Day 12: Masada, Qumran, and Dead Sea

Our final day of keeping a regular schedule was spent trekking southward from Jerusalem into the wilderness toward the Negev.

Masada

Masada was originally built as a mountaintop fortress for Herod the Great. It was full of fine Roman luxury--baths, palaces, and stunning views of surrounding mountains and the dead sea. After Herod's time, Jewish rebels began hiding out

here. It was here that a remnant of Jewish zealots held out as the heel of Rome sought to crack down on rebellion. As the story is recorded by Josephus, the Romans used Jewish slaves to build a huge siege ramp all the way to the top where they could break through the walls and enter the fortress. Rather than being made slaves, the rebels chose mass suicide rather than succumb to Roman rule.

Masada is a significant place historically, geographically, and raises important questions about faith and its response to oppression.

Qumran

We also visited Qumran, the site in which a shepherd boy accidentally located jars containing the Dead Sea Scrolls.

These scrolls were written by the Essenes. This group was a Jewish sect that sought to escape all others and live in strict

community. Among their literature were manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible up to 1000 years older than previously discovered. This discovery went a long way in showing the textual consistency of the Hebrew Bible.

Dead Sea

Our final stop of the day was to have some fun in the Dead Sea. Many in our group took advantage of the unique waters and mud that is located in the Dead Sea. The shores of the Dead Sea are yhe lowest dry point on earth. The water is very bouyant and is rich in minerals; the mud is widely known for its conditioning effect on the skin. Our stop at the dead sea was at a beach on the northern most point of the Dead Sea, near where the Jordan River feeds into it and very close to the border with Jordan.