Day 11: July 18th, 2010 (Jerusalem)

Woke up at 6:45 AM and showered then headed down for breakfast at 7:30 AM. Had our usual buffet meal and then went to the bus at 8:00 AM. We had a big day and our first stop was a camel ride at a gas station. On the outskirts of Jerusalem this gas station has a convenience store, shopping and camel rides.

The Rittenbergs in pain

A number of people went on the rides but the Saffran kids were not interested since they had been on a camel before. Instead we enjoyed watching some of the other people especially the Rabbi and his wife. We stayed for about 30 and continued our journey to Masada which was one and half hours from our hotel. Close to Masada we passed the cave where a Bedouin found the Dead Sea scrolls. We finally reached the base camp for Masada. Masada was a mountain top walled city that the Jews occupied thousands of years ago that the Roman Army tried to overtake. It took the Roman’s three years to finally succeed, but as a result, Masada has become a place of significance for Jews due to the fortitude and diligence of its inhabitants. All Israeli soldiers are taken there when they become officially sworn in. There are two ways to get to the top of the mountain; 1. Cable Car and 2. Walk. Because it was so hot out, they did not allow us to walk up so we had to take the cable car. When you get to the top you see the ruins of the city and learn about how the Jews fended off the Romans for so long. Also from the top you get amazing views of the surrounding mountains and of the Dead Sea which is close by.

Scott on top of Masada

We walked around for awhile and then a few of us decided to walk down the mountain. Zach and I walked and Al and Hannah took the cable car. The walk was not that bad but the sun was beating down on us pretty strong. As you descend there is a path, called Snake Path, not because of snakes but because it serpentines down the mountain. On parts of the path there were railings but not on the full length. We were commenting that one could easily descend too quickly and stumble off the path. It took about 25 minutes to get down the mountain. If we were allowed to go up the mountain it would have been quite difficult especially in the hot weather. At the base we spent some time at the gift shop where they sold Ahava products and the other usual Israeli souvenirs. Around 1:00 PM we boarded the bus and headed to the Dead Sea. It was about a 15 minute drive there and we stayed at the Crown Plaza Hotel for the afternoon.
They must have a lot of tour groups because they had arranged for us to use the facilities without actually staying in their rooms. We ate lunch first and had a delicious buffet with a number of nice dishes. We ate pretty quickly since we were excited to go to the Dead Sea. We changed into our bathing suits and went past the pool area to the beach which was right on the Dead Sea. For those of us that had not been there before we didn’t know what to expect. We cautiously entered the water and instantly we felt the salt bottom and very hot water. As we walked further in and got into deeper water that’s when we experienced the phenomena. All you had to do was lean back in the water and you instantly floated.

Alan and Scott floating in the Dead Sea

It was a crazy sensation because you could not sink. Once we grew more accustom that’s when we leaned all the way back with our hands and feet out of the water but we still floated. Between the water and the outside temperature (116 degrees) we were feeling the effects. The problem was when we would sweat and the water would get in your eyes. One time I got salt water in both of my eyes and I was basically blinded. I had to work my way back to the chair on the beach and wipe my eyes off with a towel. It was also interesting to hear tanks firing in the distance and every so often a pair of F-16’s would fly by a few hundred feet above the ground. The middle of the Dead Sea is actually the border between Jordan and Israel.

Hannah and Zach in the Dead Sea (Jordan in the background)

I needed to cool off so I went over to the outside pool and jumped in for a while. The water was very refreshing. There was also an indoor pool with the Dead Sea water in it so I checked that out also. Mostly elderly people were in it since it was much safer and then dealing with the Sea. I floated in the water and relaxed for about 15 minutes and then worked my way back out to the Sea. Since we only had a few hours there I needed to maximize the experience. I decided to float in the shady part under the sun protector instead of baking in the open sun. Everybody had enough of the sun so we all walked back to the pool and played there for the last 45 minutes. The kids were having a great time playing chicken and the adults lounged around. When 3:50 PM rolled around we went inside, changed and met up with the rest of the group to board the bus. The bus ride home took about one and half hours so many of us closed our eyes and rested. We arrived back at the hotel around 5:45 PM and needed to be back down at 7:00 PM to meet for dinner. Since it was a holiday tomorrow night and the Rabbi was fasting we had our farewell dinner a night early. Everybody took the bus over to a restaurant called Olive and Fish. They brought over five different appetizers to the table which we shared family style all were very tasty. For dinner Zach and I had the steak (I had a Goldstar beer also), Al had the chicken (and a wine) and Hannah had the lamb and steak kabob. Zach did not like his steak and actually tried and enjoyed Hannah’s kabob. This was the first time he had lamb. For dessert they gave us a choice of an apple or chocolate tart. After dinner a bunch of people wanted to go shopping over on Ben Yehuda Street.

Scott on Ben Yehuda Street (Jerusalem)

Al was tired and went back to the room while I took the kids. We walked the streets for a while and then Hannah got tired and had to use the restroom so we walked back to the hotel. We got back around 10:30 and I did some blogging while Al was sleeping. I finally went to bed around 11:30 PM.