Dear St. Martins Family and
Friends,
Peace, shalom, salaam.
Greetings from the Holy Land. This morning we woke up at the Youth
Hostel in
Arad (in the
Negev Desert). We drove to the
ancient fortress of Masada, along
very narrow, winding desert roads. Along the way we actually saw
camel crossing signs! Masada is a
giant plateau on a mountain, in the Judean
Desert overlooking the Dead Sea, where King
Herod the great built three large
palaces which overlook the dead sea. These palaces were very elaborate
with beautiful mosaic floors and large cisterns to hold water for
bathing, rituals and also daily life. The lavish Roman style bath
houses had a surprisingly modern heating system; they were able to
heat the floors and the walls of the steam room using hot air.
Masada is also famous because it
was the site of a Jewish revolt against the
Romans in 73 B.C. We walked up a
relatively easy incline on the
western side of Masada to enter the Byzantine gate. Our guide, George,
took us on a tour of the archaeological
remains. Then we descended by the arduous Snake Path, which is a
winding, steep rocky path. Most people took a cable car that
stretched from the visitors center
to the top of Masada. After we reached the bottom we watched an movie
on Masada and ate Israeli Nestle ice cream.
Next we raced off towards Qumran.
On the way we passed the Ein
Gedi oasis, the lowest place on the
earth. We saw all kinds of animals like goats and ibex.
Qumran is the remains of a Jewish
sect community, called the Essenes,
who separated themselves from other
Jews in order to be pure. John the Baptist spent two years living and
working with the Essenes. Here we
saw caves that held some of the Dead Sea Scrolls. We had a buffet
lunch (including Chinese Chicken) at the visitors center.
Then we drove over to Kayla
Beach on the Dead Sea. We changed into our swimsuits (It was really
warm today) and walked down to the beach. The beach was big and
beautiful, with chairs, umbrellas, and warm water showers. The Dead
Sea is blue, warm, and (according to Olivia) is saltier than salt. We
waded in to our knees, sat back and ...... floated! (to quote
Allie "HOW COOL IS THAT!!!??") It
was truly an amazing experience, it was the strangest feeling not
being able to use your arms and legs at the same time. We felt like
buoys floating, aimlessly across
the water. To have the full Dead Sea experience we took mud from the
bottom of the sea and rubbed it all over ourselves. We waited till it
dried then washed it off in the shower by the sea. The mud made our
skin silky and luscious. Then we
hopped back into the car and fell asleep almost
immediately. Everyone awoke at the
checkpoint going into Jerusalem and after some free time we went to
evening prayer and then dinner.
All in all it was a leisurely, fun, relaxing day. We were
constantly laughing and we had a great time making lasting memories.
When we left Kayla beach the sign
said "Peace be with you", we wish you all the same.
Love,
The Group of Four and their
leaders.
Tonight's message was brought to
you by:
Olivia
Elizabeth
We are
walking at about sea level on top of Masada, looking down at the Dead
Sea (about 1250 feet below Sea Level).
Here is
our group at the bottom of Masada. We walked down the snake path, which
is somewhat visible in the background.
The
hillside behind Qumran. In the lower right is one of the caves in which
Dead Sea Scroll remains were found.
We're
not yet floating, but we're in the Dead Sea - ten times saltier than the
ocean.
