Our host, Dr. DeWayne Coxon, gave us an overview of the park and its excavations before taking us on a tour.
Not everyone agrees, but some believe this tree is easily 1,500 to 2,000 years old.
Several of us left Tamar to quickly take a tour of Masada, the Roman retreat that became a final stronghold for Jewish rebels against the Roman army in 73 CE (AD). We had a quick lunch at the base of the flat-topped mountain, and encountered a friendly ibex.
Some of us were going to walk up, but the time caught up with us, so we all rode.
This Roman encampment is still pretty intact.
Here is a replica of Masada.
The place was well stocked.
The brethren had to have a cistern (okay, still not funny).
Here is the synagogue.
The bathhouse had a raised floor that covered the heated water. It would be interesting to see how this all worked.
They even had windows, sort of.
On the way back to Tamar from Masada, we made a quick stop at the Dead Sea.
"I can't sink!"
Wow--those knees look old.
Some people got a few hours sleep that night, but not many and not much. The bus left quite early for most of the group to head home.
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