One Final Tourist Weekend

There are some things that almost everyone who visits Israel tries to do (depending on their religious affiliation): The Western Wall, Bethlehem, Nazareth, the Dome of the Rock, wanderings in the Old City of Jerusalem.  With mere hours to spare before we leave, we managed to hit on three big ones: Yad Vashem, Masada, and the Dead Sea.  I am privately referring to it as our "Trip of Death."

Yad Vashem is Israel's Holocaust Museum.  The name loosely means "Know the Name," a reference to the fact that the goal is to have people see the human side to one of the 20th century's great atrocities.  Our visit there was almost a non-starter.  We had booked a private guide, figuring the s/he would be able to tailor the tour to our family.  We knew that you had to be 10 to enter.  So we told the girls that we were going to lie about their age.  What we didn't know is that when we checked in, they wanted documentation of their age -- passport, ID, anything.  Quick thinking Dad that I am, when they asked for the girls' birthdate, I said, "June 4, 2009" to which they replied, "I give them permission."  If only proving age was that easy anywhere else...

There is no doubt that Yad Vashem is depressing.  It has to be, for it tells briefly of Jewish life in Europe before World War 2, shows how their situation changed dramatically, and highlights all of the evils that were inflicted upon them.  You can't help but be sad, morose, depressed, select-your-favorite-synonym-here.

But there's more.  There are memorials and remembrances of those who worked hard, at risk of their own lives, to save Jews.  The memorial on the right is to Janusz Korchak, a Polish-Jewish educator who was the director of an orphanage -- he did everything he could to save the children but when he couldn't he was there to comfort them in their last days.  There is also the Garden of the Righteous, a tree-lined passageway dedicated to all of the Europeans who did what they could to save the Jews.

It was hard to tell how Gabi and Alice were impacted by this but they were quieter than normal during the tour.  I suspect some of it sank in but only time will tell how much.

How do we move on from Yad Vashem?  By having a 2am wake-up and taking a bus 90 minutes to Masada.  Masada is atop 400 meter high mesa in the desert.  It was the site of a Herodean fortress from around the year 0.  And it was the site of a mass suicide pact by Jews who holed up after the Romans destroyed the Second Temple in 70 CE - rather than give in to the Roman and be their slaves, the Jews decided to die by their own hands.  Pretty gruesome.

There are 3 ways up: cable car, the snake path (so-called for it's switchback, winding path), and the Roman siege ramp (you walk up the ramp that the Romans build to get to the Jews atop Masada).  The snake path may be the most famous and it's the one we took.  50 minutes to get up.  Lots of panting and strong, fast heart beats.  And sweating when we were done, even though it was about 50 degrees.  But it was all worth it for this view at approximately 6:30am.

Absolutely spectacular and absolutely worthy every aching bone and screaming muscle in our bodies.

Last stop on the "Tour of Death": the Dead Sea.  It's the lowest point on Earth, 430 meters below sea level.  It is so salty that nothing lives in it.  There are signs posted that remind you not to rub your eyes, not to drink the water, that if you do swallow water you need to immediately see a lifeguard, etc.  It's hard to avoid getting a drop somewhere close to your lips and I can attest to the water being saltier than anything I've ever tasted.  Take the ocean and multiply by 100 or more.

Everyone who has been told about the Dead Sea hears that you can't sink.  The water is so salty that you can't help but float.  Alice and Gabi weren't sold and took way too long to try for themselves, but they did eventually get the hang of it and seemed to have a good time.

Yeah, they're the typical tourist pictures at the Dead Sea but we were playing tourists for a couple of days and needed to do the typical tourist thing.  But boy did the showers later in the day feel good.