Wed, Mar 13 - Masada

With another full day ahead of us, our first stop was the magnificent Masada at the edge of the Judean Desert, on a rocky plateau overlooking the Dead Sea.  We all managed to pack into one cable car for our ride up this mighty mountain to view the excavated ruin of this royal citadel. Masada was the last stronghold held by the Jewish Zealots who refused to submit to Roman occupation. When they could hold out no longer, Masada became the backdrop for one of the most dramatic scenes in Jewish history.  Be sure to look it the dramatic and interesting history and Biblical relevance of this site!

Our second site was Ein Gedi; an oasis located in the Judian Desert, near the Dead Sea, between Masada and the caves of Qumran. Dating back some 5,000 years ago, this remarkable location is best remembered as David's place of refuge when he was pursued by King Saul. Majestic cliffs, canyons and caves, along with the beautiful David's Waterfall and the remains of a synagogue dating back 1,600 years ago, made this another fascinating old testament find.

Next we visited the excavated sites of Qumran and viewed the location where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in 1947.  From the shores of the Dead Sea we began our journey towards Galilee and made our final stop at the Mount of Beatitudes.  The beautiful flower filled gardens offered a tranquil and peaceful setting for us to have some individual time to personally reflect and pray as we considered the relevance of all that we'd seen and the reality of our current location being the place where Jesus gave the sermon recorded for us in Matthew 5-7.

Our day concluded at the Caesar Hotel, Tiberius, with another delicious dinner and restful overnight stay.