At 8h15, when I was ready to climb up, it was already incredibly hot (that is the reason why most people leave at 4h30 in the morning...) and so I decided to do what all the tour groups with elderly people do: I took the cable car.... Actually, I did not do exactly what they do, because I took a one way ticket because I thought that I could always walk down...
The Masada fortress was built by King Herod and became later, when the Jews revolted against the Romans, the last refuge of the Jewish resistants: Therefore it later became a symbol for the Zionist movement and is still nowadays a symbol for the liberty of the Jewish people.
The fortress rises 440m above the Dead Sea, which means more or less that it is at sea level (ergo the Dead Sea is around 450m below sea level and therefore the lowest place on the world as I have already mentioned before).
There are great views over the Dead Sea, the montains and canyons (Wadis) around and the restauration works have been done quite well, with really good explanations.. So, in the end, I spent more than 2,5 hours on the site.
Once down, I drove to Ein Gedi, a Quibbutz on the Dead Sea, which has a guest house and its own Dead Sea Spa. After the check in I went directly to the Spa: 40 degree Celsius sulphour bath, mud treatment, hot sulphour showers, and then - the highlight - a float in the Dead Sea... Unfortunately, I forgot to take a newspaper along to take the typical picture... It was really an unforgettable experience and it is sooo funny... although the water is really too warm, not to say HOT ! ;-)
There are many people here for medical reasons: I met a Danish guy, who comes here for his Psoriasis treatment and who met, some years ago, his partner, a German lady, who comes for a rhumatism treatment.. It seems that treatments here are usualy paid for by the social security...!!) I should ask whether the Eu social security does as well and get my holidays reimbursed..;-) (to be clear: this was a joke only...!! ;-) )
Tomorrow morning, I will drive back to Tel Aviv, from where my flight will leave at 15h25 via Munich. I wil lbe back in Brussels at 22h25... and on Wednesday I will be back in the office.. Tomorrow at 11, there will be a nationwide sirene-alarm for a major security exercise. People are supposed to go into a specifically indicated shelter or into a synagogue (!! That is what the official leaflet available in the hotel said..), I wonder whether this is to pray that nothing will happen or whether all the synagogues have been built in a spevial way in order to serve as a quasi shelter... In any case, I do not have to interrupt my journey because it is not obligatory to go to a shelter.. I wonder how the situation on the road will be at that moment.. and whether you can hear any sirene on the motorway..
I will perhaps have the time to finish the blog for the days, which are still missing, at the airport and might perhaps get access there to upload them..otherwise you will be able to read them soon afterwards... I will put an "UPDATE" in front of it so that you know that there is something new to read there...
Thanks for following my trip and hope to see you all "for real" very soon..
And here the two highlight pictures of the day:
Other pictures at:
