By the Dead Sea: Masada & Ein Gedi

Tuesday afternoon David Sandberg, who is visiting me from the U.S.A., and I made our way across Jerusalem to the central bus station and got ourselves onto the bus that goes through the Jordan Valley to Eilat. It first heads east towards Jericho, skirting it to the south, and heads south past Qumran, Ein Gedi and Masada. We got off in Masada and went to the hostel there. The hostel was not the normal hole-in-the wall hostel. There was a nice pool and everything was emaculate. I noticed a plaque that mentioned that the Ministry of Tourism had a hand in it. That makes sense since Masada is an important symbol in Zionism.

For those who haven't read Josephus or seen the movie (also named Masada), the story takes place few decades after Jesus was crucified, during the Jewish rebellion that lead to the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem. A group of Jews, called Zealots, took refuge at Masada as it was clear that the Romans had quelled the rebellion. The Romans surrounded Masada and the 1,000 or so Jews who had taken refuge there. The Romans couldn't climb up the path because they would be picked off one by one so they built a seize ramp and eventually destroyed a wall and made their way in. The Jews, once they saw that they could not escape, killed themselves. The seize ramp still exists--it would have eroded faster but there isn't much rain in these parts.

Modern Israeli Zionists admire these 1st century Zealots for killing themselves rather than being taken slaves by the Romans but say "Masada will not fall again." The lesson being that Israel has to be strong to avoid the be killed or be captured dilemma. School children and soldiers are brought to Masada and taught about the lesson. For me, the place isn't so much about a lesson but it's an expression of the New Testament character Herod and illustrates something about about the historical period of time when Jesus was in the region--although he isn't reported to have visited this remote desert hideout.

After an early night we woke up around 4:00 a.m. and headed up the desert plateau. David had his caving headlamp on but after about 20 minutes, it was no longer necessary. The path, called the Snake Path, starts on the south-east of Masada and the climb isn't long nor particularly challenging. The views were worth slowing down for. Masada is directly west of the Dead Sea and there is a flat area between the Dead Sea and a row of plateaus to the west. The country of Jordan is on the other side of the Dead Sea.

We arrived at the top and my instinct for thoroughness kicked in and we headed to the north side to see the minor attractions. The highlight of that side was a cistern. We then made our way along the west side and encountered the synagogue and then the main attractions--a bathhouse and palaces. We made it back to the hostel in time for the 9:00 a.m. breakfast. Later that day, other hostel visitors arrived and our group room started living up to its name (we had been the only inhabitants of the room with 8 beds the night before). Since everyone hikes Masada before the sun rises to escape the heat, it was apparent that there was no escaping the ritual 4:00 a.m. wake up time.

I woke up early the next day to hike around, rather than up, Masada. I had a copied a hike description and basic map from a book--which ended up being accurate and informative except in one way that was later to become apparent. The hike was as expected until I arrived to the area southwest of Masada. There, I encountered a steep incline which lead up to Mount Eliazer--the mountain to the south of Masada. I managed to get to the top without much difficulty and enjoyed the sights of Masada across the gorge. Then I continued on to the other side of that mountain expecting to hike down to the hostel which was directly below. The hiking guide book mentioned that that portion of the hike was steep but did not elaborate further. It was apparent that it was not just steep but precarious. I decided to walk down a few meters to get a better view and this confirmed that me and my mild vertigo would not be fit for this descent. Not only did the path stay near a cliff as it switched back and forth down the hill, but I encountered a rock with hebrew writing on it and a wilted flower in a jar. The rock was a memorial to "our granfather [name forgotten] who died from on fall on such and such date." I was already leaning against the steep path and was the nail in the coffin. I turned back figuring that death was worth avoiding--even if it meant not making it back before the free breakfast buffet closed at 9:00 a.m. So I trekked back the same way. That usually would mean that I would see a while new set of scenery but this was thought of as a scenic hike from the start so I had already turned around and taken pictures many times. But the hike wasn't long and it was pleasant enough. It wasn't particularly hot even when I arrived near the end and asked someone what time it was. I was told it was only 8:15 a.m. so my breakfast was assured.

I returned to the hostel and we worked out a ride to Ein Gedi with some sojourners--a couple from England. They needed a nap though so I worked on my term paper for a while. We arrived at Ein Gedi around 2:30 p.m. and hiked up Wadi David. There was a stream with waterfalls and a lot of living things in an otherwise very barren area. We got to the top with time to spare so we decided to go back in a round about way. We made it over to the spring and Chacolithic temple. I subsequently read about the folks that lived in that period (c. 4300-3300 b.c.) and learned about their making copper things and about what they ate as well as some other things about them. I decided not to read the section of the chapter about their pottery. Near the end of the hike we made it to the Ein Gedi synagogue. I've been interested in churches and synagogues from around the time of Jesus until the moslem conquest so that was a bonus but then we were done. It was back to Jerusalem.

Hiking in Eilat's Mountains

I arrived in Eilat on Friday and was soon looking over a hiking map at the hostel. The wife of the hostel director is a hiking enthusiast so she asked me what my hiking plans were. She then suggested some hikes. So I had a rough idea the next morning but I thought I should get oriented so I walked out of town towards the mountains and, before too long, found the trailhead of what looked like the best hiking area. I went a ways further to scout it out and decided on a trail that looked encouraging but returned to the hostel thinking that I'd found a hike for the next day.

Upon returning to the hostel, I encountered two young ladies putting dark brown stuff on their bread. I thought it was Vegimite so I asked them if they were from Australia. It turns out that they were from the Netherlands so I mentioned that I had recently been in Amsterdam and we chatted for a few minutes. I soon found out that they were intending on taking a hike but weren't clear where things were. One of the volunteers at the hostel started explaining to them about their hiking options and suggested the very path I had thought looked good. I invited myself to be their guide and off we went.

The hike was about 3 hours long and included a peak of a small mountain with great views over the city, sea, and Aqaba—the Jordanian city next to Eilat.

Most of the trail was through extremely barren desert--there was not a tree or even a bush in sight most of the time. There were a couple of birds but no other signs of life. I think of hiking as primarily exercise but being in the wilderness can bring a deep relaxation that doesn't seem to be available in a city or suburb. The aesthetic appeal of the route is a bonus. I felt no particular awe at this desert scenery but the view from the peak was nice. We saw into Jordan and may have seen into Saudi Arabia and were a few kilometers from Egypt.

After the view from the peak, we were soon in a wadi--a dry river bed. The aforementioned wife of the hostel director had said that it hadn't rained all winter. There were finally trees and the run-off had shaped the banks in an interesting enough way. While still desert, the variety was certainly appreciated.















After the hike we went to the beach. It was warm enough and most people escaping the snow in Jerusalem probably thought of the beach as the main attraction but a couple minutes in the water and twenty on a beach chair and I was done. Perhaps if I had brought a watermelon, newspaper, book, and volleyball as I had when was a teenager the beach would have kept me content longer. I have said on other occasions that, having moved from California to Utah, I prefer the mountains to the beach and this day certainly confirmed that.

The next morning I woke up and did the same hike with a young man from Switzerland, Mattias, and a young man from Poland. I would have rested for a day but Mattias had a couple of friends who had other plans for other days so he really wanted to get some hiking in and I relented and we followed the same trek. I often hike the same paths many times so I didn't mind. Different features stood out and the conversation was different so I returned content but insistent that I would take a day off the next day.

Legs well rested, I mapped out what turned out to be a seven hour hike. The hiking map had featured areas, one of which was the Black Canyon which became the objective. This is part of the Israel Trail--a trail from the north to the south of the small country. On the designated day, while it was scheduled to snow in Jerusalem, it was a bit cloudy and around 60 degrees (14 C) in Eilat. Mattias' buddies decided that the beach wouldn't be so pleasant so they were willing to hike. Along with that group of three guys, Teresa, one of the hostel volunteers joined in. The hike went smoothly--no wrong turns and the only surprise being a small mountain after the canyon--I hadn't taken much note of topography but no complaints: more good views over the region. The Black Canyon itself was nice--a slot canyon but nothing like The Narrows in Zion's National Park. We saw a small mountain goat and a few birds. More wadis, a few more of the same type of trees, very quiet except we talked a lot. Our stories seem to be more interesting to fellow travelers from different corners of the world but common issues like immigration seemed to be on the agenda of both the U.S. and Switzerland.

We arrived back at the hostel thoroughly worn out and ready for a shower. One of the sojourners complimented my having been an effective navigator, I turned down an invitation to the brazilian meat buffet and went to sleep around eight.