Oasis in the desert

Greetings from Israel! The word of the day was HOT! 100 plus degrees. However, it didn't stop us from putting in a full day of hiking and exploring. There's so much to see and learn! Definitely like drinking out of a fire hose.

Our first stop today was En Gedi Nature Preserve. It's a beautiful place in its own right....animals in the wild, waterfalls, trees. It gives new meaning to the phrase "oasis in the desert" because the surrounding area is completely barren. It was to this oasis that David fled to hide from King Saul who was pursuing him relentlessly. It's a bit surreal to think we were in the same place mentioned in 1 Samuel 24:1 ....."David is in the Desert of En Gedi." We hiked to David's Waterfall and soaked in the beauty of the area.

The next stop was Masada - the famous stone mesa rising 1300 feet above its surroundings and guarded by cliffs. Masada is known as the location of one of King Herod's palaces and, also, as the place where 967 Jews, who fled there after Rome defeated Jerusalem in AD 70, chose to commit suicide rather than be captured by the Roman soldiers. We had an excellent tour of Masada which has been very well excavated. We also got to experience how hot and dry that area is!!

An dip in the Dead Sea ended the day for our group. It's so salty that floating is effortless and you can't sink! We have heard that the salt and minerals are therapeutic. Maybe our muscles won't be so sore tomorrow?

We leave the Dead Sea tomorrow and head up to Galilee. We're looking forward to it! Oh, tomorrow is supposed to be hotter than today. Please pray that we can can prepare ourselves for the heat and not let it affect our explorations and learning!