Masada

Sunday 3/14
On the road again... left Jeruselum, heading to the Dead Sea at 1200 ft below sea level. We stopped at 00 ft to take a picture of the sign and view and what do you know, there's a camel just waiting to get his picture taken with us! And... here comes his master in caftan and red scarf to offer rides- me first!
Our next stop was at a National Park for a hike up a huge canyon to see waterfalls in the desert! We learned about how people collected water from the 1-2 days a year it rains and the dangerous flash floods they have. Nancy stopped at #1 waterfall and watched the schoolkids splash in the cold pool and Laurel went on to the top waterfall, through jungle path. Swam in the pool- no towel needed.
After a roadside lunch we arrived at the base of Masada where the zelots held out out for 3 years against the romans. When defeat was obvious they committed suicide rather than capture and slavery. It is 1200 feet above sea level and reached by cable car and of course some more stairs too. This too is a King Herod fortress with castle cascading down over the cliff on one end. It is a beautiful setting with views acrooss the Dead Sea to Jordon and 360 degree view all around. Very hazy today-"desert storm".
The Mediteranean is 3% salt, the Atlantic 2% and the Dead Sea 33%. We only had time to play in the hotel spa: a big pool of Dead Sea water and 3 more bubbling pools of various temps. The water burned my skin and especially my lips and tongue where it got by mistake. You can't help but float here- your feet just fly up to the top!
Oh, I forgot, we stopped at Qumarin where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in the cliffside caves. There are also remains of the Essen Village of Jewish separatist "monks" that wrote them. The cysterns, baths, ovens, and living rooms are still in evidence as are part of the mosaic floors. It is amazing that anyone could live in this deset any length of time but they managed.
Migration has started and we saw flocks of storks and pelicans.