Catching up...
Trip Start
Nov 30, 2011
1
6
10
Trip End
Dec 10, 2011
Arad, Israel
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Today, as I write this, it is actually the 5th, and so I have to apologize for the lack of entries the last two nights. This night, the 3rd, we traveled from the Galilee region down to the desert to spend one night in Arad. We packed overnight bags, as we only had one night here, and unfortunately in so doing I packed away the equipment I needed to get pictures from the camera to the computer. So, no entry.
I am trying to catch up, and I will do a proper entry tonight now that we're settled in Jerusalem, but until then you'll have to make do with a list of there we went, and a few pictures. Thanks for you patience!
1) Qumran - we visited the place where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. These are copies of many books of the Old Testament that date back to nearly the time of Jesus. And for those think our modern translations are in error due to man's hand, you can read the originals (well, *I* can't, but if you're Israeli you can) and you can see the translations are amazingly accurate. We will see the originals when we visit the Israel Museum where they are kept.
2) The next locations we visited was a choice for people... some people chose to "float" in the Dead Sea, and others decided to hike the Ein Gedi canyon, where David hid. The Dead Sea was not so quiet, however, and those who tried to float had some issues with the wind. I wasn't there, so I'll let you ask them about that. But the hike was beautiful.
3) Finally, after some shopping for Ahava products (yay - if you're not me) at the Ahava factory, we went up to Masada... the huge mountain on which the Jewish zealots took refuge from the Romans, and eventually killed each other so as not to be taken as slaves, once it became obvious the Romans would reach the top. We hiked down the siege ramp the Romans had built, and to our bus, and then to the hotel in the little desert village of Arad, where we spent the night.
