Page 20 - Holyland Magazine - 2019 Edition

The Dead Sea's salty shore in
summer. Photo: Shutterstock
By Reuven Doron
Traveling east from the City of Jerusalem,
the vistas of green mountain slopes and
lush valleys quickly change to epic views
of waterless and arid harsh terrain as you rugged mountains rise in hues of red against
descend into the depth of the Syrian-
African Fault. This geological phenomenon
created the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan Valley
and the Dead Sea, carving the earth’s surface
all the way to Africa. Within minutes of
leaving behind the buzz and sophistication of
downtown Jerusalem, the Judaean wilderness
swallows up all echoes of the modern world,
and at once you are transported to an ancient,
mysterious and much quieter realm as you
descend nearly 3,500 feet to the lowest point
on planet earth.
The Dead Sea, like a huge bowl of azure blue
molasses, stretches narrow and long between
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The strongho
the nations of Israel and Jordan with its white
shores connecting the golden browns of
the landscape to the deep blue waters. The
the bluest blue of the Sea, while lavender and
purple streak the skies as the sun sets over
the wilderness, inviting the thick silence of the
desert night. Nothing lives in these waters,
neither fish nor plant, ever since the fire of God King Saul. I-Samuel 23:29 describes David’s
consumed the region, and the only points of
color and life along the long and lonely shores
are isolated spa resorts and hotels offering the
visitor a truly “out of this world” experience.
There are numerous springs in the area, most
of them too salty to support life. The Spring of
Ein Gedi, however, one of only two fresh water
springs, forms the largest and most beloved
oasis along the western shore of the Dead
Sea. Supporting human habitation, agriculture
and industry for thousands of years, Ein Gedi
appears in the Bible many times starting in the
book of Joshua Chapter 15 as one of the sites
allotted to the tribe of Judah. This wilderness
oasis rose to prominence as the community
appears again in the colorful story of David
during his early years of fleeing the madness of
narrow escape from Saul’s pursuing army
saying: “Then David went up from there and
dwelt in strongholds at Ein Gedi.”
Traveling to the oasis of of Ein Gedi today and
hiking alongside the twisting riverbed all the way
to the hidden waterfalls and the upper springs,
no visitor can remain untouched by the rugged
beauty of what the bible calls the “strongholds
at Ein Gedi.” Immediately, you understand why