While talking to my sister Sue, she mentioned she would like a vial of water from the Jordan river. Not sure how to make that happen we mentioned it to Eyal. He took us to Yardenit a famous baptism site nearby that would have bottles we could fill and off we went.
Yardenit is the site where some claim Jesus baptized people, others think it was across the river. The various wars in the area have changed who occupies which sites and they all claim a site to be the original site Jesus used for baptisms.
There were quite a few people getting baptized in the Jordan. The shop there offered a service which provided you a white gown and a dunking for only $8.
The Ein Gedi Nature Reserve was our next stop. There is a waterfall way up on the mountain. Several unusual wildlife species inhabit this oasis, Nubian Ibexes and rock hyrax. We saw many Ibexes but not the rock hyrax.
One Ibex was standing on top of a small tree eating the leaves, it was very unusual to see a animal atop a tree.
There are a series of three waterfalls. It was a long tiring hike to the top one. The path was a combination of loose gravel, uneven rock steps, and wet stones. The water brings life to many different plants and trees from the desert, Mediterranean and tropical regions all growing in this one spot. It is quite beautiful.
There is one trail for ascension and another for descending. About halfway down, we noticed another group coming up and took this picture to show the path.
I found Masada to be very interesting. It is a fortress on the top of a isolated mountain plateau built at the direction of Herod the Great. He also ordered a palace to be included. The palace is the portion that has the rounded walls. During the First Jewish - Roman War a group of Jewish Rebels called the Sicarii occupied the fortress after massacring the Roman Garrison at Masada.
The Romans laid siege to the city which lasted for three and a half months before they were able to scale the wall via a man made ramp and use of a siege tower. When the Romans entered the city they found all the defenders and their families had committed suicide or killed each other for fear of being captured by the Romans.
From the walls you can look down and see the outlines of the Roman camps and their siege walls. Imagine, they were built 2000 years ago and can be clearly seen today.
This is the view that Herod the Great had of the Dead Sea from his mountain top palace.
When we toured Jordan several years ago, we went to the Dead Sea. It was very cold that year and Elizabeth waded into the sea but did not try to float. This time she got in the water and floated. She said she felt so awed to be in this clear water, devoid of all plant and animal life, at the lowest spot on earth while she had Israel at her back and Jordan in front of her.
TJ & EA in
Israel
Yardenit is the site where some claim Jesus baptized people, others think it was across the river. The various wars in the area have changed who occupies which sites and they all claim a site to be the original site Jesus used for baptisms.
There were quite a few people getting baptized in the Jordan. The shop there offered a service which provided you a white gown and a dunking for only $8.
The Ein Gedi Nature Reserve was our next stop. There is a waterfall way up on the mountain. Several unusual wildlife species inhabit this oasis, Nubian Ibexes and rock hyrax. We saw many Ibexes but not the rock hyrax.
One Ibex was standing on top of a small tree eating the leaves, it was very unusual to see a animal atop a tree.
There are a series of three waterfalls. It was a long tiring hike to the top one. The path was a combination of loose gravel, uneven rock steps, and wet stones. The water brings life to many different plants and trees from the desert, Mediterranean and tropical regions all growing in this one spot. It is quite beautiful.
There is one trail for ascension and another for descending. About halfway down, we noticed another group coming up and took this picture to show the path.
I found Masada to be very interesting. It is a fortress on the top of a isolated mountain plateau built at the direction of Herod the Great. He also ordered a palace to be included. The palace is the portion that has the rounded walls. During the First Jewish - Roman War a group of Jewish Rebels called the Sicarii occupied the fortress after massacring the Roman Garrison at Masada.
The Romans laid siege to the city which lasted for three and a half months before they were able to scale the wall via a man made ramp and use of a siege tower. When the Romans entered the city they found all the defenders and their families had committed suicide or killed each other for fear of being captured by the Romans.
From the walls you can look down and see the outlines of the Roman camps and their siege walls. Imagine, they were built 2000 years ago and can be clearly seen today.
This is the view that Herod the Great had of the Dead Sea from his mountain top palace.
When we toured Jordan several years ago, we went to the Dead Sea. It was very cold that year and Elizabeth waded into the sea but did not try to float. This time she got in the water and floated. She said she felt so awed to be in this clear water, devoid of all plant and animal life, at the lowest spot on earth while she had Israel at her back and Jordan in front of her.
TJ & EA in
Israel
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