FUN-travel: Holy Land – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – Day 9
April 9, 2013 by Susan Clarke
The ABC’s of The Holy Land
A = Awesome
B = Bummer
C = Celebration
Trip Day 63 – Tuesday, April 2 – Mitspe Ramon to Dead Sea, Israel – sunny, hazy, breezy – high 80’s
- A – 7:00 – wake up & can see crater! air quality mysteriously cleared
- B – breakfast doesn’t start until 7:30 – only powder coffee in room – order milk from room service, not hot!
- A – 7:45 – cappuccino really good in dining room – really nice spread – make egg salad & tuna fish sandwiches (still kosher, can’t have meat & cheese together)
- 9:00 – check out & take off
- 11:00 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea to drop luggage
Northern Palace Wall
- 1st stop – 12:00 – Masada – isolated palatial fortress on plateau 1,300 ft above banks of Dead Sea – to get there you either take a cable car or walk up steep snake path which takes 45 to 60 mins
- 2000’ long & 900’ wide – 2nd century BC – then enlarged & reinforced by Herod the Great who added 2 luxurious palaces
- Northern Palace Complex includes…
- A – Hanging Palace over 90’ high – Herod’s private residence built on 3 levels tiered on edge of mountain top, middle is circular hall used for entertaining, lower had bathhouse
- Western Palace includes…
- rooms for guests, lots of mosaics & frescos – also has hot baths, huge cisterns for water, commandant’s quarters & the oldest synagogue
- 1:30 – drive back to hotel
Bathhouse Floor
- 2nd stop – 2:30 – arrive Isrotel Ganim Dead Sea
- 2:45 – head to Dead Sea to swim & rub therapeutic mud on body
- B – have to buy mud – thought it was along the bank
- 4:00 – beer break & shopping – Ahava makes best Dead Sea skin products
- B – internet charge – 1 hr for consecutive 60 mins = $7.50
- 5:30 – nature walk to Ein Bokek spring – natural spring in desert w/waterfall – need to walk in the stream to do that, so cut walk short – reality is, this is not a tourist spot, filled w/ locals
- 6:15 – return to hotel
- 7:00 – dinner included – not very good buffet
Dead Sea
FF – (FUN-fact) – The Dead Sea is actually a lake with half lying in Jordan, half in Israel. At 1,348 feet below sea level it’s the lowest point on earth.
More FF – Masada made UNESCO World Heritage List in 2001. The camps, fortifications, and assault ramp at its base constitute the most complete surviving ancient Romans siege system in the world.
Not so FF – I could not believe that the Isrotel hotels today and yesterday were remotely related. The room wasn’t that bad but the service and food were horrible here. We are on the water and there is no outdoor patio connected to the hotel or room balcony.