Tsell Harim Ein Bokek

... s saltiest sea, salt deposits lined the shore leaving it toothpaste white. As we sped along the Jordanian cliffs that border the Dead Sea, the sun was starting to set over my shoulder, meaning two things. The first was that I'd be getting a real treat: the sunset over the Israeli mountains (which was absolutely breathtaking) and the second was that we didn't have much time before dark. I still had to get my Dead Sea swim in. With ...

... das Fernlicht ein und rasen ins Abenteuer. Die Strasse ist besser als erwartet. Und selbst am gelegentlichen Gegenverkehr kommen wir gut vorbei. Spannend sind dennoch die Serpentinen und kleinen und großen Bodenwellen. Ebenso die scharfen Kurven und die dunkle Nacht rings um einen. Wobei es doch relativ hell war, da nur 1-2 Tage vorher Vollmond war. Auf einem Berg machen wir eine Verschnaufpause und schauen uns die atemberaubende Landschaft an. Das Bild war dank des Mondes möglich ...

... for Greg but he made it up eventually!<br><br>Once at the top I learned about the story - why Mazada is so famous here. The romans were trying to capture the final people in the area and they all ascended up to Mazada to protect themselves from the Romans, it is a very good stronghold and 900+ people went up there. They lasted a year or so as they stockpiled massive amounts of food and water and used a basic rationing system. After a while the romans tried building ramps (which the ...

... had our swim we grabbed our 3 Jordain Dinnars, gave it to the life guard and then we could smother ourselves with as much Dead Sea mud as we could. Now the DS mud actually comes from a few meters under the sea so you see why you have to pay. Although saying that 3JD (about £3) is nothing to pay to get the mud as you see packets of this stuff selling for about £20-£40 and that is just for a small packet. We had a bucket of this stuff at our disposal. So we ...

... drove down a ways to Masada. I had a very vague notion of what was there, but I was quite surprised by what I saw. It was actually a retreat and palace built by Herod to use in case of emergency. It's high on a cliff. In fact, when you go there, you can choose to climb up the hill (no thanks), or you can take a cable car up. At the top are very well-preserved remnants of the palace, stables, warehouses, etc, that Herod and his ...

... down and up so nobody has to push a button for the floor they want.  Good times.  Don't gotta lift a finger tomorrow.  Just like New York City when my Jewish neighbors knocked on my door Friday nights asking me as a non-jew to twist the light bulb of their fridge so it would be out when they open the door.  That way when they open the fridge they wouldn't be doing work cuz the light wouldn't go on.  Huh?  Yeah, I'm confused to, but I obliged cuz I'm tolerant that way. :) 

Well this is last day, sob, sob. The Petra by night was a very special event. It is not a sound and vision event but a very simple time. The way from the gate is lit by candles in paper bags. You are asked to not talk or use flash cameras, this means you just hear the tramping of feet and the russle of clothing. I needed most of my clothes and my boots for it was very cold. As you walk through the Siq sound echos of the walls and the candles light the way everyone joins arms in ...

... to 32 JD so we are off. I had found 5 JD bill on the road to the station (just a parking lot), Len had walked right over it! So the ride was only 27 JD. It was an incredible ride! It is still windy out and lots of low clouds in these high mountains. At times we crawled along with the clouds so thick we couldn't see in front of us. Then we saw snow on the edge and at one point quite a lot in a high place. We soon came to the Shobak area to see the ...

... the cable gondola up the mountainside and had a 90 minute visit of the palace area. The visit included models of the whole installation to help us get our bearings, the store houses , and the ruins of Herod's palace itself. We also saw cisterns (very important in the arid climate), a synagogue installed by the zealots and the area where potsherds bearing names were found, possible the site where lots were draws to decide who would be responsible for dispatching the ...

... camping or hiking, but I drink a lot of water so I learned on this trip how to find a spot in the desert to pee! It was interesting... That night, we went for a Bedouin dinner where we were served with "Bedouin hospitality" tea, coffee, and a full dinner all while sitting on the floor in a tent. Afterwards, a group of drummers performed for us while we watched &amp; danced, a very fun night. The last day of ...