Sleep in kibbutz Ein Gedi to visit Masada

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Day 5: EIN GEDI - MASADA - JERUSALEM

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

The alarm sounds today at 7 in the morning, it has dawned recently and we already want to get going.
Today a day full of "traveling dreams" awaits us. In this trip to Israel and Palestine One of the things we wanted to see the most is Masada and today will be the great day in which we will fulfill one of those dreams.
The first thing we do before going to breakfast is to walk around the Ein Gedi Botanical Garden that houses the kibbutz Ein Gedi Where we stayed


Parking of kibbutz Ein Gedi

Our room at the Ein Gedi kibbutz

The breakfast room of kibbutz Ein Gedi It is quite far from standart rooms. That on the one hand we do not like too much, but at the same time it gives us the opportunity to walk through the kibbutz and the Ein Gedi Botanical Garden, since you have to go through them to get to the lounge.


Botanical garden of kibbutz Ein Gedi

Landscapes surrounding the Ein Gedi kibbutz

We arrived at the breakfast room of the Kibbutz Ein Gedi after a good walk and why not say it, disappoint us a little in front of this place that, to a greater or lesser extent they had recommended us.
Although there is something that we can not ignore and is that it is the best accommodation in the area in relation to quality, price, not to mention the only thing we chose.
But one thing does not take away the other, the price is quite high for what it really offers.
The breakfast is quite complete, buffet style, but we find a room full of people who, even being so soon, are willing to monopolize every corner of the food trays.
And after filling the stomach and comforting ourselves with a good hot coffee, before checking out, we continue visiting the Botanical Garden of kibbutz Ein Gedi.


Kibbutz Ein Gedi

When we look at the clock we can't believe it, it's already 10 in the morning and today we have a day full enough to go out by legs right now !!
We connect again, our great friend, the GPS of Israel towards Masada another one of the star stops of our trip to Israel and Palestine.
We are 17 kilometers from the destination and as we get closer, a tickle takes over us.


Arriving at Masada by car after sleeping in the Ein Gedi kibbutz

Views from Masada's car

Once we are on the road that will take us to the parking lot, we find a ledge that is perfect for parking the rental car in Israel for a while and take some photos with an impressive perspective of the famous Masada.


Awesome!!! Masada

We are taking pictures of Masada when we start hearing a noise loud enough to turn our eyes and look at the sky.
They are 4 fighter planes that fly over us at full speed and leaving behind them a deafening noise.
We have complete peace of mind when we see them, but it never ceases to surprise us to meet them in a place like this.


Hunting flying over Masada

After this "interruption", we continue with what we were doing, although this anecdote reminds us of one of the great problems of where we are, if not the only one.
In this trip to Israel and Palestine, we can never ignore something that is as real as what we just saw a few moments ago.


Posing at the feet of Masada

Cable car infrastructure from the foot of Masada

After a good time in this area, we get back in the car and start climbing in search of parking Masada.


The sun reflecting in Masada

Going up the road we find a first parking lot, discovered, from where you can walk up to the entrance area of ​​Masada, but we follow the road until we reach the parking lot of the entrance and exhibition building, which is covered and is just below of the entrance.
There we find a security that checks the car and then tells us where we can park.
After leaving the car we realize in the difference with the parkings to which we are accustomed in Spain, there nobody checks the cars and although they are of monuments they are paid.
We get in the elevator to the first floor and we go straight to get the tickets, where teaching the student card, we are charged 49 shekels per person for the entrance to Masada and the one way trip in the funicular.
The idea is to climb on the funicular, for the time it is and mainly to save us the effort to travel the path of the snake on the ascent and travel it on the descent and thus have the experience.
The price of admission and a one-way trip in the funicular, without a student card is 54 shekels.

More practical information to prepare your trip to Jerusalem

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The wait to climb to the top is just under 5 minutes and there is almost no queue, so in a short time we are about to reach the top of one of the most important “stories” of the Holy Land and One of the visits we most wanted to make on this trip to Israel and Palestine.


First images of the Dead Sea during the ascent to Masada

Funicular in Masada

Views of people climbing the Serpent Road from the funicular

The ascent route does not last more than 5 minutes and during the trip we do not stop taking photos and we do not stop being glad to have opted for this transport option to the top.
Today is not a very hot day, but from here we are glad to have left the coats in the car, because at this point we will surely not need them.


Crossing with the funicular downhill Masada

About to "land" on top of Masada

A great perspective of the Serpent Road from the funicular

Once we reach the top of Masada, the first thing we see is the people who are arriving to make the ascent on foot through the Serpent Road and only to see the face of “suffering” to the people, I remember instantly that in one of the trips we will make this next year we will have to face something similar, although this time we must do yes or yes walking. There will be no other option ... But hey, this will be another story that we will tell in due course.
We see cartels that remind us to drink often, to cover our heads ... and smile with relief at being here at this time of year. If we still notice that it is quite hot, we do not even want to imagine what this has to be in the middle of summer! No wonder they say they close the Serpent Road at 10 in the morning for security.
Before entering the ruins themselves, we stop at the entrance to reread the history well and place ourselves with the plan we have in the guide.
Masada It is a plateau located 400m above the level of the Dead Sea.
It was fortified between 103 and 76 B.C., before passing into the hands of Herod in 43 B.C., who made the fortress a refuge in case the Jews revealed themselves or problems arose with Cleopatra and Marco Antonio.
To make sure that if he was forced to retire here, he wouldn't have to forget his comfort, he had two luxury palaces built with swimming pools.
In 4 B.C. Herod died of natural causes without having to use this refuge in the desert.
But in 66 A.D. the Jews rose against the Romans in the First Revolt. In this one, a group known as the Zealots, were made with Masada.
4 years passed, until the Romans returned their attention to Masada and they distributed 8000 men in 8 camps around the base of the mountain and using Jewish slaves, they began to build an earth ramp to the fortress walls.
Within Masada there were 967 men, women and children, with provisions to endure months.
Once the ramp was over, the Romans brought all their weapons ready for attack.


Within the walls of Masada, the Zealots chose to set fire to their homes and all their belongings so as not to fall into Roman hands.
After this, 10 random men were chosen who were assigned the task of killing the rest. After 9 of these were executed by his partner before he committed suicide.
When the Romans entered the fortress of Masada They only found 5 children and 2 women who had hidden.
This collective suicide in Masada It marked the end of the Jewish presence in Palestine.
I believe that in no previous travel journal we had told the story of any of the sites we visited, but in this case we have considered that it is fair and totally necessary to make this review in order to understand what we will see later.
We enter the ruins of Masada by the east wall, from where we have spectacular views of the Dead Sea.


Spectacular views from the ruins of Masada

Masada Ruins

The idea that we initially had to complete this visit in an hour or so we discarded as soon as we reached the top and see what we have before our eyes.
We want to see every detail, understand each thing we see and to be able to do it in a more or less organized way, we cannot do anything other than mentally mark a route and try not to leave it to not miss anything.


Views of the quarry and the funicular station

After touring the east wall, we arrived at the Byzantine monastic cave, a habitable space, which was built by monks over a crater where it was thought that materials had been extracted for plastering.


Byzantine monastic cave. Masada Ruins

We are following the circuit that we have marked, although from time to time we can not miss the opportunity to approach the walls to attend the show that we are lucky to be able to contemplate.


Masada Ruins

Stunning views from the Masada Ruins

At this point we begin to feel that the heat is noticeable and we appreciate again the idea of ​​leaving the coats in the car.
We are already in the southern area of ​​the ruins and we go through what is the Water Cistern and the Ritual Bath, to reach the point of the South Citadel, point used to defend the weakest point of Masada.


Masada ruins with one of the birds that accompanied us on the tour

Views from the Masada Ruins

Southern Citadel in the Masada Ruins

At this point of the tour, we decide that it is time to start touring the central areas of the ruins and we arrive at the Pool, where it is accessed through stairs and has a volume of 550m3.


Pool entrance. Masada Ruins

Small Palace Masada Ruins

Columbarium Masada Ruins

Arrived here, the itinerary we had in mind to go traveling we left a little behind due to several factors. This area is where the most interesting points of Masada and therefore it is the area where more people accumulate.
The majority of people we see are organized groups, with what that entails. Groups of 30 people who stand in front of "something", with a guide who has everything, less professionalism to let the rest of the people continue their visit without waiting for him to finish his great explanation ... Anyway, that At this point we have to set the pace a bit, in order to see everything we have left in a more or less reasonable time.


Contemplating the great Ruins of Masada

Mosaics in the Masada Ruins

We arrive at the area of ​​the Roman ramp, where the assault area is located, where a part of the wall that was destroyed during the assault is missing. Once the Romans were able to build a tower high enough to control the wall and attack the enclave, the Zealots chose to defend themselves by rolling huge stones over the Romans.


Assault zone in the Masada Ruins

Once we look in the area of ​​the Roman Ramp we see the road, less hard than the Serpent Road from which you can also ascend to the top of Masada and that is only accessible from the road that arrives from Arad.
This area is where the light and sound show takes place.
To get here it is necessary to skirt Masada in the direction of the city of Arad.


Roman Ramp Zone and Ramp Road in the Masada Ruins

Assault Zone in the Masada Ruins

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- Day trip to Masada and the Dead Sea from Tel Aviv
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Little by little we are approaching the "most famous" ruins of Masada, as are the Baths and the northern Palace of Herod.
It has been well over 1 hour and we have hardly noticed. It seems that the visit will not take much time, but we can ensure that if you want to have a somewhat correct view of MasadaAt least you have to spend 2 hours at the top.
Arrived in the area of ​​the bathrooms we have to make a small queue to access the interior.
Herod's luxurious bathrooms had columns and mosaic floors. A dressing room with frescoes on the walls and ceilings and a floor with black and white tiles.
If you go up to the rooftop viewpoint you have stunning views of the southern area.


Herod Baths. Masada Ruins

Detail of the Baths of Herod. Masada Ruins

From here we continue until we reach the Administration Building, where we begin to meet more and more people and begin to lighten the visit a bit.
The sky begins to cloud and in a way we appreciate it. We are doing very well those minutes of truce that the sun gives us to cool down a bit.


Tank. Masada Ruins

Masada Ruins

When we arrive at the area of ​​the north Palace of Herod we can do nothing but open our mouths and try to imagine what that Palace would be like at that time.
It is spectacularly erected on three terraces on the northern slope of the mountain. It was the king's private house, on whose upper terrace-structure lived Herod and his family.
The intermediate terrace consists of a circular room where banquets and meetings were held.
You have to go down some original stairs where a patio surrounded by columns stands out.
One of the best ways to imagine this impressive Palace is, before looking out, go to see, just in front of a reproduction in "miniature" that does not give an idea of ​​what was once.


Reproduction of the northern Palace of Herod. Masada Ruins

North Herod's Palace. Masada Ruins

Stunning views of the northern Herod Palace. Masada Ruins

This is our last visit in the ruins of Masada and we cannot do anything other than look at our watch when we still know that we have to fulfill one of the “objectives” of this visit: travel the Serpent Road at least once.
And as the climb we have done in funicular, the descent we will have to do it walking ... is what there is ...


Views of the Snake Road. Masada Ruins

Just seeing what we have left, I want to go back and go to the funicular hoping they sell us a ticket to get off directly and save me the little walk ... But I try to gut my heart and get on my way, warning Roger to be "compassionate" with me and don't hurry ...
As soon as we begin the descent we find a cartel that welcomes us and informs us of what the journey can take about: about 30 minutes, with a drop of 350 meters and 750 steps. Not bad at all, right?


Cartel at the beginning of the Serpent Road. Masada Ruins

Way of the Snake. Masada Ruins

Seeing the people who are now climbing we can do nothing but pity them. If we are already tired and we are going downhill… they have to be dead !!!


Descending at a good pace along the Path of the Serpent. Masada Ruins

We are halfway down the Serpent Road. Masada Ruins

We are looking at the clock and we are really fulfilling that half hour that marked the cartel at the beginning and our stomach begins to remind us that it is time to eat.
While we are going down we think that it is best to stay to eat at the complex at the foot of Masada, where although we have not seen any, we intuit that they have to have a restaurant.


Finally we arrived!!!!!! Way of the Snake. Masada Ruins

If you want to go back up you ... I do not joke! Way of the Snake. Masada Ruins

As soon as we arrive at the complex, from afar we see a letter that makes us open our eyes like dishes, that “M” that indicates that a fast food restaurant is a few meters away, makes us accelerate the passage.
We see that within the complex there are several fast food restaurants-bars. They are all full of people, so we opt for the least queue we see and that is precisely that of the capital letter
And with our tray full of "fast food" and not very healthy and an ice cream of those who make history, we sat at some tables with unbeatable views of the Dead Sea.


Eating with stunning views !!! Masada complex

When we finish eating and look at the clock we see that in the end we will have to run to be able to deliver the car in Jerusalem before 6 pm, which is the time at which they close the office. And first we want to leave our bags at the Hotel ...
But before we go looking for the car, we take some time to get into one of the souvenir shops in Masada Where we do some shopping.


We say goodbye to Masada with a "see you later ..." Someday we will return ... Masada Ruins

It's after 2:30 when we last connect our Israel GPS and put the address of what will be our accommodation in Jerusalem the next 5 days.
We have the same "problem" as yesterday when we were traveling on Highway 90 and that takes us back along the longest road so as not to enter the Palestinian Territory. So we put an intermediate point again, to be able to travel again, Highway 90, this time to one of the biggest dreams of this trip to Israel and Palestine: we will finally know Jerusalem, the most historic city in the world ...
When we take just over 20 minutes, we meet again with the control we passed yesterday and we couldn't take any pictures. Today we have gone a little more prepared and before arriving we have taken the camera to make a snapshot.


Security check on Highway 90

Security check on Highway 90

Crossing the road 90 we pass again through Qumram one of the visits that made us very excited to do, but we had to discard it due to lack of time.
Another reason to repeat this impressive trip to Israel and Palestine.


Going through Qumram

Qumram

We arrive at the detour of Highway 90, with Highway 1 that links Jerusalem with the Dead Sea and almost without noticing we notice a knot in the stomach, which reminds us of where we are heading.


Only 17 kilometers away!

Before continuing, we stop to fill the gas tank. We paid 280 shekels to fill the gasoline that has allowed us to travel much of the north of the country and has made this stretch of our trip to Israel and Palestine something very special.
Once we are on Highway 1, which is used by Palestinians and Israelis alike, we are crossing spectacular landscapes, where the lands go from a thick green and a calcareous white to soft caramel mounds and lunar landscapes of color Brown, which are dotted with camels and camps in Bedouin tents.


Walking the road 1 road to Jerusalem

Along the way we cross one of the largest and most controversial Jewish settlements in the West Bank.
It is Ma 'ale Adumim, which extends over the hills that slide east of Jerusalem.
A look at its magnitude and permanence, reached the status of Israeli city in 1991 and houses more than 30,000 settlers, makes clear the difficulty of designing a solution ...


Ma 'ale Adumim

When we really realize that we are in Jerusalem, it is when we see the cartel that tells us the direction we have to take to head downtown.


We are coming!!!

We looked at the clock and it took us a little more than 1 hour and a half to arrive. It was the forecast we had when we left Masada and we have fulfilled it.
It's almost 5 in the afternoon, so we have 1 hour left to go to Abraham Hostel, check-in, leave luggage and go to return the rental car in Israel. Will it give us time? Let's hope so!!! 🙂
And with these thoughts and eyes wide open in case we recognize any scene of the city from the car, we arrive at what will be our accommodation these 5 days, the Abraham Hostel.
We leave the car badly parked and do a quick check-in for the time it is and we set off for King David Avenue to leave the car in the office.
When we arrive at the door of the office they indicate that the parking lot where to leave it is right next to the gas station in front and we look at the clock: 5:45 p.m. ... Challenge achieved !!!! 🙂
After doing all the paperwork for returning the rental car in Israel, we left the office more relaxed and eager to discover the city a bit.
Arrived at this part we have to say to go Israel and PalestineBy car it is very easy. While it is true that certain precautions have to be taken and most insurances do not cover the Palestinian zone, driving is very correct on the part of everyone. They had explained to us and we had read that the driving was quite aggressive. We at least have not had that perception. The security controls are totally "normal" and we have not been trouble at all.
At least this has been our experience and we would like to record it for future travelers to this impressive country.
We took one of the plans of the city that sent us home from the Israel Tourist Office and in less than 10 minutes we see it in the distance ... it is the Wall of the Old City, with the Tower of David standing out among the darkness…


Walls and Tower of David in Jerusalem

We can't believe it, now we are finally here. Now we are stepping on Jerusalem, that city that we have been wanting to know for years and we have so resisted for several reasons.
The city in capital letters, the city with the holiest and most history in the world ... Jerusalem.
When we are in front of the walls and the Jaffa Gate, we notice a kind of chill that reminds us where we are.
The idea was not to take out the camera this afternoon and enjoy these few hours we have left are more. Without a camera and without an itinerary ... The second we will fulfill, we will go where the streets take us, but the first, although we have tried, we have not been able to fulfill it on some occasions ...
We began to walk without any established itinerary or wanting to see anything in particular, and so the city takes us through David St. Touring the souk that at this time already begins to close some of its stores.
Without wanting to and not even thinking about it, we find ourselves facing a cartel that tells us that by turning to the right we will find the Wailing Wall.
How can we ignore that cartel? Jerusalem itself has brought us here, so we cannot contradict it.
We pass through a couple of narrow streets that take us to a checkpoint, where at first, with a little suspicion and then with determination, we pass our bag and backpack through the scanner and pass without further ado.
We look at each other again, with that inevitable “not so much” look, how much we have repeated on this trip to Israel and Palestine.
And we find the Western Wall right in front of us and we feel that chill that we have already felt several times since we arrived in Jerusalem. It is clear that this city has prepared many things that we will not forget.


Western Wall. Jerusalem

Western Wall. Jerusalem

After having a good time with our mouths open, without really realizing where we are, we look for the exit a couple of times, until we find some stairs that take us to a viewpoint from which we have stunning views of the Wall of the Wailing.
Now we are in the Jewish Quarter and after crossing a couple of synagogues along the way, we see a sign indicating the direction of the Thistle.
We plan to visit all these things on the days we will be in Jerusalem and with the time it is we should go directly to dinner, but we cannot avoid it and follow the sign as if it were pulling us.
Once in front of the Cardo we have the same reaction that we had in the Western Wall and knowing that we still have 5 days to tour the city, we get lost in the streets waiting, at some time, to meet again with the one we take to Jaffa Gate.
In this coming and going we already intuit that the best thing that we are going to take from this city is going to be the wandering.
Losing ourselves in this city is going to be a must and that “discovery by chance” of things, something that we will enjoy from the first moment…
And with these thoughts we return to David St. That returns us to the Jaffa Gate, from where, map in hand, we start climbing up Jaffa Road looking for a restaurant where to have dinner before going to our Abraham Hostel.
Halfway we find the famous Ben Yehuda street where in one of the bocacalles we find a restaurant where we dined two pasta dishes and two soft drinks for 122 shekels.
It's almost 10 at night and we are entering again through the doors of Abraham Hostel.
We are busted, but we still have some time left to realize that we have chosen well. The Abraham Hostel is one of the most recommended hotels in Jerusalem and although we have just arrived, we can say that it is a success to stay here. We started to love Abraham Hostel ...


Abraham Hostel's room. Jerusalem

Abraham Hostel's room. Jerusalem

Corner of our room at Abraham Hostel. Jerusalem

After getting into bed an image comes to mind ... And we fell asleep ...


Amazing Jerusalem
Day 6
JERUSALEM - EXPLANADA DE LAS MEZQUITAS - CÚPULA DE LA ROCA

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