Road to Eilat--the Dead Sea

Sunday's road trip to Eilat included multiple stops along the way. We saw the caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in Qumran, then onto the Dead Sea. Although the Dead Sea is dead, and drying up because the water from the Jordan River has been diverted into Jordan, it is rich in minerals which are continually mined by both the Israelis and the Jordanians. Rich potash used for fertilizers, magnisium, borium, and many other minerals are found here in vast quantities. Bathing in the Dead Sea was as bouyant as we have heard from others. You can't sink. Drowning can only happen if you purposefully lie face down, but the salty water is so vile, a few seconds on your tongue will make you want to go upright. On my skin, the water felt oily and smooth, quite delightful. We followed our short period of bathing with a complete mud bath, face, back, arms, legs. A few minutes to allow the mud to dry, then a wash with more dead sea water, and the wrinkles were gone--well maybe not gone. I figured we would need a few days wrapped in mud to make a substantial difference.
From the Dead Sea we went onto Masada. There was no opportunity to climb as we only had a few hours in total at the site. We road the cable car to the top. Masada, built by King Herod as a castle, was never designed to repel attackers. It was a pleasure spot, atop the mountain to catch the cool breezes and escape from the desert heat. No expense was spared. An elaborate water system brought water to the cisterns holding tanks. They were filled, bucket by bucket, by their slaves or workers. Can you imagine the first porter eyeing the empty cistern and being told to fill it carrying the buckets of water up the side of the mountain. Amaqzing what you can do when you have unlimited free help.
There are questions about Masada. Were the 965 Jews actually there? Only 28 bodies have been recovered from the site. Our friend Elliot warned us that this was a tourist hoax to create an attraction and earn money. Perhaps, although the narrative of Masada has been told throughout the ages and are referenced multiple times. We enjoyed our cable car tour, and walking about the mountain top.