So Monday morning after Brian and I did our second dive, we packed up and got a taxi to take us to the border to cross over into Israel. We had to walk across basically . . . first go thru the exit process on the Jordan side - pay the exit tax, get the exit stamp etc. Then we walked over to the Israel side to do all the entry stuff. We couldn't decide what the part in between was. No mans land or something. Here's the in between part:
And here's me before we crossed over into Israel:
We had heard some stories about getting into Israel - people being detained for hours at a time etc, but we didn't have any problems really. They asked us a lot of questions about why we were there, how long we were staying etc etc but it was pretty normal.
After crossing we took a taxi in Eilat to the rental car place to pick up our car. We had a joyous adventure there because the Hertz guy in Eilat was putting up a fuss cause Allen wanted some things marked on the sheet that he thought didn't need to go on there. He kept trying to say it was just dirt. He was not understanding that overmarking is fine cause if it comes back better there's no problem. And he didn't want to let Allen mark on it, so Allen told him he wouldn't sign it without being able to mark. Anyway, the manager had to get involved etc but we eventually got the car and headed North. First stop: Masada. Ok, actually we stopped along side the Dead Sea first and snapped some pics. So glassy!
Anyway, the first real stop was Masada. Masada is an ancient fortress that was used by several different groups at different times, but is probably most famous for being the last stronghold of the Jews when the Romans conquered the area in 73 or 74AD. There were just under 1000 rebels there that defended themselves for several months. With Masada being on top of a mesa with steep sides all around, it took the Romans awhile to conquer, but they eventually brought a tower with a battering ram up a huge ramp that they built and got thru the rebels defenses. When the rebels realized that the Romans had won basically, Eleazar Ben Yair gave a couple speeches where he basically convinced all the people that it would be better for them to take their own lives than to be slaves to the Romans. So when the Romans did break thru, on the morning of Passover no less, rather than finding defeated rebels, they found dead ones. The men killed their families and then killed themselves and lots were drawn to determine who would be the last guy to fall upon his own sword. Fascinating. Ben decided he didn't want to spend the money to go up on the gondola to the top and since Allen had already been there he decided to stay down with Ben, so just Brian and I went up. It was pretty cool.
Hard to really give a portrayal of how big it was up there . . . other than how far you can see below us . . . I pulled this aerial view off the internet to at least give some of an idea.
There were several cool things up there, including a swimming pool! Herod lived in the fortress before the rebels used it as a stronghold and he had to have his niceties, including this swimming pool with stairs leading down into it and everything.
Here's a view from on top overlooking the Dead Sea and the surrounding desert.
Anyway, after we went back down, we headed toward Jerusalem. On our way, we found a public area on the Dead Sea to go swimming. They had bathrooms and showers and stuff - perfect! So we changed and hopped in the Dead Sea. Surreal. Completely foreign feeling but so cool! You just bob in the water! It was getting dark pretty quick so it was hard to get a good pic, but we sure tried.
Pictures don't really do it justice cause its hard to see how easily we're sitting on top of the water like that. But it is a trip. Brian took the one of the 3 of us then I got out to get one of him while Ben and Allen headed over to the mud pit to check out the Dead Sea mud. Its so crazy that there's not anything under him but water!
Originally Brian and I were going to stay where we could see our stuff while Ben and Allen went and got mudded up and then we were going to switch, but it was further than we realized so Ben and Allen just brought us some mud back with them. Brian got lathered up as well and I played cameraman and then tried it myself.
People pay high dollar to get mudded up like that! It was really oily and slick and when we washed it off, my skin felt so good. I liked it. Too bad there wasn't a way to bring some back.
Anyway, after our Dead Sea escapades we headed on to Jerusalem. We checked into our hotel and headed into the Old City. So neat! I love cobblestone streets and alleyways. Amazing to think about how old the city really is. We wandered around in there for awhile just checking it out.
We made our way to the wailing wall, which was fascinating. There were many ultra orthodox jews there worshipping and it was interesting to observe. I'd like to read up on it all some more so I understand the significance and purpose behind it all.
On the way back I got some good pics of the city wall and the dome of the rock . . . that's it there on the right.
Thus ended our first day in Israel. Wow. I went into a lot of detail for that day. Which means I'm now burnt out. The rest of Israel will have to come later. But that was a great day. Diving in the Red Sea, Swimming in the Dead Sea, Masada, and Jerusalem. Not too shabby! Already wishing I was back out traveling again.
1 comments:
Linds, I love reading about all of your adventures. That is awesome that you were able to do all of that!
P.S. You look amazing!
Post a Comment