Masada, En Gedi, and The Dead Sea

Masada

 

Masada means “stronghold.” Herod the Great built a palace and fortress atop the mountain in 36 B.C. that was impregnable. After the fall of Jerusalem, many jewish zealots and their families took refuge here. They were besieged by the Romans soon afterward. The Romans encamped around them and cut off their water and food supplies and built a massive ramp to reach the stronghold. The zealots inside, rather than be captured, tortured, or sold as slaves, took their own lives.

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This was on our way up to the top, where Herod’s palace would have been. There is a path you can walk up, but we took the cable car. Much easier (and quicker) that way.
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The black line you see shows you where the original work is. Everything below the black line is original, and everything above the black line was recreated to show what the structures would have looked like completed.
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Through one of the windows, looking out towards the Dead Sea.

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From the tip top looking out over the fortress. If you look at the ground, you can see little squares. That is where the Romans made encampments when they besieged the fortress.

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En Gedi

And David went up from there and lived in the strongholds of En Gedi.

– 1 Samuel 23:24 (NIV)

The next chapter in 1 Samuel tells the story of how David spared Saul’s life in one of the caves at En Gedi. It’s easy to overlook this miracle when reading the story, but after seeing all the caves, it really is a miracle that out of all the caves in the area, Saul just happens to stumble into the exact cave David and his men were staying in! This wasn’t overlooked by David or his men though. His men proclaimed, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.'” As we know, David chose to spare Saul’s life, which is one of the things that made him such an extraordinary person.

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This was going in to En Gedi. There is a nature reserve here with a spring, creating a little desert oasis.
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Here is a look at some of the caves in the area. 
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How far in do the caves go? I wonder…
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These trees were very common in this area. Do you see the thorns? Yes…these were likely the same kind of thorns that pierced Jesus in the crown of thorns he wore on the cross.
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And here’s the spring! You can see why this would have been a stronghold for David and his men. It created lush vegetation around the area and nearby canyon. 

 

The Dead Sea

The Dead Sea is the lowest body of water on earth. The salt content is around 26-33% and nothing lives in it. Ordinary salt water is only around 4%! The water is extremely buoyant and anyone can float in it. We had a fun time floating and covering ourselves in the mud. They say the dead sea salt mud is good for your skin! There’s a huge market of cosmetics and body scrubs made from the mud and minerals from the dead sea. Though, since the water is so salty, it feels oily to the touch. Maybe that’s why my skin felt so soft afterwards? Who can say…

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This was right before we covered ourselves in mud and floated in the Dead Sea. It was fun!

Thanks for reading! I’ll be posting soon about the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, so stay tuned! 🙂

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