Jerusalem to the Dead Sea and Masada

From the hills of Jerusalem to the lowest land on Earth. About 100 km by road. The trip starts in the Old City area at about 750 m above sea level and, within 35 km, drops more than 1,100 m to the Dead Sea shore, more than 400 m below sea level. You can see the ground change from olive groves and stone houses to bare desert hills and the salt lake.

The route. Jerusalem – Mount of Olives and Bethany – the Inn of the Good Samaritan – the canyon of Wadi Qelt – the north end of the Dead Sea – Qumran – Ein Feshkha – Ein Gedi – Masada. The last part runs south along the shore of the Dead Sea.

On the way. The old inn of the Good Samaritan is now a museum and a national park. In the cliffs of Wadi Qelt a Greek Orthodox monastery, St George of Choziba, hangs over the canyon. At Qumran the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in caves in 1947. Ein Gedi is a green oasis with waterfalls and ibex in the middle of the desert. Masada, the end of the route, is a fortress that King Herod built on a rock above the sea; the Romans took it in 73–74 CE after a long siege.

Good to know. It is very hot in summer: go early, take plenty of water and a hat. The Dead Sea is salty enough that you float: keep the water away from your eyes and do not shave before swimming.

Picture: Dead Sea shore near Ein Gedi, Mboesch, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Soundtrack: “Jerusalem of Gold” (Hebrew and English words) *Jerusalem of Gold*

אויר הרים צלול כיין

וריח אורנים
נישא ברוח הערביים
עם קול פעמונים.

ובתרדמת אילן ואבן
שבויה בחלומה
העיר אשר בדד יושבת
ובליבה חומה

ירושלים של זהב
ושל נחושת ושל אור
הלא לכל שירייך
אני כינור...

חזרנו אל בורות המים
לשוק ולכיכר
שופר קורא בהר הבית
בעיר העתיקה.

ובמערות אשר בסלע
אלפי שמשות זורחות
נשוב נרד אל ים המלח
בדרך יריחו.

אך בבואי היום לשיר לך
ולך לקשור כתרים
קטונתי מצעיר בנייך
ומאחרון המשוררים.

כי שמך צורב את השפתיים
כנשיקת שרף
אם אשכחך ירושלים
אשר כולה זהב

ירושלים של זהב...
The mountain air is clear as wine
And the scent of pines
Is carried on the breeze of twilight
With the sound of bells.

And in the slumber of tree and stone
Captured in her dream
The city that sits solitary
And in its midst is a wall.

Jerusalem of gold,
and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin
for all your songs.

We have returned to the cisterns
To the market and to the market-place
A ram's horn (shofar) calls out
(i.e. is being heard) on the Temple Mount
In the Old City.

And in the caves in the mountain
Thousands of suns shine -
We will once again descend to the Dead Sea
By way of Jericho!

Jerusalem of gold,
and of bronze and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

But as I come to sing to you today,
And to adorn crowns to you (i.e. to tell your praise)
I am the smallest of the youngest
of your children (i.e. the least worthy of doing so)
And of the last poet (i.e. of all the poets born).

For your name scorches the lips
Like the kiss of a seraph
If I forget thee, Jerusalem,
Which is all gold...

Jerusalem of gold, and of bronze, and of light
Behold I am a violin for all your songs.

Taken from lyricstranslate.com