As a day trip from Jerusalem, we traveled toward Jericho and then headed south to visit Masada and Qumran.  On the first day we arrived in Israel, we were supposed to try and visit Jericho since we crossed close to it.  However, with that 4-5 hour delay we experienced due to the smuggling attempt by the Jordanian MP, we didn’t have time.  It also turns out that the Israelis believed that the individuals the MP was going to meet with were in Jericho so they put Jericho a military lock down to try and find those individuals.  Jericho was still locked down when we drove back a few days later so we were unfortunately unable to visit Jericho.

Masada

Masada has significant historical value to the Jewish people.  It was built as a retreat fortress by Herod the Great and is built on this massive plateau supplied with lots of store rooms and significant water cisterns making it a perfect fortress.  Herod used it primarily as a retreat, but when the Jewish revolt against the Romans happened in 70AD, which resulted in Jerusalem being destroyed, the remaining rebel leaders fled to Masada.  The Romans, with significantly superior troops and battle tactics, surrounded the whole plateau with a wall and garrisons so no one could escape, and built a massive siege ramp to reach the top and storm the walls.  The Jews decided to commit suicide rather than face Roman punishment. 

A model showing Masada with the Roman siege ramp on the side.

A bit crowded to get onto the gondola, but it is better than having to hike up.

The view from the gondola showing one of the Roman camps around Masada.

Natural defenses.

King Herod liked his bath houses and went to great lengths to impress any guests he may have had to this retreat.

The view of the siege ramp from the top.

Remains of a cistern and a columbarium used to house pigeons for meat and fertilizer. 

Off the end of Masada was Herod’s palace, built in three tiers as shown in this model.

The view from the top tier overlooking the Dead Sea.

The remains for the second tier as seen on the way down and from the top tier.

Climbing down to the lowest palace tier.

The lower palace.

Qumran

Qumran was the dwellings of a monastic Jewish sect called the Essenes and is most famous for being the location of the Dead Sea scrolls.  We had learned about the Essenes and the scrolls from our visit to the Israel Museum’s Shrine of the Book but it was also good to visit the actual site.

On our drive from Masada to Qumran we came upon this small herd of gazelle.

The ruins of Qumran with the hills and lots of caves behind it.

The Essenes were sticklers for following cleanliness rules and had lots of water channels and ritual baths.

Some of the caves where scrolls where found.  The Essenes where meticulous at copying not only the Torah but a lot of their own rules and regulations.  With the failure of the Jewish revolt against the Romans and the army bearing down on them, the Essenes hid all their work in the caves.  The scrolls weren’t discovered until 1946.

St. George’s Monastery

St. George’s Monastery was founded in the 6th century by Greek Orthodox monks and is named after one of the leaders of the Greek Orthodox church in this area from that time.  It is built in Wadi Qelt which parallels the Roman road from Jericho to Jerusalem.  Some believe the Wadi Qelt is the valley of the shadow of death while others believe it was Valley of Hinnom which leads out of Jerusalem to Jericho.  Either way, these are the hills and valleys that travelers from Galilee to Jerusalem would have travelled so Mary and Joseph and Jesus and his disciples would have traveled in this vicinity.  This is also the area where the parable of the Good Samaritan was placed.  There are so many hiding places in this area, you can understand why people were wary of bandits in this area and why monks wanting isolation would choose such a spot.  This isn’t the only monastery that is built in such a way out in the deserts.

The road into the Wadi valley and a road block at the parking spot along road leading to Jericho that our guide suspected was added due to the lock down in Jericho.