This was always going to be a challenge – leaving the hotel by 7.30am after a late night, but we all managed to make it, if not by our by now ‘usual’ 10 minutes late. Avi explained on our drive down to Masada that it’s importance to the Jewish people is one of resistance and strength. Masada is a hilltop palace built by King Herod, right along side the Dead Sea (south of Jerusalem). It was surrounded in ancient times by the Romans against a group of rebels in the lead of Elazar Ben Yair. You can still see the many Roman army barracks, and their thick walls, completely surrounding Masada from the top of the mountain.
We went up by cable car (none of us was game enough to walk up the steep 813 steps in 36 degree heat), packed tightly in like sardines. Luckily the trip was only 2 ½ minutes long. Up the top of the mountain, we walked through all aspects of ‘Herod the Great’s’ palaces, including courtyards and entrance rooms with incredibly colourful and well-maintained stucco paintings.
NOTE: Despite it's cultural irrelevance, one French tourist must be mentioned. Dad was the first who noticed the man standing on top of Masada due to what he was wearing (or wasn't wearing to be more to the point). Black and white print board shorts, short caramel walking boots and a tiny enthic style embroided waistcoat. Thus began the debate as to whether this was an absolute fashion 'no'...or an incredibly daring fashion-forward and 'avant garde' stylish Frenchman. You can probably guess who was on each side of the argument...(sneaky photo taken on Henry's iphone to come...)
On the way back to Tel Aviv, we stopped at Ein Gedi, an oasis located west of the Dead Sea and very close to Masada. After walking up rocky stairs, climbing around boulders and not believing there could be any water around…we began to hear the rushing of waterfalls. It was beautiful to walk around one corner, where as far as you can see is dirt, sand, rock and mountains, and suddenly see lush greenery and an abundance of water. We went swimming for a while, with Henry in particular loving the water (which is spring fed all year round) as opposed to the salty water he has been used to swimming in lately, both at our hotel and in the Dead Sea (which is 33% salt!).
We sadly farewelled Avi on our return to the hotel. He proved to be the ‘rock’ of our trip, his calm demeanour and thinking ahead at each point of our journey is what has made our visit to Israel so well organised and enjoyable. He felt part of the family, and really fit in with us. Avi's website is - http://www.avi-ron.com/
We had Shabbat dinner at the hotel, which was quite the ‘scene’. We had prime seating, right at the entrance, so it ended up we could watch all the different characters walking into the dining area. Dad named one larger man humpty-dumpty (no need to elaborate), and the woman’s dress styles ranged from tight and short, to colourful and elegant. There was one boy, who couldn’t have been more than 9 years old, who wore the tightest skinny jeans any of us had ever seen (yes, even tighter then Henry’s!). At one point, two large tables of families seemed to be in competition as to who could sing the loudest…I’d call it a draw (or a ‘lose lose’, it depends how you look at it). Zac sang the Kiddush beautifully…and here ended our final Friday night Shabbat in Israel.
B & C
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