Today was a hard day. We walked a lot today, in the scorching heat of the wilderness. I felt like I did fine, but it was wearing. There was a lot of complaining, and it was hard for a lot of people to pay attention. We went to a lot of tourist spots, which I thought took away from some of the significance. Most of the spots weren't biblical either, although they added to the context.
We first went to masada, a fortress on top of a huge plateau. It was amazing from the ground, but once you got in the city itself,
it didn't seem quite so impressive. Herod's palace was a colossal feat of building, but the rest seemed like a lot of what we had seen before. We spent a lot of time on masada, exploring and taking pictures.Next we went and floated in the Dead Sea. It really is a unique experience. It feels like you're in wet Jell-o, just thick enough to hold you up. After a couple minutes, it really burns. My neck started to burn, and i got splashed in the eye, so I got out quick.
After that we hiked En-Gedi, a natural spring in the wilderness. This is where David and his mighty men hid in caves fleeing from Saul. It is also the place where David had the opportunity to kill Saul, but cut off a corner of his robe instead. It is a critical passage that shows David's willingness to follow God's leading.
We ended the day at Qumran, which was scorching hot, on the northwest edge of the Dead Sea. There are a number of theories about who the people were, and what they did. The main thing about this site is what was found around it. This is the place where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. It was awesome to see the caves in the cliff walls and learn about the different theories of the scrolls as we sat there.
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