Day 7 - Masada, Qumran, the Dead Sea

Herod built a fortress known as Masada as a refuge for himself in case of a revolt.  It was built with cisterns for water and included storehouses and barracks.  It was thought that it could withstand a siege for perhaps years.  During the Jewish-Roman War in the first century, the Romans took over Jerusalem and some rebels escaped to Masada.  They lasted for a time, but the Romans built up a ramp to this fortress high on the hill.  When it became evident that the Jews could not withstand the attack, they killed their families rather than have the Romans defile their wives and children.  Then the small group of men drew lots and it was decided that one man would kill all of the rest of the men and then kill himself.

We took a cable car to the top:

A model of Herod's fortress castle:

 This is the remnants of the lower castle:

 We took many stairs down to the lower castle and then we had to climb them back up, of course!

 From there we went to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in some caves

The last stop of the day was at the Dead Sea.  I wanted to get my picture with the armed guard.  Mark asked him if he'd mind and he was fine with it.  Then Mark said, "I like your gun!"  He replied, "I hate it."

 The mud from the Dead Sea is supposed to be restorative, and some from our group tested it out.

 It was very hazy, so it was hard to see the terrain:

 This woman seemed to be enjoying the water in full Muslim garb:

 There is so much salt in the Dead Sea that people float easily.  Mark and I didn't go in, but many from our group did.  Here's Lance and Laura:

Mark enjoyed the lawn chairs.