Today (Thursday), we woke up bright and early at 4:30 a.m. after an amazing stay at
Kfar Hanokdim, a (somewhat) traditional Bedouin hospitality. After
waking up, we quickly packed our bags, ate a small snack of biscuits and
the most delicious tea I ever had, and rushed
to the bus. After the10 minute drive we arrived at Mt Masada in the
middle of the Judaen desert. After packing a few bottles of water and a
couple extra layers, we set off on the path to the top created during
the Roman siege. Once we arrived at the top, and
entered through the gate, the entire mountain appeared before us!
We looked around where the Jewish community had made its home on the top
of the mountain as they tried to hide from the Roman army. We could see
the semi destroyed wall which had protected both
the Romans and the Jews inside for so long. Inside the wall one can see a
mix of both Roman and Jewish influences, from the mikvah and synagogue
of the Jews, to roman flooring and plaster.
A watch tower in the
middle provided a great view of the mountain top and surrounding camps
and landscape. After learning about the siege and what happened once the
Jews inside realized that the wall would be
breached, we took the cable car down the other side of the mountain. In
the cable car we got a beautiful view of not only the Dead Sea, but also
the place that it has receded from over time. Once at the bottom of the
mountain we set out for Jerusalem... but
due to a horrible snow storm( a few centimeters,) we headed to Tel Aviv instead.
We arrived for lunch at an Arab restaurant outside Jerusalem in a
village called Abu Ghosh and ate delicious traditional Middle
Eastern food. Once back on the bus we set out to our final
stop of the day. Once we arrived at the Artplus Hotel in Tel Aviv, which
has a very modern design and furnishing along with beautiful hand
painted/crafted artwork that adorned the walls, we unpacked,settled
in and relaxed until dinner. After a few hours of
resting, we set out for dinner to Cafe Piazza, an Italian restaurant
whose motto is " Made in Italy, served in Israel." There we enjoyed a
meal of pizza and salads. After this meal we headed out for coffee and
ice cream at Leggenda. After our dessert we headed
back to the hotel and enjoyed some much needed rest.
-Thomas McMahon
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