Masada and the Dead Sea

Last Friday, NYU took us all to Masada and the Dead Sea for the day.  Up bright and early at 7 AM, we headed out and arrived around 10 after winding through the barren Negev.  A very brief background: Masada was build by King Herod as his winter palace, and also is the place of the end of the first Jewish-Roman war, where the Romans took Masada from 960 Jews.  Stepping out of the bus, I was struck by the size of Masada -- a giant fortress built into the side of a cliff.  The Romans must have been insane to hike up to break the siege.

We hiked up to Masada, in 95 degree heat.  By the end of the tour I had consumed five bottles of water,  Being on top of it was amazing -- I could see for miles.  If I looked out over the Dead Sea, I could see Jordan on the other side.  Standing on something so old, filled with so much history, makes you stop and think about your role in the world.  I managed to pick out some of my favorite pictures that I took, where I did my best to capture the majesty that I saw.



We walked up this






You can't tell, but we're all gasping for air

A model of the fortress

Winter is coming


Ah yes, because I really wanted to leave by repelling down the side of the cliff

After visiting Masada, we hopped back on our (air conditioned) bus and drove to the Dead Sea, aka the lowest point on Earth.  I have no pictures from the Dead Sea due to leaving my phone in my bag so the salt of the water doesn't kill it -- sorry not sorry!  We had a buffet lunch with falafel, hummus, olives, spiced carrots, schnitzel, and also other food that I couldn't identify but tasted good.  Then, we got changed and headed out to the Dead Sea, where we coated ourselves with Dead Sea mud and then washed it off in the water.  Floating in the Dead Sea is a singular experience -- I don't know that I'd do it again, but I am so glad to have done it at all.  You feel like you're flying -- it's impossible to sink, even if you try.  When you get out of the water, it feels as though you're coated in a layer of baby oil.

After rinsing off the mud and changing back into normal clothing, we headed back to the bus, which took us back to Tel Aviv.  I would talk about the scenery, but I slept the entire ride, so I guess I could describe the insides of my eyelids, but I feel like that wouldn't be as scintillating.

I'm heading to Jerusalem tomorrow, and am staying there until Monday, so I'll have a lot to talk about in the next post (which will hopefully be up Wednesday, not Thursday!).  Until then!

Katrina

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