Israel Day 2: Masada

On Monday morning, we rented a car and headed east, to Masada. We drove past Jerusalem and into the West Bank. (Everything in Israel is very safe, despite what you might think from watching the news. We did drive through one checkpoint, but it was no big deal.)

After driving about 2 1/2 hours, we arrived at Masada. Masada is a series of ancient palaces and fortifications built by Herod on top of a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. We decided to hike up instead of wimping out and riding the cable car. About halfway up the Snake Path, we realized that maybe it wasn't such a great idea to hike up at exactly noon on a very hot day. But it was too late to change our minds, so we continued on our trek, watching jealously as the cable car passed overhead.

On top of the plateau, we had a great view of the Dead Sea with Jordan on the other side. We walked through all the excavated walls and rooms, taking it all in. When the site was discovered, scrolls containing parts of Deuteronomy and Ezekiel were even found in the synagogue. When we finished looking around up top, we headed down the slope, looking forward to a dip in the (not very) refreshing Dead Sea on the way back to Tel Aviv.