day 9, Masada, Dead Sea, and Light Show at the Tower of David

Leaving Jerusalem

Day 9 (Day 4 of the Gate 1 tour): We left Jerusalem on an optional tour to Masada and the Dead Sea.

Leaving Jerusalem

East Jerusalem

Passing East Jerusalem. Since the 1967 Arab–Israeli War, East Jerusalem has been occupied by Israel. Palestinians in East Jerusalem have restrictions as to travel outside East Jerusalem. There is an Israeli checkpoint they have to go through. You can see the wall around the occupied territory.

East Jerusalem

Bedouin Camp

A Bedouin camp is below the wall.

Bedouin Camp

Close–up.

Bedouin Camp

Jericho

Passing the city of Jericho in the Palestinian Territories. Jews are not allowed to go into Jericho.

Jericho

Dead Sea Scrolls

In the Judean Desert. In the photo is the area where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a series of 12 caves between 1946 and 1956 by Bedouin shepherds and archeologists. The scrolls are ancient Jewish religious manuscripts dating back to 3 BC to 1 AD. Today, they are housed in the Shrine of the Book, which is part of the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.

Dead Sea Scrolls

The Dead Sea

We passed the Dead Sea which is bordered by Jordan, Israel, and the West Bank. It is the lowest point on earth at 1,412 feet (430.5 m) below sea level. The Dead Sea is receding quickly as water is being diverted from the streams and the Jordan River which are feeding it. Jordan and the Palestinian Authority are laying a water pipeline from the Red Sea to the Dead Sea to replenish the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is really dead––no plants or fish can survive in its highly salty water.

The Dead Sea

Masada Cable Car–Movie

We stopped at the Masada National Park and took a cable car up to the plateau where the Masada ruins of the ancient fortress were built by Herod the Great, the Roman king of Judea, between 37 and 31 BC as a refuge in case of a revolt and also as a summer house. Later, the Sicarii, a group of Jewish zealots who were assassinating Romans and their Hebrew sympathizers, hid in Masada. The Roman laid siege to Masada and 960 Sicarii commmitted mass suicide rather than to be taken prisoners by the Romans. Two women and five children hid in a cistern and lived to tell the historian Josephus the story.

You can see people walking on the Snake trail in the movie.

Masada Cable Car–Movie

View from the Plateau

A view of the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea from the top of the plateau.

View from the Plateau

Fortifications

Ruins of the fortifications built by Herod the Great.

Fortifications

Storeroom

Herod the Great built two palaces for himself at Masada. Supplies needed were stored in storerooms. One of the 29 storerooms is shown in the photo.

Storeroom

Masada Ruins

More of the ruins.

Masada Ruins

Herod’s Palace

One of Herod’s palaces.

Herod’s Palace

Commandant’s Residence

Inside the Commandant’s residence. I was told that the areas below the black line are original and the areas above have been restored.

Commandant’s Residence

The view the commandant had of the desert and the Dead Sea.

Commandant’s Residence

Masada Ruins

More of the Masada ruins.

Masada Ruins

Kalia Beach

After visiting Masada, we stopped at Kalia Beach, the Lowest Place on Earth.

Kalia Beach

Dead Sea Salts

You could shop at Kalia Beach for these Dead Sea salts and for other souvenirs, eat and drink, or have a Dead Sea salt massage.

Dead Sea Salts

Camels

The camels here are for people to have their pictures taken on them.

Camels

Lowest Bar in the World

You could have a drink and food in the Lowest Bar in the World.

Lowest Bar in the World

Kalia Beach

The beach at Kalia Beach. Jordan is on the other side of the Dead Sea.

Kalia Beach

Jordan

Jordan on the other side of the Dead Sea.

Jordan

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea salinity, 9.6 times as salty as the ocean, is so high that you can just easily float on it. On the other hand, the Great Salt Lake’s (Salt Lake City, Utah) salinity is higher, 10 times the salinity of the ocean. You can also easily float on it. Some people were covering their bodies with the mud after their “float.” I didn’t “float” in the Dead Sea as I have already “floated” in the Great Salt Lake and I assumed it would have been a very similar experience.

I have put my photos of Masada and the Dead Sea on a slideshow. Go to https://www.peggysphotos.com/masada–and–the–dead–sea/ (Slide Shows, Middle East, Israel, “Masada and the Dead Sea”).

The Dead Sea

Good Samaritan

On the way back to Jerusalem, there is a sign near here directing you to the Good Samaritan Site. “The Good Samaritan” is a parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke about a traveler left unclothed, beaten, and half–dead on side of a road. A priest and a Levite, a Jewish male descended from the tribe of Levi, come upon the man but both avoided him. A traveler comes along, a Samaritan who the Jews despise, helps the injured man.

Good Samaritan

Jerusalem

Coming into Jerusalem.

Jerusalem

Sunset

Sunset over Jerusalem.

Sunset

Dinner

This evening, I went on a Gate 1 optional tour to a restaurant and to the Sound & Light Show at the Tower of David in Jerusalem. The dinner was at the First Station, a really nice place to have dinner at a renovated old train station. There are a number of restaurants at the First Station. We ate at the Landwer Cafe, our good dinner served family style. We thought we would have a cup of their premium coffee with our dinner but instead they served us mint tea.

Dinner

Salad, etc.

Part of our meal. The lettuce and salad ingredients in Israel are excellent. All taste as if they were just picked from a close–by garden.

Salad, etc.

Dinner

More good things to eat. The restaurant wanted us to give it a good review on Travel Advisor, but since it didn’t serve us their fine coffee, we, perhaps, would have to give them a fake review, saying how good their coffee was.

Dinner

First Station Art

Paintings on a canvas top of people of different religions at the First Station.

First Station Art

More of the paintings.

First Station Art

Jerusalem’s Old City at Night

After our dinner, we drove to Jerusalem’s Old City and saw it lit up at night.

Jerusalem’s Old City at Night

Another view.

Jerusalem’s Old City at Night

Tower of David

We went to the Tower of David in the Old City to see a sight and sound light show on the walls of the Citadel, which told the life story of King David of Israel, based on biblical, historical, and archaeological sources. The show uses “laser projectors, a computerized system operating 20 projectors, 10 audio players, 14 computers, 14 speakers and amplifiers, and 10 kilometers of advanced cable infrastructure,” resulting in a truly spectacular show.