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| Jerusalem |
Today was our tour to Masada and the
Dead Sea. After we cleared Israeli immigration the tour started from the dock
and travelled toward the Dead Sea. The bus driver, Sammy, took a detour so we
were able to see Jerusalem from the distance. We were happy about this as we were not going to see it otherwise. There is so much to see in just four short
days in Israel. We went through one armed checkpoint in the process. Israel and
Palestine are still sorting things out and will be for a while yet. We saw many
roadside war monuments on the way as well. These were to commemorate the
efforts made by troops to get supplies into Jerusalem in 1946. Many convoys
were ambushed and destroyed for their efforts.
Along the way we kept seeing these very rough tin houses –
mostly with cars outside. There are apparently over 250,000, yes 250,000 people
who live in these types of accommodations around Jerusalem and surrounding
cities. These are the Bedouins. Some of the roofs on these rough "homes" are made from signs they have
“borrowed” from the highway. Much concern about their hygiene,
children’s education, etc. Several camel
spottings along the way as well as camel crossing signs on the highway.
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| Bedouin hovels |
Masada is a mesa-like mountain (plateau) upon which was
built a fortress/palace by King Herod (remember him?). The site is a National Park and accessible by
a cable car that travels 3,000 feet in just 6 minutes. They pack about 60
people into each car for the journey up and down. Once on the top you can view
and walk about the fortress. There is also an amazing view of the Dead Sea. One
of the most interesting aspects was the water collection and storage system. Herod’s
“engineers” designed a method to capture the rain water – only about 5
torrential rain storms a year – and have it run where they wanted it so they
could collect it into “cement” lined cisterns. Pretty fascinating. This came in
handy when they came under siege by the Romans. There were the thirsty soldiers
of the Roman army besieging the fortress while the Jewish people were swimming
in their pool on the top of the mountain! To learn more about this fascinating
site see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masada. Our tour guide Shai (pronounced Shy)
had a wealth of knowledge about the area and its history which really added to
our day.
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| Masada |
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| Masada Fortress |
After Masada we proceeded to the Hod Hotel on the shore of
the Dead Sea.
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| Dead Sea Scroll Cave, Date Palm and Israeli Flag |
We were treated to a wonderful buffet lunch then off to
experience what the resort and Dead Sea had to offer. Norma went for a float but Doug chose to be
photographer. This was on her bucket list – check! It was totally amazing. It
is impossible to keep your feet on the bottom. You just sit there suspended in
this warm, salty bath water. With difficulty you work to get your feet back on
the bottom. The bottom is crunchy with salt as is the sandy beach. When you get out your skin appears as if you
have just applied an oily salt scrub and after showering it feels silky soft. I
guess this is why they use it to make all the beauty and skin aids. Norma rinsed her swim suit but still found it crystally with salt when we got back to the ship.
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| Dead Sea Float |
After the tour bus arrived back at our dock the trouble
began. After making it past the Port Authority gate check we encountered a bus
traffic jam at the dock gate! Our tour guide and driver were very agitated and
many angry words were exchanged with the port authority personnel. Apparently
they were only allowing 2 buses at a time to enter the dock area and our guide
did not know why. Remember we had NOT cleared customs yet! When we were finally
let in, sure enough the dock was lined with uniformed personnel all carrying
something – I looked away before I could ID whether they were AK 47 assault
rifles or bazookas. It mattered little at that point. We were doomed! Now for Norma’s version: the ship had requested they only
allow two buses in at a time. I assumed it was to allow easier access to the
customs and ship entry as there was a huge number of tour buses all coming back
at the same time. When we got closer I saw our cabin steward, Freddy, holding a
tray of rolled up face cloths and a pair of tongs and one of the waiters from
the dining room holding a try of drinks. This was a “Welcome Back” celebration
and for the crew to do it to the standard they thought they should they needed
to have us return in a controlled fashion. There was music and the staff were all
clapping and smiling. We were all so desperate for a bathroom break by this
time there were not many smiles among the travelers, but a good gesture on
the part of the crew I guess.
It has been a wonderful day but as you can guess we are tired after a full day
of sightseeing. The temperature had been around 34 degrees all day but it is a very dry heat. This is our first of two back to back long days.
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| Dead Sea Snooze - Floating is Hard Work! |
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