Roadtrip to the South of Israel!!!

From July 29-July 31, we drove down to the Negev (the desert) to see the southern parts of Israel. We stayed in Kibbutz Eilot, in Eliat, Israel. The city is located on the Red Sea and borders the countries: Jordan and Egypt. You can even see Saudi Arabia across the Red Sea.

July 29: On our way to Eliat, we stopped at Masada, an ancient site of palaces and fortresses. The place became famous after the First Jewish-Roman War when the siege of the area by the troops of the Roman Empire led to a mass suicide of the Jewish people living there when defeat became imminent. After touring the entire city, we drove further to the Dead Sea where we swam/floated for nearly an hour. It was definitely quite an experience. The salt content of the water was so high that the water does not go above your neck when floating and any open cuts/wounds would burn. We didn't find the mud that was synonymous with the Dead Sea, as we were further south, but we did notice that below the water were golf ball sized salt "balls/crystals" that made it difficult to walk. We found that amusing. After our fun in the Dead Sea, we drove to our Kibbutz and we grabbed dinner at the local shopping mall.

July 30: We woke up at about 6am so we could eat breakfast at about 7am. We had to get up early because we were leaving for Petra, which is in Jordan. Petra is known for its rock-cut architecture, which were done by the Nabateans, an Aramaic-speaking Semites. We entered the site through the modern visitors, which approached the ancient site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge (in places only 3–4 meters wide) called the Siq ("the shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, which we know as "the Treasury". It blew my mind because it was impressive how they were able to do this during a time without any machines. On our way back, Patrick and I rode horses through the Siq to get back to our group in time for lunch. Then we headed back for Eilat, Israel.

July 31: Our last day in Eliat was very relaxed and free-flowing. We decided to go snorkeling in the coral reefs of the Red Sea. OMG! It was amazing. The water was so clear that we could see all the tropical fishes swim around and all the reefs. It was my favorite activity (besides Petra). We spent the entire morning just swimming and enjoying the sun until we had to leave at noon to head back to Jerusalem. It was four hour drive but we made stops along the way. At one of our stops we went to look at a gigantic natural crater that was formed nearly 4 million years ago. It was as impressive as the Grand Canyon in Nevada. With all of the traffic and stops, we made it to Jerusalem in perfect timing and came in around 6pm, in time for the PBI festival for St. Ignatius of Loyola.