Episode 05: "The Dead Sea" (+)

This past Friday I went on a tour of Mount Masada, which was yet another breathtaking experience, although in a different way. If the old city tour was a Stephen Spielberg film, this was more of a Michael Bay blockbuster. While the old city had class, soul and a kind of regal richness to it, Mount Masada was definitely more on the eye candy side. The trip's big selling point in the first place was to to see the sun rise over the Dead Sea from the mountaintop view, so you can imagine how much time I spent behind my camera. ("Too much time" is the answer. The camera problem coupled with how tired I was rendered me numb to a lot of the history stuff...again. I just might be allergic to learning off campus, who knows. The tiredness I had an excuse for, though. Check it:)

Our meeting time was 1:45 a.m. Friday morning, in front of the Student Village dorms. The bus driver was about an hour late, because he'd fallen asleep before he came. So by the time the guy dropped us of, we were behind schedule. I could see dawn approaching as we hustled up the mountain, but the sun hadn't peeked over the Jordan mountains just yet. We ended up making good time and even chilling out a little as the nighttime slipped away. Finally, the sun rose over the Dead Sea, a perfect orange circle that was climbing, live in front of me, higher and higher above the clouds.




Mount Masada was its own marvel. Apparently (I probably learned this history by accident), Masada was King Herod's stronghold. Same Herod who tried to kill baby Jesus, according to the gospels. The stronghold, at some point or other, was used by Jews trying to defend themselves from approaching Roman soldiers. A group of them, rather than having their wives raped and children sold as slaves, or being killed on Roman terms, decided to commit suicide together. I'm definitely scrambling and botching the intricate history of the place, but long story short: Masada has baggage, more than I can remember. You wouldn't believe it, given how beautiful the place is.

We checked out a lot more of Masada. The ruins were pretty cool--some of them preserved enough to inspire your historical imagination, some of them turned into bathrooms for tourists. Not to knock the bathrooms. I used one. It was well placed.



Closing in on 24 hours of being awake wasn't so cool. I don't know how Jack Bauer does it. I had energy reserves, but my mind was in a bit of a lazy haze when it came to absorbing everything my tour guide said. My tour guide, by the way, was Guy again. I guess he's a regular with Hebrew U for as long as these kinds of trips last. He asked me to read stuff in front of the group again, which was fun...minus the content. I think the passage at the end was from Ezekiel, a lamenting prophecy about big time death, which may or may not apply to what happened on Masada, depending on your beliefs. Don't quote me on any of this, though. For now I think I can be diagnosed as "historically retarded."

Don't worry, I was smiling before I read the passage.
I like my Jews alive and non-massacred.

Anyway, we saw more incredible views from the top of the mountain before climbing down its endlessly long snake trail. I was blown away by every bit of it.

We walked from here, where I took the picture,
to that building in the distance. The hike down, of course, was a breeze.

At the end of the tour, we had the chance to go swimming in the Dead Sea. The water was...I guess the picture can hint at it, but it's some of the most beautiful water I've ever seen. Only 2% of you will know what I'm talking about, but the song "Take a Picture" by Filter was playing in my head as I looked at it. (Yeah, Nick, it was like that.) The Dead Sea water was so thick with salt that you could lie on your back and float in it, without having to tread at all. It's a piece of paradise. The water stings your eyes crazier than ocean salt water does, but if you manage to keep your head afloat, it's heaven-sent.

It's becoming more obvious that I am blessed to have laid eyes on this place.

Shalom,
Eric