This morning we loaded up and headed out (or should I say down!) to the Dead Sea. There were signs along the way indicating when we hit sea level, and then started going below. Before we got to our first stop, Husam pulled into a rest stop so we could see some Ibex. I guess they are know to hang out around this particular stop–not sure why. We saw 3-4 of them, though they are hard to spot at first. It is the Ibex horns that are used to make a shofar. After snapping a few pictures, we pulled out and headed on to Masada. This was a fort/civilization that Herod built on top of a mountain. It was mindboggling to think of the amount of time and effort that went into building this place. While it was certainly sunny and hot up there, there was a nice breeze, and I imagine that it wouldn’t be too bad if you were able to stay in the shade. Some of the group decided to walk down to the lower parts, but I passed on that. It was at Masada where the Maccabees held out against Rome. The Romans built a huge ramp up the side of the mountain and when they were done they rolled a large siege tower up to the ramparts and invaded the fort. The Maccabees couldn’t do anything but watch and wait. Ultimately, they decided that it was better to die than be a slave, so they drew lots. Ten men were chosen to kill all the other men, women, and children. Then they drew lots again and one man was chosen to kill the other 9 men then commit suicide, rather than be taken alive. When the Romans finally broke in, they found everyone dead.
Model of Masada.
View from the top.
These are the pipes that heated up the sauna at Masada.
After that we stopped at the Ahava factory, which sells beauty supplies made from the dead sea salts and mud. I had thought about getting something, but the prices were outrageous. I’m just too cheap for that. Sis bought some things and fell in love with them (appropriate, since Ahava means love in Hebrew), so she’s decided to carry them in her pharmacy. Maybe I can talk her into a discount. 
Our next stop was a beach on the Dead Sea to eat our packed lunches, then swim. Sis decided not to get in, but I wanted to check it out, so I put on my suit and got in with the moral support of a couple of other girls. The water was a little chilly, but not bad once you got used to it. It was such an odd feeling to float effortlessly. Sometimes you really had to fight the natural buoyancy of your body. If you had your knees or feet slightly in front of you, they would just float up and you’d be on your back. It was nice except you had to hold your head up, which wasn’t comfortable for long periods of time. After I’d walked just to where I couldn’t stand up anymore I tried to push myself down a little to see how far down the bottom was, but I just bobbed right back up. There was also a mud pit where everyone was slathering themselves with the black stuff. I figured what the heck, so I joined in. It felt odd, but my skin did feel soft after I washed it off. I ran up to the showers (OK, well I slogged my wet self up) and tried to get to some semblance of clean. Then I headed to the bus to wait for the group. I was a little early, but it gave me the chance to talk to a couple of people and catch my breath.
The standard position for most peole in the Dead Sea.
Everybody's gettin' pretty!
Our last stop before heading “home” was Qumran–near the caves where they found the Dead Sea scrolls. We started with a movie about the community that lived there, then went out into the ruins. I have to admit that by this time, even I, the die-hard history major, had about had my fill of old ruins. What I think is fascinating about this site, though, is that the find in 19– shows that the text of the Bible was unchanged for 2000 years. I guess that doesn’t really mean anything for non-believers, but to me that is such a powerful evidence of God’s control over His word. After looking around a bit, we headed back to the bus and on back to Jerusalem. It was sad to have our last ride together as a group. Husam and Itay humored us by recreating our initial entry into the city (it brings tears to my eyes to think about it even now)–and Husam took a detour around the block so that we didn’t get to the hotel before the song was over.
In the evening we had dinner, then one last time with Joel to ask questions and rejoice over the incredible trip we had been on.
