Dead Sea and Masada

So the internationals got together and rented a van and driver for the day. We went to Masada, which is the place where around 1000 Jewish fighters held off 10,000 Romans for months and then committed suicide to avoid being slaves. The place was a little erie. We all found it a tad amusing that Israel has adapted this site into a temple of Zionism, with slogans everywhere saying Masada will not be taken again! The announcer for the movie was a bit corny as well; he said "which would you choose, death or slavery?" We got to see one of the oldest synagogues in the world, as well as the ancient palaces of King Herod. It was interesting that the Israelis played down how bad of a guy he was. At least in the Bible he is portrayed as a very evil man, and they portrayed him in a somewhat positive light.
After that we went to see the dead sea. I floated standing up! I also floated in every way I could turn, and some guy was reading the enwspaper near me. It was great, except for the part about rubbing salt in the wounds, I found cuts I never knew I had. After this journey, we headed back to our hostel in Jerusalem to get ready to go.