JORDAN/ISRAEL DAY 7-THURS. OCT. 22, 2015

   

We had a 5 AM wake up call and breakfast at 6 and had to be on the bus by 7 AM.  We took our luggage up just before breakfast and we were ready to go.  We really did not see much leaving Jordan.  Jordan is such a poor country.  The desert area certainly does not produce much in the way of agriculture.  Their tourism is also way down.  In fact, Sam, our guide said that 28 large hotels in Petra are now closed due to lack of tourism.  It is no wonder the children and the people of Jordan waved to the bus as we passed by.   They definitely need tourism to spur their economy since it is really lackluster.  Near the border and the town of Agaba, the countryside actually looked pretty good since they are located on the Red Sea.  Hopefully that will bring in more commercial businesses as well as industry and transportation.

Several military vehicles were parked around a town that had a resident recently killed by the government during a drug bust. Drug dealing is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia so the traffic is moving into Jordan. They add small amounts to coffee which is extremely popular and get people hooked. The town's residents were causing trouble because of tribal loyalties to the person killed. Therefore, the government has stationed police/military vehicles like this around the town for the last week as a show of force.

It did take us quite awhile to cross the border into Israel.  They are serious about their security.  Walt was taken to another curtained room and wanded because he kept setting off the security sound.  His pants have lots of zippers, so that must have been the problem.  We actually went through very quickly, but we travel quite lightly and that helps when in that type of situation.  Some of the large bags winch were bulging really were scrutinized and opened and rifled through.  One guy in the group slammed down his suitcase in a huff and everything was gone through and he ended up having to repack his stuff in both of his bags.  They were also understaffed which was also a problem.

We had a two hour drive to Masada so the majority on the bus were sleeping.  Our guide did give a little historical information while everyone still had their eyes open.  The scenery is desert with a valley and mountains in the background, mostly light brown in all directions.  The trees and agriculture are sparse.  There is some agriculture but that is hit and miss.  The date palm is one of the few plants or trees that survive and grow in the desert with the little water.

Masada is really a palace that King Herod built as a refuge but never used it as that.  It was very self sufficient with a planned out water supply and some agriculture. This is in the middle of the desert near the Dead Sea, so that is a feat in itself.  It was occupied but not by him for any length of time.We did hike up to the top and enjoyed some terrific views on the way up.  We saw the quarry where they used some of the huge rocks and how they also painted the walls to resemble marble.  The ideas and plans were very Roman.  He had a bath house and sauna which would not have really been essential in a palace in the desert, but it had to conform to the Roman style.  It was a neat place in its day and what has been restored gives you a good idea of that type of lifestyle.  

We are ready for our hike.  Another gal also hiked and the three of us were up before the cable car left. It was a 43 minute hike even with stopping to take photos and get something to drink.

The ramp used by the Romans to take over Masada.

This is the siege machine from the movie "Masada".

We did drive past a cave area where a shepherd boy discovered what are called the Dead Sea scrolls.  

It should be the top right cave which is cave number 4 where the Dead Sea scrolls were found.

We got into Jerusalem about dusk and did go to an overlook to see this special place on earth.  Our guide brought a couple bottles of wine to celebrate our visit to this unique place.  This is one of the places that you read about or dream about and have a difficult time believing you are actually in that place.  It was really quite a memorable moment.

Two fisted drinker.  One is never enough. 😀

Jerusalem overlook.