Israel Day 4 by Richard Leavitt

  

We seem to have made friends with a virus, as first one, then 2,3, now 4 of us have developed g.i. symptoms and been sidelined.  No more hugging or kissing, or even shaking hands. And stay away from unwashed fruit! 

Segway ride - The Old City in the background

The rest of us boarded our bus for Masada bright and early this morning, as it gets unbearably hot there by mid-day. We took the tram to the top and spent a couple of hours learning 

Learning about Masada

about the last stronghold of the Jewish rebels, before the Romans breached our fortress and the zealots suicided rather than be taken captive and enslaved. We had a discussion about the injunction against suicide versus the wish to determine one's fate.  One of the remarkable aspects of Masada was how the Jews modified and adapted this remnant of one of Herod's castles into a Jewish village, with several mikvahs and a synagogue.  The architecture is fascinating; there is so much detail still remaining, including mosaic floors, wall and ceiling coloring and ornamentation, an elevated floor in the steam bath that kept the floor cool enough to walk on while the room was steam-hot, a channeling system to collect water and direct it to cisterns, much like the Bedouin system we saw yesterday, and more.

In the afternoon, we went to Ein Gedi, to a series of gorgeous waterfalls fed from a spring in the hills. We were all hot, dusty and sweaty from the heat, so the welcoming falls and pools were perfect.  On the way back to our bus, we crossed paths with a herd of Ibex, graceful antelope-like creatures who paid us little notice unless we tried to move too close.  One clever one was balancing easily in a tree, munching leaves that were too high for the others.  

Last stop for the day was the Dead Sea. Those who went in the water floated gently, careful not to splash water because the salinity is so high that getting a drop in your eye is painful.  The bus ride back to the hotel was quieter than usual because many of us napped.  It was another intense, hot and stimulating day.  

Milkshakes with the Twitos!

After dinner, old friends came to visit: Bill Taeusch, the Twito family, the Rozen family, and Shoshanna Sommerville.  All are thriving and it was a pleasure to see them and catch up. The Twitos are expecting in October and Shiri looks great. 

Busy day tomorrow, so TAFN (that's all for now).

Post script: apologies to the francophones for confusing fois for foie in my last missive.  

RL

To view all our pictures....click here and don't forget to leave a comment...especially those who were on this incredible trip -- please tell us your thoughts when you were there!