Melissa and I riding our camel!
Camels and sunrise
Riding our camels at sunrise
Sunrise over the Negev desert
The Bedouin tents that had been our home for the night.
We then got on the bus and went to Masada. Masada is where one of the last stands of Jewish rebels took place against the Romans in 73 AD, 3 years after the fall of the second temple in Jerusalem (the outer walls of which are now what the Wailing Wall / Western Wall / Kotel / Temple Mount is today). This was a huge event in Jewish history - when it became evident that the Romans would be able to attack the next day, all 900+ Jews in the fortress took their own lives in order to avoid becoming slaves to the Romans.
On the bus to Masada, beautiful desert landscapes out the window, exhausted from our early morning
Our first view of Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea and Jordan.
Looking down at the ramp the Romans built in order to lay siege to the fortress.
A Bar Mitzvah taking place at the top of Masada.
A view of Herod's palaces down the edge of Masada, overlooking the Dead Sea.
Me!
Ryan and Tony putting on Tefillin for the first time on Masada
Beginning the hike down Masada
The soldiers saying bye to us and "inducting" us
Me on the beginning of the "snake path" down the cliff side of Masada
A look back up at the "snake path" we hiked down
After lunch, we were then taken to a point along the Dead Sea where we could go swimming. The Dead Sea is called the Dead Sea because the salinity and mineral content is so high, nothing can live in it. We were advised to only spend 20 minutes at a time in the water, before those things started messing with our skin and such... but it's a really fun experience to swim there. Because of all that salt, you're SUPER bouyant - it's kind of comical the way the water forces you to float on your back or stomach, you can't "stand" vertically in the water. It's a lot of fun, even if it does sting a little.
Salt deposits along the shore - that whiteness isn't salt on rocks, the rocks ARE salt.
Members of our group putting on Dead Sea mud and swimming.
A view of the shore, salt deposits, Dead Sea, and Jordanian mountains in the distance (the border runs through the Dead Sea).
A photo taken with Jessica's waterproof camera - that's me near the left!
Jason, Tony, David, and Hannah playing in the super-bouyant Dead Sea
This was our last time with our soldiers - once we left the Dead Sea, we went to Jerusalem and had to say goodbye to them outside our hotel. After they left, we lit our menorahs and all got to hit the showers at last before preparing for our somewhat "heavy" day Friday.
Sunset over the Judaean mountains - Moses supposedly died and was buried somewhere in this area.
Me and Ariel in uniform before he had to leave us :(
Happy Third Night of Chanukkah!
[As always, I do not put every single picture I take into this blog. To see the entire album of photos I took while on Birthright, go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mtashalocke /sets/72157628872433827/ When I get to my extended, post-Birthright part of the trip, there will be a new album for those photos as well.]
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