We spent last night in the new city of Arad. My body is still on California time, so I slept no more than two hours at a time during the night, and by 3 a.m. I was done sleeping. A good breakfast was provided by the hotel, and so I was able to take on the day.

Elizabeth and Paul at the Masada entrance

Masada Model

Masada (view from the top)

Our first stop was the fortress city of Masada. The city is atop a plateau on the boarder of the Dead Sea. A “snake road” staircase, reminiscent of the one used by Frodo, Sam, and Golum to reach Mordor, is the ancient way to the top; we took a cable car. Because of its inaccessibility rulers built a fort on the top of the plateau before the time of David, but it was Herod who really built up the complex. There are casement city walls, storehouses and cisterns to feed thousands, Roman style baths, and a three level private place built into the side of the mountain, accessible by hidden staircases. After Herod, the Masada fortress was used by the Zealots to flee from the Romans, but the Romans built a massive earthen ramp so that he could batter the city wall, which he breached (the battle of Helms Keep? only the defenders do not win). Rather than be taken prisoner, the Zealots killed themselves. Later, Masada was also occupied by Essenes and Byzantine monks.

The Roman earthan ramp

One of the bath houses at Masada (indoor plumbing!)

Staircase to a ritual bath

Ritual bath

We next stopped at Qumran, the Essenes primary settlement. It was here they lived out their strict living of the Law. Purity was important to them, and the ritual of baptism was a frequent part of their daily rituals, long with reverent silence at meals, and the reading of the Scriptures 24 hours each day. The constant reading of Scriptures led them to need to copy the scrolls frequently. The worn copies were placed in ceramic jars for storage. It was when a cave of these jars was found in the 1900s by a shepherd, that the world regained this large cache of ancient manuscripts, The Dead Sea Scrolls.

Cave where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found

The Dead Sea

From Qumran, we made a quick trip to the Dead Sea, where we took a swim, or rather, a float. The water is so dense and full of minerals that everyone is buoyant. It also sends a burning sensation to any mucus membrane.

Paul and Randy at Jericho, behind us the fallen walls

The final stop of the day was Jericho. This city features prominently in Old Testament stories in Joshua, Judges, and Kings, and in Jesus’ parable of The Good Samaritan. All levels of Jericho have been excavated, and the modern city surrounds the tel.

Jericho excavated to the earliest level