The journey began by dropping down from the heights of Jerusalem at 2500 feet (800m) above sea level, to the shores of the Dead Sea at 1250 feet (400m) below sea level. It would have been great to whizz down that long slope on my bicycle! The shores of the Dead Sea are the lowest point on the surface of the Earth. So much of the River Jordan is now used for irrigation that the Dead Sea is dropping by over 1m per year, up to 15cm/month. It could dry up completely during the next 40 years.
Our first stopping point was at Masada, the ancient fortress high up in the hills at the southwestern corner of the Dead Sea. It was built by Herod the Great around 20BC as a winter palace and as a final refuge in time of war. Not only were there luxurious palaces but also vast well-stocked store rooms, cisterns, and a defensive wall at the top of the vertical cliffs that surround the stronghold. At the end of Jewish revolt from AD66-74, the remaining rebels retreated to Masada where they were beseiged by the Romans. After several months, the 1000 rebels died in a suicide pact as the Romans breached the walls from the top of their massive seige ramp, which is still visible today. The fortress was destroyed and became hidden until archaeologists re-discovered it in the 19th century.
Most of our party chose to take the cable car to the top of Masada but three of us braved the early-morning sun to climb the 350m high Snake Path (because it is twisty, not because of snakes!). In the photo you can just make out the upper cable-car station, the black dot at the right-hand end of the cliff. It took us 35 minutes - 10 less than the stated average. Not bad for us 'oldies'! But we felt red-hot by the time we arrived at the top - and that was at 8:45am!
The excavated ruins at the top were mostly boring walls, but the Roman-style bath-house was impressive, with its hot and cold rooms and tubs. I was also interested to see the church from the Byzantine monastery that was occupied between the 5th and 7th centuries. The photo shows the original mosaic flooring and the red stone patterns inserted into the pale plasterwork.
We returned to the bus and retraced our route northwards to Qumran. The ancient rooms and waterways gave an insight into 1st century life, but I was surprised to see that the first cave in which the Dead Sea scrolls was so high up on the cliffs behind the village. You can just see the entrance to the left of the valley in this photo. The sign in the foreground that warns of the vertical drop behind it was very amusing since the cliff was obvious to anyone who could see the sign!
By now it was High Noon and long past time for a cooling swim in the Dead Sea. We zoomed northwards again and stopped at one of the swimming centres. It was a great experience although never let the water get in your eyes! I hesitated to include the photo below but decided I just had to let you see me bobbing about so high in the water and so far below sea level!
We had lunch in one of the most ancient cities of the world, Jericho. Unfortunately, the extreme heat was affecting some of us, so we cancelled our plan to walk around the city ruins, and instead got back on board our coach and headed farther North, all the way to our final destination of The Scots Hotel in Tiberias. It is a very splendid establishment and is a very popular destination for well-off holiday-makers. We were glad to get rid of any last vestiges of Dead Sea mud in the beautiful blue swimming pool, looking out over the Sea of Galilee.
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