Nature reserve and Qumran
Thursday afternoon Jonathan and I went to a nature reserve and to Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. We went with a bunch of Israeli soldiers, on that same program that had fed us all lunch before.
The nature reserve was interesting, but a little bit scary – we found out that it’s the only reserve in Israel that’s actually increasing annually, since the Dead Sea is receding. There’s one spot from 1984 with a sign “Stairs to Dead Sea,” that’s now almost 2 km from the Sea of today.
Qumran was fascinating. It’s so close to the Dead Sea, I hadn’t realized. And the caves are huge, and HIGH up. I’d seen pictures before, but had never realized the scale. We wandered around the ruins for a bit – what was identifiable was eating halls, storage, water cisterns, and ritual baths. Then we walked to the caves, where the scrolls were discovered by Bedouins in the 1940s. Scholars assume that they belonged to the Essenes, a sect of Judaism that was unhappy with the rule of the Hasmoneans (think Hanukkah Maccabees).
This is the view looking down on the ruins of Qumran, with the Dead Sea and Jordan behind it:
Walking up to one of the caves:
Click here for more pictures.
The nature reserve was interesting, but a little bit scary – we found out that it’s the only reserve in Israel that’s actually increasing annually, since the Dead Sea is receding. There’s one spot from 1984 with a sign “Stairs to Dead Sea,” that’s now almost 2 km from the Sea of today.
Qumran was fascinating. It’s so close to the Dead Sea, I hadn’t realized. And the caves are huge, and HIGH up. I’d seen pictures before, but had never realized the scale. We wandered around the ruins for a bit – what was identifiable was eating halls, storage, water cisterns, and ritual baths. Then we walked to the caves, where the scrolls were discovered by Bedouins in the 1940s. Scholars assume that they belonged to the Essenes, a sect of Judaism that was unhappy with the rule of the Hasmoneans (think Hanukkah Maccabees).
This is the view looking down on the ruins of Qumran, with the Dead Sea and Jordan behind it:
Walking up to one of the caves:
Click here for more pictures.
posted by Michal at 10:37 AM
7 Comments:
i don't understand. does the actual dead sea no longer exist? the pictures of the guys 'floating' showed that they were actually on desert ground.
mom
They were on the ground. Maybe I didn't write it very well; the Dead Sea *had* been there in 1984, but it's receded 2 km by now.
Ok, I understood it when you mentioned it in your entry but was confused by the comment at the picture.
Love you,
Mom
ah, right right. oops! sarcasm doesn't come across well without the verbal cues!
The drying up of the Dead Sea is a major catastrophe in the making. Your visual proof of it is heartrending. We're looking for ways to bring it back to life, with hopes that we can succeed. Let's see what happens with the Red-Dead project...one idea on the table.
Savta
That's so true, Savta - I have faith! :)
Your photographs of the caves of Qumran are spectacular. You can only appreciate how inaccessible they are if you spot those itsy-bitsy people at the bottom of the picture with the cave way up at the top. I remember many years ago when Chief Rabbi Shlomo Goren (also Chief Chaplain of the Army) was lowered from a helicopter to the cave at Qumran because you couldn't get there from down below the way you did.
I've been in Israel for 30 years, and if I were to live here for another 30 years, I still wouldn't get to see and experience the country the way you have in these few months!!!!!
yer Savta
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