Things to do in Israel, Masada

Israel

In the previous post, I talked about the two main cities of Israel, now I want to share pictures of my trip to Palestine and show a bit about the contradictions of that territory, and my last days in Jerusalem and Israel in general.

Palestine

The difference between Israel and Palestine is clear, you can see it and feel it immediately. From Damascus Gate in Jerusalem to Bethlehem is like 10 km, but the trip is really long and difficult, of course not for tourists but for Palestinians.

Anyway, I really enjoyed Palestine, the people, and the atmosphere, and I felt that people there, even if they suffer, can be friendly, smile and enjoy life more than what we do in Europe.

Bethlehem

Shopping

We took a Palestinian bus from Damascus Gate in Jerusalem to Bayt Jala and then from there we walked to Bethlehem. It was a 2 km walk through a market or a local shopping area. It was simply amazing! I liked to see locals shopping, a lot of good food, something really authentic and spontaneous.

Rooftop

In Bethlehem, we went to the nativity church, and just randomly we had the opportunity to meet a priest from the Armenian part of the church, and because I was travelling with an Armenian friend we had a "VIP" tour of the church, for example, we went on the rooftop. 

Bells

Something I never imagined could happen was to see the deacon ringing the bells on the rooftop before the service. Of course, we went also to the service, and after it, a priest showed us the nativity church: Catholic, Greek and Armenian parts. This is only because I have an amazing friend.

Youth

In the Armenian part of the Nativity Church lives 3 families, hosted by the priests. Visiting the church with the tour offered by the priest I saw kids playing, like the one in the picture, it expresses how youth should be, and it makes me think how many children don't have this fortune, and also how it could grow up in a church.

The wall

This is the wall between Israel and Palestine, see it gave me controversial feelings: how a wall could be a tourist attraction?. I was feeling sad about it but also interested because in some way I was able to see it, and maybe understand the situation a bit, understand from something that I was reading about but never face directly.

Banksy

Banksy did a famous graffiti on the wall, and also this walled-off hotel in the picture. I think is possible to sleep there with the view of the wall, anyway inside you can learn about the conflict and Palestine. 

I have to tell you that coming back to Israel I passed the checkpoint without a passport, only with my ID. I was really lucky; also because Palestinian have to pass the checkpoint walking, I felt really bad for them, very discriminatory!.

Jerusalem

I imagined the old city as really big, like all of Jerusalem; I was shocked when I saw how small it is (1 square km). Inside it, there are several sites of key religious importance: the temple mount and western wall for Jews, the church of holy sepulchre for Christians, the Dome of the Rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque for Muslims. Since 1981 it is a UNESCO world heritage site. 

Old City

Jaffa gate

Back from Palestine, we stopped at the old city. I took this picture because I liked the oranges stand, I saw a lot of this stand in Palestine, and I liked the orange from the stand and the colours of the sunset.

Devotion

The day after, one of the first things we went to see in the old city was the church of the holy sepulchre. Like it was for the western wall I was impressed by the devotion of the people, and I felt the holiness of the place and how it was important for the observant.

I sit down for a while inside the church, because my Armenian friend was talking with a priest, and I was observing people turning on candles, I like the composition of the picture and the curiosity on the face of the kid on the left.

Israeli cats

This picture is from the Muslim quarter, we were there searching for food. The main reason I took it is because of the cat: he/she is looking at my friends leaving and thinking "Where are you going?".

There are a lot of stray cats in Israel, some of them really tender, of course, because they are looking for food, they understand how to deal with tourists.

Note in the wall

After lunch, we went again to the western wall. It was an opportunity to see it in a less crowded situation than the Shabbat: this time I was able to wear the kippah and go close to the wall.

At the wall there are separate areas for men and women, this is more a political decision, to bring the rule from the synagogue to the wall, for sure before 1967 was normal to pray all together at the wall. 

It was a Sunday, and it was incredible to see how many people were praying there, and it surprise me to see young people there.

Al-Aqsa

We couldn't get to the part where there is the temple mount, the dome in the rock and the Al-Aqsa mosque. The only possibility was to find a panoramic point to see the famous golden dome of the mosque. 

Masada

Desert

Masada is part of the Judaean desert, it is in Israel and the West Bank that lies east of Jerusalem and descends to the Dead Sea. Major urban areas in the region include Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jericho and Hebron.
The picture is from the top of the terrace where Masada is, and at the horizon is possible to see a piece of the Dead Sea.

Terrace to the Wadi

The cliff of Masada is a horst. Herod built a 4 m high casemate wall around the plateau totalling 1,3 km in length, reinforced by many towers. The natural approaches to the fortress are very difficult to navigate. 
We went to Masada on an organised trip from Jerusalem. The fortress is a must-see, what you can see from the top is really amazing, something that you can't forget.

Ruins

Masada is an ancient fortification, Herod the Great built two palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BCE. Before visiting the fortress is possible to see a video about the siege of Masada by Roman troops from 73 to 74 BCE, it explains how they built a massive earth ramp on the western side of the fortress, then pushed a siege tower up the ramp. When they entered the fortress, however, they discovered that its 960 inhabitants had committed mass suicide, preferring death at their own hands to slavery or execution. 

 Ein Gedi

Should I jump?

Ein Gedi nature reserve is one of the most important reserves in Israel. The park is situated on the eastern border of the Judean Desert, on the Dead Sea coast, and covers an area of 14 square km.

The first thing that I found in the park was this pond with a waterfall, I really enjoyed putting my feet in the water and getting some sunshine.

Oasis in the desert

Inside the oasis, you can walk following a path, but also sit down, relax, but you can't eat. I walked around watching nature, there are a lot of different plants and animals inside the park, and also some natural pools where you can take a bath. When I watch this picture I like to compare it to a lady enjoying the shadow in a city park.

Waterfall

Following the path you arrive to see this waterfall, it's one of the main things to see in this park. Yes, the picture is not good, it doesn't show up how the waterfall is beautiful, but I'm not really good at this type of picture, nature pictures are not my type, I need a person (model) in it and in this situation was difficult to find one.

The path to the blue

A nice thing about this park is that you can have a nice view of the Dead Sea, unfortunately, with the organised trip I didn't have time to go to the highest point of the oasis and have the best view. Anyway, I think that this picture explains a lot about the beauty of this place.

Dead Sea

The lowest point on earth

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth on dry land, the elevation is -430 m below sea level. The unusual level of salinity gives it natural buoyancy. People easily float on the surface, yes I took the picture while I was floating and reading a book, but I don't want to show it. The water from the Dead Sea is believed to have cosmetic and health benefits, yes I have a picture while I was completely covered in the mud, but I don't want to show it, after it, my skin was very smooth.