We had a glorious time at the Massada site. We stayed at the Hostel at the foot of the Mountain.We certainly had to overcome our fear of heights riding the cable car that took us to the top.
King Herod built a huge fortress there. It was so awesome to climb to the Northern Palace. We were not looking down on the way up for sure. The view was amazing. You could look out over the Dead Sea to Jordan. The view from the Northern Palace was so beautiful there are not words to describe it. I have to include a picture so everyone can see it. We stayed at a beautiful hostel that had a balcony overlooking the Dead Sea.
The water in the Dead Sea is an aqua which is my favorite color. We watched as
people went to the beach there and floated on the water. It is very poisoneous and you are not to drink or get it in your eyes etc. People have died from it. So while it is beautiful it is deadly. The next place we ventured to was the beautiful oasis of Engedi.
We climbed up to the waterfalls to the one that is called David's Waterfall. There I sat while Bruce climbed a bit further. This was fresh water coming from a spring in the middle of the desert. It is hard to imagine until you see it how refreshing it is. In the Bible King David met up with Saul in a cave in Engedi. In the book of Song of Songs the Shulamite woman speaks of Engedi. We were there and I cannot tell you how it felt as there are not enough words and we do not have all day and night. To be in a land that is full of Bible history just boggles my finite mind.
Next we went to Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. I never thought while reading the books of the transcriptions that I would stand on that spot. It was completely the desert and you could look at the caves they were found in. There on that spot the Essenes built their worship areas. There were Seven Ritual Baths there. Imagine bathing in white cloth seven times for purification! Once is enough for me daily maybe twice if its been a hard day but seven times? The caves they lived in were so small. It was hard for me to imagine their lives to be anything but harsh yet they lived to try to please God. We are so blessed to live in the U.S.A but I wonder how blessed we really are. Things take us farther from Jesus.In Jesus,
Dana
