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Sunday, November 10
We rose early at 4am, and with barely any need for a sweater
even in November, had a brief breakfast of cake and stretched for our hike up
Mount Masada. There’s a few ways to get up the mountain – a gondola, a direct
trail to the top, or the serpentine path to the top. We took the latter (takes
about an hour to walk) and made our way up the mountain as the sun was rising.
We were just in time to see the sun rising above the clouds in the horizon from
the mountaintop.
There’s something about Masada. I love the place. Masada is
my most memorable Israeli attraction from my last trip to Israel fourteen years
ago. The place still feels surreal to me, especially when I can so vividly
remember walking that same trail in the Spring heat over a decade ago with my
dad. I have more photos of Masada than the rest of the entire birthright trip.
I don’t know what it is, but the place has left a deep impression on me.
It’s worth getting up early for the sun rise climb. For one
thing, the heat is more manageable at dawn without the sun on your back.
Additionally, the view is stunning, the golden light and tall shadows making
the ancient ruins all the more beautiful.
The story of Masada has always fascinated me. Essentially,
the people of Masada had an almost self-sustainable society on a mountain in
the middle of the desert. When the Romans laid siege to the mountain, the Jews
on the mountain had more resources to outlast the siege than the Romans did. So
when the Romans finally built a ramp to the mountain to conquer the city, the
people of Masada chose to die with freedom at their own hands, rather than be
captured or killed by the Romans. You can see all of the ancient buildings,
some of which have been skilfully reconstructed.
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| Remnants of Masada's walls are below the black line, reconstructed walls are above the black line. |
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| The spectacular view from the top |
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| Descending the mountain on the same serpentine trail. |
After we descended the mountain, we checked out and drove
about an hour to the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea is about 30% salt. When I think
about this, I can’t help but relate to our physiology, which is 0.9% NaCl… 30%
is a LOT of salt. So we were warned of a few things, like don’t get the water
in your eyes, don’t shave the day before because any cuts will be very painful
in the water, and don’t pee in the water. Really, don’t, and this is a personal
not public health message. I believe the term was “Retraction Reaction” –
referring of course to the retrograde pulse of dead sea water which would flush
through a closing sphincter. Like, ouch.
Floating in the Dead Sea is a luxury spa experience. We were
at private beach that was run by one of the cosmetics companies. Just for
browsing through their products, we got use of their showers, change room facilities and
a private section of the beach to enjoy. No one in our group used the mud,
because we didn’t have a lot of time and the mud is supposed to stay on for 20
minutes. I just walked into the sea – and by the way, while the white fuzzy
ground looks charming it is very sharp and salty so be careful and tread light
– and after I was deep enough I just let my body sink into the water, and the
buoyancy was perfect that my entire body floated but my neck and face stayed
out of the water with minimal effort. It takes more effort to stand upright in
this water than it does to lie on your back or belly. And girls, you will feel
awesome because, well, everything is lifted. Then there’s also the silky feel
of the saturated water on your skin. Your skin will feel great for the rest of
the day.
Our next stop was the Ha’am Hashayarut tents in the Negev desert.
We took a short camel ride when we arrived just before sunset, then settled
into the tents for the evening. The tents were designed for communal sleeping,
we fit 43 of us into one half of the tent, and the tent was divided so we could
hang out in the other half.
After a couple hours of free time, we gathered into the
dining tent for a Bedouin dinner. We were served communal bowls of curries and
cooked vegetables, and fresh flatbreads – I suppose most like chapatti/roti –
that were rolled up to accompany our meal. We had a brief talk with our Bedouin
host about their traditional hospitality, and he showed us how they prepare
their coffee and played the simsimiyya for us.
This night was freezing compared to the previous balmy night
at Masada. We gathered around the bonfire to keep warm, and there was a
bit of singing and dancing here too. I didn’t sleep at all this night because,
eluded into thinking that the south was warm too since Masada was so warm, I
had forgotten to pack all the thermal clothing I had brought specifically for
this night in the desert. It was so cold, and sleeping in my down jacket wasn’t
enough to stay warm. Bring thermals!
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