Masada sunrise over the Dead Sea

Getting up at 2am and hiking the Masada snake path to watch the sun rise was painful but sometimes, you have to do what you have to do. Meaning, if you have signed up on the class list that posted on the hallway wall 2 weeks ago, even though you didn't realize what you got yourself into at the time, here you are at 2:30am, on the bus....half falling in and out of sleep and half wondering about the unknown that lies ahead.

Masada, like its convoluted paths, runs deep in the Jewish history. When the great Jewish revolt against the Romans failed in 66CE, Jerusalem was destroyed and the Second Temple was burned (remember the wailing wall is the only remains of it today?), 960 religious zealots both men and women fled to Masada and took refuge under its geographic advantage. The Roman soldiers then set up encampments all around the Masada mountain and after a 3 months siege, the Jews all committed suicide in order not to be captured to slavery.


Most Israelis take this trip when they are about 10 years old in organized elementary school tours. And here we are, revisiting history through the lens of photo cameras set to the focus with foreigners' visions.
The following series show you the extend of my labor to make it all perfect.


Oh! nice scene to take a photo and put it on the blog!
Wait for the flag to open...wait for it.... wait for it...
damn! wasn't fast enough...
ALMOST!
(15 tries later) ok.... that's as good as it's gonna get.


Look carefully, the square imprint on the ground is where the Roman encampments used to set. They surround M by all sides to imitate the immanency of their capture.










 The snake path itself (guaranteed to give you weak knees upon reaching the bottom).

Also Masada is famous because King Herold built himself a castle here complete with bathhouse, food storage room, water channels...etc in the middle of the dessert.


Masada sunrise over the dead sea. The breathtaking beauty made me forget all about the pain of the 2am rise.


This was on a separate trip, but when you come down from Masada, the Dead Sea (ים המלח) is only a 15 minute ride away. Already by 10 or 11am, this area gets unbearably hot. The placer there reads (44 degree Celsius, 111.2 Fahrenheit).
However, the dead sea, in my opinion, is something you have to experience AT LEAST once in your life time. When I was 9 years old, I remember reading the encyclopedia about it, and can't believe here I am!

• It is the lowest point on earth about 1,385 ft below the sea level (honestly, does the number really mean something to you?)
• 8 times saltier than the ocean, which the bottom is filled with these salt balls. Hey, no one stopped me from taking some home for cooking (yes I know I am so Chinese).
  
• Besides the cool salt formations and minerals here, there are also nearby sweet springs.
• The mud is also supposedly cosmetic for the skin, but be WARNED ladies, do not put your face into the DS!

This special place makes all your wounds (except a broken heart) hurt. I had a poison ivy scratch on my left ankle from watching the Meteor Shower in the Beer Sheva mountains the week before, oh well, hurting is all a part of the healing, right? sigh, why do I always learn things the hard way!?
Take a beer, take your favorite book, and come float away with me =)

ps. Some photos in this post are credits to Dan Rhee and his awesome camera.