Masada, Jewish and Christian Quarters

Today we finally went to Masada. The road had been repaired and we had no trouble getting through this time. Masada is an ancient fortress in the Judean Desert and it is on a massive rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. It has a cable car but also a long path known as The Snake Path winding up the mountain. It was built around 30BCE. Among the ruins are King Herod's Palace and a Roman-style bathhouse.

A few of us were a little scared of the cable car because it was so high so we decided to walk the path. Our tour guide tried to talk us out of it but we were determined to do it. The following photos are all from our adventure up the mountain. The first photo is the mountain itself.

I made friends with these little guys up the top. They were very friendly. The bird in the front let me scratch his head.

I was brave and took the cable car back down the mountain and then we ate lunch before getting back on the bus and returning to Jerusalem. Here Amir, our guide, took us on a tour of the Jewish and Christian Quarters. The following photos are from the Jewish Quarter. Compared to the rest of Jerusalem it is very clean and well kept.

This entrance to the Jewish Quarter is accessed from the Christian Quarter but because of Shabbat it remains closed.

The following photos are from the Christian Quarter. The first photo is the entry into the Christian Quarter from the Jewish Quarter.

Tomorrow we are off to Golan Heights where we are going to eat at a famous fish restaurant and go to a winery where we will have a tour and a wine tasting session. It will be a long day, leaving at 7.30am and returning to the hotel at 8pm.