Journey to Jerusalem

Going 'boom-boom' the old school way!

From Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee in the north we traveled south to the Dead Sea. On the drive we where able to stop at the fortress plateau of Masada. This historical site is located on the eastern fringe of the Judean Desert near the shore of the Dead Sea. Here, a lone mountain bloc rises out from its surroundings and forms a natural defence, King Herod recognized this and built a palace there. When the Roman's began to destroy the Holy Land after a revolt from the people in 66 A.D. this became the last resistance effort for the Jews. An eight month siege ensued here and left the residence trapped inside with the terrible choice of either life as a slave's or death by their own hands, they choose the latter.

I am beginning to realize that I cannot write a paragraph for each site visited because I will quickly run out of room. So jumping ahead, the next experience was floating in the Dead Sea. It definitely lived up to the hype. Although I could not believe how salty the water tasted. I got a very small amount into my mouth and the taste remained for hours. A quick warning to anyone planning on going to the Dead Sea, do not get in your eyes, nose or mouth!

Ruins at Bet She'an.

From the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on earth by the way, we made our assent to Jerusalem. But not before stopping at Qumran where the Dead Sea Scrolls were located. If you know anything about these scrolls you know I cannot even begin to discus them here, but I will say I learned a very interesting theory claiming the Essenes did not write the scrolls but they were actually the holy scrolls from the temple which left with the High Priests because of the Antiochus Epiphanies and lunar calendar drama! Exciting right?

Storage room on top of Masada.

For those readers that care more about the personal side of our trip I have not forgot you. The three Huisman boys are doing alright, although the absolute joy of spending 24 hours a day, seven days a week with one another is starting to fade. Thankfully I know that when you look back on a trip like this you rarely remember the negatives, whether be the long bus rides, nights kept awake by snoring, or occasional annoyance of family members. Instead these memories become the ones you laugh about and bring you closer down the road… I hope! Thanks again for reading, check back soon for our Jerusalem adventures.

--Kevin


**Photo credit for this blog post, and this post alone, belongs to Kevin Huisman.