Israel: Masada and the Dead Sea

On April 24th, I boarded an overnight Lufthansa flight from Johannesburg to Frankfurt on quite possibly the smoothest jet I have ever taken - an Airbus A380-800. It is the world's largest passenger airliner, and this airplane truly was MASSIVE with seating for 526 passengers (420 economy, 98 business and 8 first class seats). Needless to say, I slept like a baby. The delicious vino and meal in the top deck business class cabin didn't hurt either. After a layover in Frankfurt, we were finally on our way to Israel!

Airbus A380

I knew that with only three free days to explore Israel, there were a few must-do's based on friends' previous trips to Israel - a trip to Masada and the Dead Sea was one of them. We decided to wake up bright and early our first morning in Tel Aviv to take a 12-hour tour to the stunning Judaean desert.

One of my first views of the Judaean desert.

Judean desert caves.

Masada (Metzada in Hebrew, meaning "stronghold") was originally built by Herod the Great between 37 and 31 BC as a winter palace on a beautiful mesa at the edge of the desert overlooking the Dead Sea.

View from Masada.

 

Ruins at Masada. The stone under the black line

is the original wall, above the line is where

it was rebuilt.

Our tour guide described the story of the lots which occurred at Masada during the First Jewish-Roman war in detail, but I will tell the short version. After Jerusalem fell to the Romans around 70 AD, a number of Jews refused to give up and fled to Masada to take refuge with their families. The Romans surrounded Masada and built a ramp that eventually led them to breach the fortress.

One of the Roman camps outlined in the sand.

 

Remains of the ramp built by the Romans.

Upon entering, the Romans noticed the inhabitants had set all of the buildings on fire, with exception to the food storage areas, and had killed each other. The mass suicide/killings resulted in the death of over 900 Jewish Zealots and their families. Only two women and five children escaped the killings and lived to tell the story of the lots - the inhabitants decided they would rather die than become slaves to the Romans, therefore, they devised a plan. The men decided they would kill their own wives and children then draw a lottery to determine who would kill the remaining. The last man then commited suicide. Archaelogists later found pieces of pottery engraved with numbers, otherwise known as the lottery pieces drawn by the men. It is an important, yet tragic, story in Jewish history. Masada was the last  Jewish fortification to fall during the First Jewish War. To many, Masada symbolizes Jewish pride and bravery, as well as the determination of the Jewish people to be free in its own land.

 

 

Masada.

 

Me at Masada.

After our heads had been filled with a ton of interesting history, we headed to the Dead Sea to bathe in the mineral-rich mud and float in the salt water. The Dead Sea is actually a lake bordering Jordan and Israel that is eight times more saltier than the ocean. It is almost 1,400 feet below sea level, making it Earth's lowest elevation on land, and over 30 miles long and 11 miles wide. It is one of the most beautiful and peaceful, ironically enough, places I have visited.

 View of the Dead Sea from Masada.

After changing into our suits, we practically ran down to the water, anxious to see how well this floating thing was going to work out for us. We slowly walked into the water (with our water shoes since the salt on the bottom of the lake was rather sharp), tipped back and floated with extraordinary ease. After a while of drifting around, we decided to go over to the mud area for a body treatment. I caked the mud on to my legs and arms then laid out in the sun for it to bake for about ten minutes, and took some photos of course.



Natural skin treatment.

Then to finalize the treatment, I returned to the water, scrubbed it all off and floated some more. I think my skin is still soft from that day two weeks ago. I am glad I bought some Ahava products to use at home in order to recreate the same treatment in the near future.

Outside of the Ahava factory overlooking the Dead Sea.

All in all, it was a fabulous day full of history and fun. Looking back, I will probably go on my own next time in order to have free time to explore Masada at my own pace, as well as plenty of time to float around in the Dead Sea.

Masada and the Dead Sea, I will be returning soon!

*Please note there are different versions of some of the history told in this post. This is based on what was learned during my tour complemented by internet research.

Credits
Tour: www.viator.com, operated locally by Bein Harim.