Sunday morning, Lizzi needed to begin classes again, so we were left on our own to tour around. We had already decided that we wanted to see Masada, because it was the only site close enough to drive to for a day trip. So off we went, hoping to find a beautiful drive and a restful day ahead. We were both recovering from our cold, and felt mellow, but better than we had. The sun was out, and it was a beautiful day. We tried to go to the Garden Tomb, got lost, and then realized that it was a Sunday and that the Garden Tomb is closed on Sunday. Oh well. Off to the Dead Sea, then!
As we left Jerusalem for the Dead Sea and Masada, the GPS decided to take us to a restaurant in Tel Aviv called Masada. So after about an hour of driving in circles and confusing the heck out of the GPS machinery, we wound up on the road towards the Dead Sea.
The drive was gorgeous, I don't even have words for it. In the same way that I never knew how many shades of grey there really were until I lived in Dublin, I never knew how many shades of tan there were until we started driving through the desert. The mountains reflected a myriad of different shades. As we were driving, we passed through military checkpoints, at which we were simply waved through. The machine guns were still rather disturbing, though.
After an hour or so, we were driving along the coast of the Dead Sea. It lies in a valley, with I think what would be known as semi-arid desert steppes ( :) ?) lining either side. The mountains climb upwards into plateaus, and the contrast between the bright turquoise of the sea with the browns and tans of the hillsides was just lovely.
We arrived at Masada and simply stared upwards. Be sure to look at our photos to see the height of this mountain. It's ridiculous. I mean, it juts into the sky like a monster. I have no idea how the Romans had the patience to build a ramp to it.
But this place is the only place we visited where I felt it was just for the Israelites. Historically, Herod built a palace there, Byzantines built a church there, and technically it was part of the Muslim territory, but the true story that has given the place its notoriety is the story of the survivors.
After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, a number of Jewish citizens came to Masada to defend themselves against the Romans. In 72ad, the Romans marched on Masada. They built a ramp and began to destroy the fortifications. Rather than surrender, the Jews killed their families, then committed suicide, so that the Romans would not have victory. Upon overtaking the walls, the Romans came in to find only a couple survivors who had escaped the suicide by hiding. You can read more detail here.
The startling fact of this bizarre self-sacrifice to maintain Jewish identity was explained by our impromptu tour guide. Upon taking a gondola up to the top of this ridiculously high plateau,
we managed to jump on a tour of Texans. The tour guide explained that current Jewish identity is forced to live between Masada and the Holocaust. It's an astonishing thought. I still haven't quite figured out what it means.
We wandered around, visiting Herod's hanging palace, where we saw spectacular views.
I couldn't help thinking about the power of identity and how the fear of extermination can cause strange actions.
The ruins were spectacular, showing an ingenuity that was remarkable. The storehouses could have rivaled Costco for their size and organization. It's just daunting to think that slaves had to carry these supplies up the hill! Again, the colors, the clouds were astonishing. We began heading down the hill towards the museum in the late afternoon, having been amazed by all that we had seen. It was lovely in that it wasn't built over with shrines, but it was also quite depressing, almost haunted.
We headed off to Ein Gedi, where we walked down and I walked in the Dead Sea! It was just a hoot.
Everything was covered with salt, even the rocks, and people were just having a blast floating around. One of the neat things about the Dead Sea is that the salinity is so strong that people can float really easily. We kept seeing people bobbing up and down.
It was beautiful and really warm!
I think I was just excited to be a little nerdy and enjoy the area. I didn't get to see the Qumran settlement, because the opening hours were a little strange, but I thought happy, nerdy
thoughts about it. The drive home was absolutely gorgeous, and we saw the most exquisite sunset. Make sure to check flickr for the rest of the photos.We arrived back into Jerusalem in time for an AMAZING dinner with Lizzi at this delicious dinner. While we were craving a cheeseburger (no mixing meat and dairy when eating kosher!) the meal was fantastic. Aaron had a delicious pasta, I had an amazing torte, and we all shared some fantastic chocolates for desert. They had a mint lemonade that was absolutely exquisite, and I really miss the super-fresh and incredibly healthy feeling of eating all those kosher meals. I left dinner full without feeling gorged, and just grateful for another 3 hours of conversation with Lizzi. We stayed the night at Deborah's, quite grateful for the amazing hospitality. Her bed was comfortable and we slept fantastically well.
Monday: Gardens and Planes
Monday morning Lizzi had class again. We met for coffee quickly before heading off to see the last few sites that we wanted to see before leaving Israel. These included the Garden Tomb and the Garden of Gethsemane.
We arrived at the Garden Tomb early on, just as it was opening. Thank goodness it was open this time! The light was just growing, and it illuminated the garden in a remarkable way. The light filtered through the foliage, and the place really seemed to be "thin" spiritually. This meaning that it felt like God was smiling in a special way in this place, that the line between the natural and supernatural was particularly thin here. I couldn't help but begin singing that old hymn... "I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses..." We began walking around the garden, coming to the place of the skull, also known as Golgotha.
Now. Here is the fantastic story of this place.
The Garden Tomb is right near the Damascus Gate and is believed to be the site of the tomb of Joseph of Arimithea, meaning that it was the tomb where Jesus was buried and not found.About 150 years ago, this site was discovered, and ever since, it has been believed to be the actual location of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Skull Hill has been known as such for thousands of years. It's truly remarkable to walk towards the hillside, where it would have been a public execution site, just outside the city gates (as the NT claims) known as Golgotha. Here is a picture of just how spooky this place is.
There is really a skull in the rock! Not manufactured, just there. As you walk through the garden, you learn that the archaeologist who found this place thought that there would have to be a few other indicators in order to be the actual location, including evidence that this was a wealthy man's garden, and a tomb carved from solid rock. Both of these existed. There was a large winepress, evidence of the owner's wealth, as well as a large cistern for water. They later found the tomb, preserved by a minor rockslide which covered the opening. Here is the ridiculously spooky fact of the tomb. There were no bones, and there was a peculiar, uneven, seemingly rushed hole carved in one section of the tomb, as if they had to make it bigger for whomever it was needed for.
Okay, so this really wealthy guy wants to build a tomb, carve it out of solid rock for himself, maybe his family. And he builds it the wrong size? Sounds kinda wrong to me. Further, the descriptions of the NT have other qualifiers that are all fulfilled by this place.I think for me the clincher was the Jesus Graffiti in the tomb. A 4th century cross was painted on the inside. Obviously some early Christians thought this place was important. If you want to learn more, check the Garden Tomb Website. I was blown away by this place, and really felt the Spirit in a special way.
Finally, we went to the Garden of Gethsemane, but were not allowed inside because of the peculiar lunch break hours. We met a Franciscan brother from Orange County, though! We drove to the top of the Mount of Olives and really just enjoyed driving around. It was a beautiful day and our drive back to Tel Aviv was lovely.
We were sad to leave Israel and our friends, but glad to be getting away from the overly touristy vibe of many of the places.
Our flight home had all the potential of being miserable. We were stuck in a FULL flight, in a back seat, with broken video screens. Being British Airways, there was still that extra 6 inches, and the food was great, but God is even better than British Airways. I was randomly selected to fill out a survey regarding the quality of our flight. When the head steward arrived, he asked me to fill it out, and I replied, "I'd be very glad to, but you may not want me to, because our screens aren't working and I don't think that any of us are looking forward to 5 hours without any entertainment. But your staff have been incredible and really helpful!" He promptly ushered us into Business Class.
Business Class was ridiculous. They were beds for seats, with pillows and blankets and movies and just really delightful seating. It was incredible. It was the first time I can ever remember that we got off the plane feeling more rested than we had when we got on the plane. Way to go British Airways!
We had a brief delay in London, waiting for our flight to Dublin, but when we got home, we were glad to be there. An amazing, wonderful trip, but it's always good to be home.
