The Watchman Episode 139: Inside Herodium, Ancient Palace of Herod the Great
Host Erick Stakelbeck is joined by Danny The Digger Herman near Bethlehem in the ancient ruins of Herodium, home to the extravagant palace of Herod the Great during New Testament times.
LIVE on TBN, Fridays at 10:30pm ET (9:30pm CT, 8:30pm MT, 7:30pm PT)
2,000 Year Old Water Supply System Uncovered in Jerusalem
2,000-Year-Old Water Supply System Uncovered in Jerusalem.
Part of an ancient aqueduct built more than 2,000 years ago to transport water into the city of Jerusalem was uncovered during a recent construction project, according to the Israel Antiquities Authority.
A section of the so-called Lower Aqueduct was discovered in the modern-day neighborhood of Umm Tuba, in East Jerusalem, during efforts to construct a new sewer line. The Lower Aqueduct was originally built more than 2,000 years ago by kings in the Hasmonean dynasty, who ruled Judea and its surrounding regions from about 140 B.C. to 37 B.C., and preceded King Herod the Great.
The sprawling, 13-mile-long (21 kilometers) aqueduct carried water to the capital, and operated intermittently until about 100 years ago, Ya'akov Billig, director of the aqueduct excavation with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA), said in a statement. [The Holy Land: 7 Amazing Archaeological Finds]
The Lower Aqueduct fed from the En Eitam spring, which is located near three ancient reservoirs known as Solomon's Pools that are about 3 miles (5 km) southwest of Bethlehem. As water passed through the channel, it flowed down a gentle slope to Jerusalem, passing through the modern-day neighborhoods of Umm Tuba, Sur Bahar, East Talpiot and Abu Tor, according to the IAA.
The cities of the plain and the priests of Baal - FH
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Richard Rives (president of Wyatt Archaeological Research) recalls biblical account of Elijah and the priests of Baal and the incredible power of 'consuming fire' as it relates to the ashen remains located along the Western shores of the Dead Sea in Israel.
Masada, Herod's fortress in the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea. tour guide: Zahi Shaked
צחי שקד מורה דרך עם מצלמה 0546905522Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera.
972-54-6905522
Dead Sea , Sea of Salt, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.[4] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets. In 2009, 1.2 million foreign tourists visited on the Israeli side.
The sea has a density of 1.24kg/L, making swimming difficult.The Dead Sea is an endorheic lake located in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It runs between the East Anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Rift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.
The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges.[7] There are no outlet streams.
Rainfall is scarcely 100 mm (3.9 in) per year in the northern part of the Dead Sea and barely 50 mm (2.0 in) in the southern part. The Dead Sea zone's aridity is due to the rainshadow effect of the Judean Hills. The highlands east of the Dead Sea receive more rainfall than the Dead Sea itself.
To the west of the Dead Sea, the Judean Hills rise less steeply and are much lower than the mountains to the east. Along the southwestern side of the lake is a 210 m (690 ft) tall halite formation called Mount Sodom.There are two contending hypotheses about the origin of the low elevation of the Dead Sea. The older hypothesis is that it lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. A more recent hypothesis is that the Dead Sea basin is a consequence of a step-over discontinuity along the Dead Sea Transform, creating extension of the crust with consequent subsidence.
Around three million years ago, what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley. The floods of the valley came and went depending on long scale climate change. The lake that occupied the Dead Sea Rift, named Lake Sodom, deposited beds of salt, eventually coming to be 3 km (1.9 mi) thick.
Approximately two million years ago, the land between the Rift Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the ocean could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became a lake.Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced Metzada (help•info), from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels, who preferred death to surrender. It is located about 20 km east of Arad
Biblical Bethel, Beit El, Israel Overview: Site of Jacob's Dream, Jeroboam's Altar, Tabernacle
Biblical Bethel is the site of amazing things that happened in the Bible.
Location
1. Bethel is in the hill country of the Samaria region about 10 miles (17 km.) north of Jerusalem.
2. Bethel stood at several main crossroads in Israel. It was on the main north-south road that passed through the central hill country from Hebron in the south to Shechem in the north, and it was on the main east-west route leading from Jericho to the Mediterranean Sea.
3. It is one of the highest places in Israel sitting at an elevation of 2,900 ft. (886 m.). For this reason, it was a place of worship, both to God and false gods.
4. Today, Bethel can be found at Khalom Ya'akov Antiquities Site.
5. It’s located on a high mountain north of the modern-day city of Beit El.
6. It is a recognized site by the government and is fenced and secured.
Historical Background
1. Bethel is mentioned sixty times in the Bible, representing over thirty distinct stories and prophecies, all of them in the Old Testament. Only is Jerusalem mentioned more times in the Bible than Bethel.
2. Bethel means “House of God.”
3. The site of Bethel was previously thought to be in the nearby village of Baytin at Khirbet Beit El (Khirbet means ruins in Hebrew).
4. In 1980, Ze'ev Vilnai, an Israeli geographer and author researched this Khalom Ya'akov Antiquities Site and determined it to be the biblical Bethel instead of the traditional site at Khirbet Beit El.
5. Khalom Ya'akov Antiquities Site has overwhelming evidence suggesting it to be the biblical Bethel.
6. This site is holy to Christians, Jews, and Muslims as it has artifacts, buildings, tombs, and ruins pertaining to each religion.
Places of Interest
1. Large flat rock where Jacob could have prayed
2. Muslim prayer shrine
3. Crusader chapel
4. 1,000-year-old oak tree, and other ancient trees (trees were never cut at holy sites)
5. Walls & towers of protection – These would have been used during times of war between Judah and Israel after the nation divided.
6. Burial Tombs
7. Ruins of a foundation measuring the exact size of the tabernacle
8. Jeroboam’s Golden Calf Altar
Masada (also sunrise) and Ein Gedi Tours from Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Masada, Dead Sea, Ein Gedi tour
If you are looking for a day tour from Jerusalem to Masada, the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi, then this video is for you.
There are many companies that offer this tour. I like to recommend the Abraham tours because of a couple of reasons:
* The tour starts here at the Abraham Hostel, and from here they pick up people from Jaffa Gate if it is needed, and they just go.
* Their tour is cheaper. It's about thirty dollars cheaper than most tours. One reason for it is that it is with no guide, it is a self-guided tour. You can download the app here -
Google play -
App Store -
* The third reason, the most important reason, is that the drivers are great. Many of them are guides themselves so they do explain a little bit about the sites; they know good English. And the most important thing: they care and, believe me, this is the most important thing.
The ride to Masada takes about an hour and a half and it is an amazing ride. Once you leave the city the desert starts pretty much immediately and you descend from Jerusalem, which is 800m high, to the area of the Dead Sea, which is the lowest place on Earth, 400m below sea level.
The first site is Masada. The entrance costs 29 shekels or 70 if you use the cable car both ways. Either way you need to bring a hat and a bottle of water as it can be really hot.
From Masada it's about fifteen minutes' drive to Ein Gedi national park.
From Ein Gedi it's about half an hour ride then we get to the beach of the Dead Sea.
This tour has two versions:
The regular one, and the sunrise tour that starts either in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, between 2 to 4am, depending on the season, and then you get to Masada very early, climb the Snake Path, and get to see the sunrise from the top of Masada. 4pm we are back in Jerusalem, back to the Abraham Hostel.
I hope you enjoyed this video, if you did and if you want to book this tour, I will leave all the links down here below. If you have any questions then please write them down here, and if you like this video then please subscribe to my channel.
Booking information about the tours -
My Booklets -
My Booklets on Kindle-
My internet site - travelingisrael.com
Music -
Hill Country Judah, home of Zacharias and Elisabeth
Luke 1:39 places the home of Zacharias and Elisabeth in the hill country of Judah. Traditionally, this has been the village of En Kerem, or Spring of the Vineyard, where today are churches commemorating the Visitation and the birth of John the Baptist
The Herodian Fortress (Herodium) King Herod's Palace Fortress, Bethlehem, Israel. What's Important!
What's truly important in life? This Bible teaching contrasts two kings: King Herod & Christ the King of Kings. All that's left of King Herod's kingdom are ruins and ashes. However, Christ's Kingdom is eternal and extends to all corners of the earth.
1. The Herodian (Herodium) was a fortress and palace of King Herod located about 3 miles (5 km.) south of Bethlehem.
2. It’s on the edge of the Judean Wilderness that lies to the southeast.
3. It was built upon a natural mountain which gave it added protection.
4. It was massive in size and overshadowed everything in the area with its presence and majesty.
The Hanging Monastery of St. George's | The Judean Desert Valley of Wadi Qelt, Israel
The Hanging Monastery of St. George's | The Judean Desert Valley of Wadi Qelt, Israel
Wadi Qelt is a desert valley that runs through the Judean Desert in Israel , reaching near the Dead Sea. In it, among other historical ruins and ancient synagogues is a curious monastery located on a cliff called Saint George . Wadi Qelt is home to a unique variety of flora and fauna. St. George's Monastery and one of the oldest synagogue in the world, Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue, are located in Wadi Qelt, which has been identified with the biblical Perath mentioned in Jeremiah 13:5.
Wadi Qelt endue monasteries and old Christian religious place. Several aqueducts have been found along the stream, the oldest dating to the Hasmonean period from 2nd century BC. The Wadi Qelt Synagogue, built as part of a Hasmonean royal winter palace, is believed to be one of the oldest synagogues in the world. The site was home to the winter palaces of Hasmonean kings and Herod the Great. The area was occupied by Israel in 1967, and hence parts of the wadi were declared a nature reserve, the Nahal Prat Nature Reserve. Qubur Bani Isra'in are huge stone structures which rise from a rocky plateau overlooking Wadi Qelt.
St. George Orthodox Monastery, or Monastery of St. George of Koziba is a monastery located in Wadi Qelt, in the eastern West Bank. The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. The valley parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the backdrop for the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). The monastery is open to pilgrims and visitors. St. George's Monastery began in the fourth century with a few monks who sought the desert experiences of the prophets, and settled around a cave where they believed Elijah was fed by ravens
The monastery was named St. George after the most famous monk who lived at the site – Gorgias of Coziba. Destroyed in 614 A.D. by the Persians, the monastery was more or less abandoned after the Persians swept through the valley and massacred the fourteen monks who dwelt there. The Crusaders made some attempts at restoration in 1179. However, it fell into disuse after their expulsion. In 1878, a Greek monk, Kalinikos, settled here and restored the monastery, finishing it in 1901. The traditions attached to the monastery include a visit by Elijah en route to the Sinai Peninsula, and St. Joachim, whose wife Anne was infertile, weeping here when an angel announced to him the news of Mary's conception. The bones and skulls of the martyred monks killed by the Persians in 614 A.D. can still be seen today in the monastery chapel.
Located just 20 kilometers from Jerusalem on the way to Jericho , close to that of a fast mode is only possible through vehicles. It is advisable to get to a hill overlooking the monastery where the best panoramic views of the valley are obtained.
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Ruins of King Herod's residence Masada, Israel with Zahi Shaked a licensed tour guide
Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera.
+972 54 6905522 zahigo25@walla.com
צחי שקד, מורה דרך עם מצלמה 0546905522
Dead Sea , Sea of Salt, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.[4] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets. In 2009, 1.2 million foreign tourists visited on the Israeli side.
The sea has a density of 1.24kg/L, making swimming difficult.The Dead Sea is an endorheic lake located in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It runs between the East Anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Rift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.
The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges.[7] There are no outlet streams.
Rainfall is scarcely 100 mm (3.9 in) per year in the northern part of the Dead Sea and barely 50 mm (2.0 in) in the southern part. The Dead Sea zone's aridity is due to the rainshadow effect of the Judean Hills. The highlands east of the Dead Sea receive more rainfall than the Dead Sea itself.
To the west of the Dead Sea, the Judean Hills rise less steeply and are much lower than the mountains to the east. Along the southwestern side of the lake is a 210 m (690 ft) tall halite formation called Mount Sodom.There are two contending hypotheses about the origin of the low elevation of the Dead Sea. The older hypothesis is that it lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. A more recent hypothesis is that the Dead Sea basin is a consequence of a step-over discontinuity along the Dead Sea Transform, creating extension of the crust with consequent subsidence.
Around three million years ago, what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley. The floods of the valley came and went depending on long scale climate change. The lake that occupied the Dead Sea Rift, named Lake Sodom, deposited beds of salt, eventually coming to be 3 km (1.9 mi) thick.
Approximately two million years ago, the land between the Rift Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the ocean could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became a lake.Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced Metzada (help•info), from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels, who preferred death to surrender. It is located about 20 km east of Arad
The Dead Sea, Israel tour - Floating at the Mineral Beach Spa with Zahi Shaked
Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera.
+972 54 6905522
Dead Sea , Sea of Salt, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.[4] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets. In 2009, 1.2 million foreign tourists visited on the Israeli side.
The sea has a density of 1.24kg/L, making swimming difficult.The Dead Sea is an endorheic lake located in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It runs between the East Anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Rift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.
The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges.[7] There are no outlet streams.
Rainfall is scarcely 100 mm (3.9 in) per year in the northern part of the Dead Sea and barely 50 mm (2.0 in) in the southern part. The Dead Sea zone's aridity is due to the rainshadow effect of the Judean Hills. The highlands east of the Dead Sea receive more rainfall than the Dead Sea itself.
To the west of the Dead Sea, the Judean Hills rise less steeply and are much lower than the mountains to the east. Along the southwestern side of the lake is a 210 m (690 ft) tall halite formation called Mount Sodom.There are two contending hypotheses about the origin of the low elevation of the Dead Sea. The older hypothesis is that it lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. A more recent hypothesis is that the Dead Sea basin is a consequence of a step-over discontinuity along the Dead Sea Transform, creating extension of the crust with consequent subsidence.
Around three million years ago, what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley. The floods of the valley came and went depending on long scale climate change. The lake that occupied the Dead Sea Rift, named Lake Sodom, deposited beds of salt, eventually coming to be 3 km (1.9 mi) thick.
Approximately two million years ago, the land between the Rift Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the ocean could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became a lake.Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced Metzada (help•info), from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels, who preferred death to surrender. It is located about 20 km east of Arad
Dead Sea Israel in haze - A massive Middle East sandstorm
Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera zahigo25@walla.com +972-54-6905522 tel סיור עם מורה הדרך ומדריך הטיולים צחי שקד 0546905522
My name is Zahi Shaked
In 2000 I became a registered liscenced tourist guide.
My dedication in life is to pass on the ancient history of the Holy Land.
Following upon many years of travel around the world, which was highlighted by a very exciting emotional and soul-searching meeting with the Dalai Lama, I realized that I had a mission. To pass on the the history of the Holy Land, its religions, and in particular, the birth and development of Christianity.
In order to fulfill this calling in the best way possible, I studied in depth, visited, and personally experienced each and every important site of the ancient Christians. I studied for and received my first bachelors degree in the ancient history of the Holy Land, and am presently completing my studies for my second degree.(Masters)
Parralel to my studies, and in order to earn a living, I was employed for many years in advertising. What I learned there was how to attract the publics attention, generate and, increase interest, and assimilate information. All this I use as tools to describe, explain and deepen the interest in the sites that we visit. From my experience, I have learned that in this way, the Holy Land becomes more than just history, and that the large stones that we see scattered about in dissaray, join together one by one until they become - a Byzantine Church. This also happens when I lead a group of Pilgrims in the Steps of Jesus. We climb to the peak of Mount Precipice, glide over the land to the Sea of Galilee, land on the water and see the miracle which enfolds before us. This is a many faceted experience. Not only history which you will remember and cherish, but an experience which I hope will be inplanted in your hearts and minds, and will accompany you all the days of your life.
Masada - UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Dead Sea Region with Zahi Shaked 5.10.2011
Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera.
+972 54 6905522
Dead Sea , Sea of Salt, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.[4] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets. In 2009, 1.2 million foreign tourists visited on the Israeli side.
The sea has a density of 1.24kg/L, making swimming difficult.The Dead Sea is an endorheic lake located in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It runs between the East Anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Rift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.
The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges.[7] There are no outlet streams.
Rainfall is scarcely 100 mm (3.9 in) per year in the northern part of the Dead Sea and barely 50 mm (2.0 in) in the southern part. The Dead Sea zone's aridity is due to the rainshadow effect of the Judean Hills. The highlands east of the Dead Sea receive more rainfall than the Dead Sea itself.
To the west of the Dead Sea, the Judean Hills rise less steeply and are much lower than the mountains to the east. Along the southwestern side of the lake is a 210 m (690 ft) tall halite formation called Mount Sodom.There are two contending hypotheses about the origin of the low elevation of the Dead Sea. The older hypothesis is that it lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. A more recent hypothesis is that the Dead Sea basin is a consequence of a step-over discontinuity along the Dead Sea Transform, creating extension of the crust with consequent subsidence.
Around three million years ago, what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley. The floods of the valley came and went depending on long scale climate change. The lake that occupied the Dead Sea Rift, named Lake Sodom, deposited beds of salt, eventually coming to be 3 km (1.9 mi) thick.
Approximately two million years ago, the land between the Rift Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the ocean could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became a lake.Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced Metzada (help•info), from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels, who preferred death to surrender. It is located about 20 km east of Arad
Masada, Israel - the fortress of King Herod. Places where you should visit on the Mount
צחי שקד מורה דרך עם מצלמה 0546905522
Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera.
+972 54 6905522
Dead Sea , Sea of Salt, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.[4] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets. In 2009, 1.2 million foreign tourists visited on the Israeli side.
The sea has a density of 1.24kg/L, making swimming difficult.The Dead Sea is an endorheic lake located in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It runs between the East Anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Rift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.
The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges.[7] There are no outlet streams.
Rainfall is scarcely 100 mm (3.9 in) per year in the northern part of the Dead Sea and barely 50 mm (2.0 in) in the southern part. The Dead Sea zone's aridity is due to the rainshadow effect of the Judean Hills. The highlands east of the Dead Sea receive more rainfall than the Dead Sea itself.
To the west of the Dead Sea, the Judean Hills rise less steeply and are much lower than the mountains to the east. Along the southwestern side of the lake is a 210 m (690 ft) tall halite formation called Mount Sodom.There are two contending hypotheses about the origin of the low elevation of the Dead Sea. The older hypothesis is that it lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. A more recent hypothesis is that the Dead Sea basin is a consequence of a step-over discontinuity along the Dead Sea Transform, creating extension of the crust with consequent subsidence.
Around three million years ago, what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley. The floods of the valley came and went depending on long scale climate change. The lake that occupied the Dead Sea Rift, named Lake Sodom, deposited beds of salt, eventually coming to be 3 km (1.9 mi) thick.
Approximately two million years ago, the land between the Rift Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the ocean could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became a lake.Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced Metzada (help•info), from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels, who preferred death to surrender. It is located about 20 km east of Arad
Dead Sea highlights.mpg
Masada, En Gedi, floating in the Dead Sea, and Qumran
Masada Archaeological Excavation, Israel 1964. Home movie by Richard Graham.
Masada, Israel 1964 (February & April).
At age 18 I worked as a U.K. gap-year student on the first season of the Archaeological excavation of Masada with Professor Yigael Yadin (seen at 11:30 mins).
We slept 8 to a tent, with lots of mice and the occasional snake. Our camp was near the foot of the Roman siege ramp, although the Roman army had already taken the most convenient site as their camp when they besieged Masada 1,900 years before.
We worked daily (except Shabat) 06.00 to 15.00 with 2 half-hour breaks.
This is my 16 minute 8mm home movie of the dig. It starts by showing our camp and the participants coming down from work.
We were specifically instructed not to bring cameras, because they had sold the exclusive press and TV rights, which is why there are so few records of the excavation. Prof.Yadin was not bothered that I was one of the only volunteers to disregard this instruction, and was happy to be filmed.
I am the thin young man seen working between 8:30 and 10:30 minutes on the film in the Western Palace, supervised by Amon Ben-Tor.
The torrential short-lived wadi seen after rare rainfall showed how a few days rain could provide a year's water supply for the original occupiers of Masada by being diverted in aquaducts to fill the huge water cisterns hewn inside the mountain.
I have published my diary written when at Masada on:
Richard Graham, London 2013
Masada, Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea - The ultimate guide to the Judaean Desert
A complete guide to visiting Masada, the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi and Qumran. This video will show
you all you need to know about the main sites in the Judaean Desert.
Here’s what this video is about:
Masada: How do you get there? A brief history of Masada and information about the best way to
see Masada – an unknown trail that surrounds Masada.
The Dead Sea is one of the wonders of the world. It is the lowest point on earth and you can
float on its dense salty waters! Where are the best beaches and what do you need to be aware
of?
Ein Gedi is a national park that is home to two spring-fed streams with drinkable water that flow
all year round - Nahal David and Nahal Arugot. A visit to Ein Gedi combines history – there is an
ancient, 6,000-year-old temple, and a beautiful synagogue with a mosaic floor – and wildlife –
there are plants that originally come from Africa, and you get to see animals including the ibex
and the rock hyrax. Ein Gedi is perfect for those who love hiking. Most visitors go for two to
three hours, but there are also longer full-day treks.
Qumran is a small archeological site. I describe it as the most important unimpressive site in the
world. The site is hardly spectacular in itself, but in order to understand it you need to look at the
cliffs all around and know the history of the place. The Dead Sea scrolls were found in the caves
set in the cliffs around Qumran. This is one of the most important archeological finds in Israel
and the world.
For all information see my internet site – travelingisrael.com
My Booklets -
My Booklets on Kindle-
Masada - UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Dead Sea Region with Zahi Shaked 31.10.2011
Zahi Shaked A tour guide in Israel and his camera.
+972 54 6905522 zahigo25@walla.com
Dead Sea , Sea of Salt, also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east, and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are 422 metres (1,385 ft) below sea level,[2] the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface on dry land. The Dead Sea is 378 m (1,240 ft) deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world. It is also one of the world's saltiest bodies of water, with 33.7% salinity. Only Lake Assal (Djibouti), Garabogazköl and some hypersaline lakes of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica (such as Don Juan Pond) have a higher salinity. It is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.[4] This salinity makes for a harsh environment where animals cannot flourish, hence its name. The Dead Sea is 67 kilometres (42 mi) long and 18 kilometres (11 mi) wide at its widest point. It lies in the Jordan Rift Valley, and its main tributary is the Jordan River.
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. Biblically, it was a place of refuge for King David. It was one of the world's first health resorts (for Herod the Great), and it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from balms for Egyptian mummification to potash for fertilizers. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets. In 2009, 1.2 million foreign tourists visited on the Israeli side.
The sea has a density of 1.24kg/L, making swimming difficult.The Dead Sea is an endorheic lake located in the Jordan Rift Valley, a geographic feature formed by the Dead Sea Transform (DST). This left lateral-moving transform fault lies along the tectonic plate boundary between the African Plate and the Arabian Plate. It runs between the East Anatolian Fault zone in Turkey and the northern end of the Red Sea Rift offshore of the southern tip of Sinai.
The Jordan River is the only major water source flowing into the Dead Sea, although there are small perennial springs under and around the Dead Sea, creating pools and quicksand pits along the edges.[7] There are no outlet streams.
Rainfall is scarcely 100 mm (3.9 in) per year in the northern part of the Dead Sea and barely 50 mm (2.0 in) in the southern part. The Dead Sea zone's aridity is due to the rainshadow effect of the Judean Hills. The highlands east of the Dead Sea receive more rainfall than the Dead Sea itself.
To the west of the Dead Sea, the Judean Hills rise less steeply and are much lower than the mountains to the east. Along the southwestern side of the lake is a 210 m (690 ft) tall halite formation called Mount Sodom.There are two contending hypotheses about the origin of the low elevation of the Dead Sea. The older hypothesis is that it lies in a true rift zone, an extension of the Red Sea Rift, or even of the Great Rift Valley of eastern Africa. A more recent hypothesis is that the Dead Sea basin is a consequence of a step-over discontinuity along the Dead Sea Transform, creating extension of the crust with consequent subsidence.
Around three million years ago, what is now the valley of the Jordan River, Dead Sea, and Wadi Arabah was repeatedly inundated by waters from the Mediterranean Sea. The waters formed in a narrow, crooked bay which was connected to the sea through what is now the Jezreel Valley. The floods of the valley came and went depending on long scale climate change. The lake that occupied the Dead Sea Rift, named Lake Sodom, deposited beds of salt, eventually coming to be 3 km (1.9 mi) thick.
Approximately two million years ago, the land between the Rift Valley and the Mediterranean Sea rose to such an extent that the ocean could no longer flood the area. Thus, the long bay became a lake.Masada (Hebrew מצדה, pronounced Metzada (help•info), from מצודה, metzuda, fortress) is the name for a site of ancient palaces and fortifications in the South District of Israel on top of an isolated rock plateau, or horst, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea. After the First Jewish-Roman War a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of the Sicarii rebels, who preferred death to surrender. It is located about 20 km east of Arad
מורה דרך מדריך תיירים ישראל tour guide in Israel
The Hanging Monastery of St. George's | The Judean Desert Valley of Wadi Qelt, Israel
Wadi Qelt is a desert valley that runs through the Judean Desert in Israel , reaching near the Dead Sea. In it, among other historical ruins and ancient synagogues is a curious monastery located on a cliff called Saint George . Wadi Qelt is home to a unique variety of flora and fauna. St. George's Monastery and one of the oldest synagogue in the world, Shalom Al Yisrael Synagogue, are located in Wadi Qelt, which has been identified with the biblical Perath mentioned in Jeremiah 13:5.
Wadi Qelt endue monasteries and old Christian religious place. Several aqueducts have been found along the stream, the oldest dating to the Hasmonean period from 2nd century BC. The Wadi Qelt Synagogue, built as part of a Hasmonean royal winter palace, is believed to be one of the oldest synagogues in the world. The site was home to the winter palaces of Hasmonean kings and Herod the Great. The area was occupied by Israel in 1967, and hence parts of the wadi were declared a nature reserve, the Nahal Prat Nature Reserve. Qubur Bani Isra'in are huge stone structures which rise from a rocky plateau overlooking Wadi Qelt. [First image creditMichael Panse]
St. George Orthodox Monastery, or Monastery of St. George of Koziba is a monastery located in Wadi Qelt, in the eastern West Bank. The sixth-century cliff-hanging complex, with its ancient chapel and gardens, is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. The valley parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the backdrop for the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37). The monastery is open to pilgrims and visitors. St. George's Monastery began in the fourth century with a few monks who sought the desert experiences of the prophets, and settled around a cave where they believed Elijah was fed by ravens (1 Kings 17:5-6).
Located just 20 kilometers from Jerusalem on the way to Jericho , close to that of a fast mode is only possible through vehicles. It is advisable to get to a hill overlooking the monastery where the best panoramic views of the valley are obtained.
Image credit daytodayblogs.com
Image credit daytodayblogs.com
Image credit Michael Panse
Image credit Michael Panse
Image credit Julia Perelman
Image credit M Asser
Image credit daytodayblogs.com
Image credit Charles Meeks
Image credit daytodayblogs.com
Image credit Charles Meeks
The Watchman Episode 145: Walking the Ancient Walls of Jerusalem
Host Erick Stakelbeck and Israeli guide Yoel Freiman are atop Jerusalem's Old City walls to relive 3,000 years of the ancient city's history.
LIVE Fridays 10:30PM ET on TBN // Sundays 12:30AM ET on FOX Business