March 2017 - Dead Sea
We went to three sites along the Dead Sea. The first was Ein Gedi, an oasis. I was mostly interested in seeing a Nubian ibex, and we were successful. We then went to Masada, the mountain fortress where the Jewish War met its inevitable end. The ability of the Romans to conquer such an amazing fortress was quite impressive. Finally we went to a beach on the Dead Sea. I had pretty low expectations for that - so you get in and float in the water? That'll take like 5 minutes to get bored, right? Nope, it was _really_ cool. The buoyancy effect was _very_ strong, and it was just such a cool experience.
We went to three sites along the Dead Sea. The first was Ein Gedi, an oasis. I was mostly interested in seeing a Nubian ibex, and we were successful. We then went to Masada, the mountain fortress where the Jewish War met its inevitable end. The ability of the Romans to conquer such an amazing fortress was quite impressive. Finally we went to a beach on the Dead Sea. I had pretty low expectations for that - so you get in and float in the water? That'll take like 5 minutes to get bored, right? Nope, it was _really_ cool. The buoyancy effect was _very_ strong, and it was just such a cool experience.
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| "A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho" | A classic look for a rock hyrax. They love to sprawl! | |
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| The first waterfall we encountered | An adorable rock hyrax puppy! Or is it cub... | Patches of green surrounding the water as it flows down the canyon |
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| Increasingly green as we get closer to the main fall | David's Waterfall | A true oasis in the desert |
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| The oasis tucked into the canyon, with dessert all around | ||
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| The view out to the Dead Sea | Salt-encrusted bays | A Nubian ibex on the mountainside above us! |
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| A family of Nubian ibex: two adults and a little one | A curious blackstart | A Tristam's starling, lots of them hang out at the park |
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| Portrait | The mountain fortress of Masada! | Riding the cable car to the top |
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| The old entrance to Masada | The snake path winding it's way up | The footprints of the Roman siege forts, along with the ruined circumvallation wall! |
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| Some ruins on top | Harsh desert all the way to the dead sea, even in the spring | |
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| The plateau of Masada is very large, as is its height above the valley floor | The deep canyon on the backside | Descending into the cistern |
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| Inside the enormous cistern, one of many | A beautiful mosaic floor at the baths | A golden spiny mouse, hanging out near its hole |
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| The golden spiny mouse is normally nocturnal but can switch its circadian rhythm to become diurnal under competition. It's a pretty cool little creature. | Another Roman fort and piece of the circumvallation wall | The earthen ramp that the Romans built to take the fortress |
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| Looking down the ramp to the valley floor waaaaay below | A pigeon coop. For meat. Gross. | The really interesting wall art of the byzantine church that was built on the ruins |
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| The mosaic floor in the church | Yet another Roman fort | The northern palace, built on a series of cliff terraces |
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| Down at the lowest level of the palace | A beautiful interior | |
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| The mountain ridge off to the north | ||
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| The path down to the north palace | The circumvallation wall, still hear after 2000 years | At the Dead Sea! |
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| Giant salt deposits on the sea floor | Floating. That's what you do at the Dead Sea. | |
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| The beach at Ein Bokek |