We started today with a farewell to Jordan
and our guide George. He left us wanting more of his gentle and gracious
manner, not to mention his knowledge of so many things. He and Samir our bus
driver left us at the crossing to Israel. There is considerable space on either
side where there are remains of defensive positions in the midst of hillocks
and vegetable fields. Two and a half hours to get through the process… and I am
left with the impression that this may be a good day here.
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| Masada from a distance |
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| From the top of Masada - looking down on Roman camp |
We were met by our new shepherdess, Ahuva.
The first stop for this little flock; Masada. This was a mountaintop fortress
constructed by a paranoid megalomaniac by the name of Herod (the Great). Again,
we see the most remarkable engineering for the management of water. It was
constructed with a palace for Herod, but is best known as the final stand for
the Jewish Zealot rebellion from Rome in 73/74 CE. Here, almost a thousand men,
women and children chose to die by their own hand rather than succumb to
slavery and degradation. It has become a rally cry for Zionists. I don’t know
if I could make that choice… but perhaps I do not know anything other than what it is to be free.
Then we went on to Qumran, the isolated
colony looking on to the Dead Sea who wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls. It was a very
conservative group who finally joined the last stand on Masada. Minus the
tourists, it would indeed be far from the madding crowd.
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| The cave of the Dead Sea Scrolls |
Our last stop of the day was to be the
oldest continuously inhabited city on earth, Jericho. The current conflicts
between the over-keen on both sides have lead to the strong advice to not go
into Jericho today; advice which although we were sad to receive, we were happy
to follow.
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| Looking East across the Dead Sea from Masada |
And finally, we have pulled into Jerusalem
at sunset, after climbing what seemed a greater rise than from Saskatchewan
Crossing to the Icefields. Not much wonder that the road from Jerusalem to
Jericho (or visa versa – through some pretty rough country I might add) had a
bit of a reputation.
