Day 12 - July 2, 2008

The morning started off with a quick tour of the kibbutz that was next to our hotel. It was interesting to learn that a kibbutz is several families that live together and share everything. They don't own anything because it belongs to everyone. There are elected officials that make the decisions on behalf of everyone. It was educational to learn about their lifestyles. Then we headed off excited for a day of....driving. :(

It was hard to leave the Sea of Galilee behind, but with Jerusalem on our minds we were willing to go. Our first rest stop also had a marker to show that this was the lowest place on earth even though on the marker it looks like birth instead of earth.

Then we continued onto Masada, which was such an intriguing story. The short version is that this was once the palace of Herod the Great. In later years the zealots, a group of Jews, hid here to escape from the Romans. However, the Romans didn't give up and surrounded the mountain and for three years built a ramp up to the mountain. When the Romans arrived at the top they found that the people had committed suicide, which is completely against the Jewish beliefs. It was pretty insane to walk the grounds and learn about the story. We ate lunch and bought some Dead Sea skin products.

After Masada, we visited the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. Then we headed over to the Dead Sea to float around. It was quite the experience. First we had to change into our swimsuits, which was an adventure. The bathrooms were small and hard to move around in. Did I mention it was hot? Monica and I were sweating to the oldies just in the changing room! Finally we went down to the water and struggled trying to get in as the mud sucks you in like quicksand. We quickly realized the way to get it was just lay down since you'll float and then move your way to deeper waters. We had fun floating around, running in water and trying not to get the water in our eyes. Then we covered ourselves in mud...what else would you do? As we waited for the mud to dry, Monica grabbed a handful of mud from a bucket that didn't belong to her and she got busted, but it was worth it. We rinsed off and went back to our sweaty changing rooms.

After all the fun we drove to Jerusalem. As we approached excitement filled the bus with our first look at the city. As we came out of a tunnel the first thing that stood out was the Dome of the Rock. It is a beautiful city and we can't wait to see more of it. We made a quick stop at Jimmy's Bazaar, who sells olive wood figurines and nativities. Then we went to our hotel the Olive Tree Hotel. We ate dinner, which was fabulous. Then settled in for the night.