Day 7: Good bye Jerusalem … Hello Eilat
by the way ... I've included some new pictures for day 6 ... be sure to take a look.Sunday morning we bid a tearful goodbye to Jerusalem, singing ‘tefillat ha-derech’ as we made our way out of Jerusalem and headed towards the Dead Sea.
It is quite a drop as we go from 2500 feet above sea level to the lowest place on earth, some 1300 feet below sea level. But before arriving there, we had some important stops to make along the way.
First the Ahava Factory, a compulsory stop for many of the ladies on the trip … where we certainly aided the Israeli company and filled every empty space on our bus with Ahavah product. (I now have a new understanding of AHAVAT Shalom …)
From the factory we headed to Masada, one of the most moving and emotionally powerful locations in all of Israel. Here there are breathtaking views of the Arava and the Dead sea. We spent many hours exploring this amazing Herodian palace and the final point of resistance for the Jewish zealots rebelling against Rome. I am sure that you all know the story of the 3 year battle that ended with the zealots killing themselves – dying as free men and women rather than being subjected to the horrors of Roman slavery.
It was well over 100 degrees as we moved around Masada. But a brave group of souls decided that they were going to hike up the snake path rather than take the gondola to the top. And they made it! For the rest of us … it was a trial just to keep up with our guide Hillel as he energetically moved from place to place explaining to us about the palace, the water systems, the amazing beauty that was Masada at one time. For well over an hour he walked and talked with energy and passion about this place. Clearly our guide has very strong feelings for this place … And only once did I see him take a drink of water. That in itself was quite a feat!
One thing has become clear, Herod was a very, very powerful king in this time. Almost everything we explored in Jerusalem and now here at Masada was of his doing. It took a man of great power (certainly brutal power) to create such awesome structures around the country.
After refreshing ourselves in the gift shop and buying a few souvenirs, it was off to the dead sea where we spent the rest of the day. It is still an incredible feeling to float in this water that’s salt content is so high that you can’t sink.
Many covered their bodies with therapeutic mud and then went into the sea. We picked up salt balls from the bottom of the sea. Because of the high salt content, you can only stay in for brief periods of time as the salt draws the water out of your body and you can become dehydrated even as you float in the water.
The sea itself has shrunk greatly.
Due to increasing water needs in Israel the water from the Jordan river no longer supplies enough water to replenish the Dead Sea. It has shrunk dramatically over the years. But, it is so important economically to both Israel and Jordan that they are trying to find ways to supply more water to the sea.
Finally, after a relaxing time at the Dead Sea we headed off towards Eilat. It is a two hour drive south through rather dramatic desert to Eilat. On the way we stopped for refreshments at Kibbut Yotvata … the dairy supplier to a great deal of Israel. This Kibbutz is the story of a growing number of Kibbutzim in Israel. It had started off as the collective that all kibbutzim are/were … but in recent years a wealthy German/Jewish businessman bought the dairy business. So, now, all the members of the kibbutz work for this man’s company.
In any case, they have great dairy products … and we enjoyed their ice cream and great milk shakes.
Then it was on to our hotel in Eilat.
