Middle East Travel Seminar: Sacred ground above the Dead Sea

BY ARDY SKIDMORE

We started our day saying goodbye to Jordan. We loved our time in this beautiful country and will carry many memories with us. We had an uneventful border crossing into Israel and now have another stamp in our passports. We crossed at Eliat and stopped at a nearby kibbutz to enjoy the “world’s best ice cream” which was in fact quite delicious.

Our journey continued from the northernmost tip of the Red Sea along the coast of the southern half of the Dead Sea. Along the way, we saw groves of date palms. A safari park with ostrich and the mining operations that extract minerals and salt from the sea.

At last, we reached our destination, Masada. A recent flood wiped out parts of the Snake Trail that winds to the top so the intrepid climbers in our group had to join the rest and take the cable car to the top. What a moving experience to walk through this archeological site! Our guide led us through the remains of the storehouses and King Herod’s palaces. We viewed the ramp built by slaves for the Roman legion of 15,000 soldiers to breach the wall of the fortress where 1,000 men, women and children lived atop this desolate rock far above the Dead Sea. Rather than live under Roman oppression, the Jewish Zealots decided to take their own lives. We knew we were walking on sacred ground. “Never again ” would they live under the Roman oppressors, “Never Again would they bow before anyone but God.”

We ended our day together at dinner with tables designated for the “Richmond Shepherds.”

Sweet rest and blessings await us this night.

Ardy Skidmore is a Master of Divinity student at Union.