Wish You Were Here: The Dead Sea

Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found!

Located below the cliffs of the Judean wilderness near the Dead Sea.

The Essenes were a faction of Judaism who practiced monasticism here, and produced the Dead Sea Scrolls.

The Dead Sea Scrolls were later discovered in 1947 by Bedouins. They are extremely significant because these scrolls provided Old Testament manuscripts more than 1,000 years older than any previous copies, and information about the practices and beliefs of other Jews who were contemporary with John the Baptist and Jesus Christ.

Some of my favorites :)

Who knew a desert could be so beautiful?

Seeing the vast amazing desert made me realize that beauty really does come in all sorts of packages.

Now... the Dead Sea!!!

The salinity of the Dead Sea is 33%.

Our oceans are only about 3.5%

The Dead Sea has provided mineral sources and has defined ancient and modern borders.

Sadly, the Dead Sea is shrinking about 3 feet per year because most of the water out of the Jordan River is being used for agriculture and drinking water, and the 6 million tons of water from the Dead Sea evaporates daily!

Luckily, we got to enjoy the Dead Sea while there still water left. We even found the special Dead Sea mud that left our skin feeling as soft as a newborn baby.

(Random, but too good)

The Dead Sea contains no life; it's dead.

Even though the water looks gorgeous and clear, it felt so strange and slimy.

The Dead Sea is 1400 feet below sea level, the lowest spot on earth. It also separates two geological plates--Israel on the African plate moving south, and Jordan on the Asian plate moving north.

Floating in the Dead Sea was one of THE COOLEST things I've ever done!!!

What an amazing feeling! The high salt concentration makes our bodies super buoyant. I was almost flying I couldn't get over the feeling!

Today was too much fun just playing around, laughing, just having a grand ol' time.

Masada

A freestanding mesa where the Judean wilderness meets the Dead Sea in the Rift Valley, Masada was Herod the Great's ideal fortress to protect his kingdom.

Herod enlarged it in 35 BC. It was seized in the First Jewish Revolt by Jewish assassins called Sicarii. The Romans later attacked from a siege ramp but found the Jews already dead.

Masada is one of the most visited tourist sites in Israel, and for good reason.

This place was so much fun to explore.

Tay Tay! My adventure buddy since day 1.

So happy I met this girl; what would I do without her.

Here is me playing Vanna White for the model of Herod's ancient city.

All over Masada there were incredible ruins, leading me to more amazing views and hideouts.

Herod rebuilt Masada to include northern and western palaces, Roman bath, swimming pool, storage buildings, and a casemate with living quarters for soldiers. Aqueducts and cisterns supplied Masada with water.

Echo!!!

Here we yelled to hear the most amazing echo I've ever heard.

I yelled and heard, not just an echo sound, but literally my own voice bounce back against the desert mountains about three seconds later. I was talking to myself! Quoting Grinch was my favorite, and I felt like a giddy little girl I was having so much fun. Taylor was getting into it too if you can't tell haha.

It was an extremely hot day

An ancient underwater cistern was a nice break from the heat. I always had fun singing in these open rooms; great acoustics!

Just walkin around Masada. Nbd.

(Notice the Dead Sea off in the distance)

En Gedi

Located close to the Dead Sea and end of Judean Desert, where two wadis deliver spring water. Here is where David hid from King Saul and when encountered, David cut off a corner of King Saul's robe to show his good intention instead of killing him.

Archaeologists found synagogues from the Roman and Byzantine eras, the earliest dating back to 600 AD.