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Middle East - Judean desert, from Dead Sea to Jerusalem

72 images Created 16 Dec 2008

The incredible landscape of the Judean home to awesome hidden monasteries built into the rocks and discovering beautiful natural springs. Near the Southern end of the Dead Sea, not far from kibbutz farming in the southern border of the Judean Desert, Through the winding wadi Sodom and hidden canyons a rough track leads up to the top of the Mount Sodom, the highest peak, made of a salt crystals with impressive shapes, very unique and seen only in extremely arid areas. This is the place were in Biblical times the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah that God resolved to strike down for their sexual promiscuity. Along the the Dead Sea, the Ein Gedi Natural Reserve is a vibrant oasis bursting with wildlife, rich vegetation and cool, clear streams and waterfalls. The Ein Gedi oasis has a long history, because the joung David fled here to escape king Saul as, later, Simon Bar Kokhba, leader of the second Jewish revolt (132--135 A.D.) against Roman empire. Not far, on the top of isolated rock plateau overlooking the Dead Sea , Masada, one of Israel’s must-see sites. The “fortress”, in hebrew, was built from the king Herod the Great, as a palace and fortress. Later, during the Great Revolt of the Jews against Rome, a group of Jewish rebels settled in the fort. After the destruction of the Second Temple (70 CE), the Romans continued to put down the revolt and laid siege to Masada. With the Roman army advancing, the Jews of Masada elected to suicide rather than surrender. According to Josephus, a Romano-Jewish historian of the first century, the siege ended in the mass suicide of 960 people, the rebels and their families. Another testimony of of Jewish history is the ancient settlement of Qumran revealing a wealth of information about the ancient Essenes Jews who lived here. In the hidden caves around in 1947 a young Bedouin shepherd found the world-famous Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical books ever discovered, on display at the Shrine of the Book in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. From here a rough track off the beaten path of the Judean desert continues to Nabi Musa, a holy site for Muslims, considered to be the burial site of Moses. Lonely on the dramatic cliff of a Judean desert canyon is Mar Saba monastery, Almost a secret because of the relative difficulty in arriving at the site. 'The Great Lavra of St. Sabbas the Sanctified' after its founding saint, was founded over 1500 years ago, is one of the oldest inhabited monasteries, and definitely one of the most beautiful in the world. The awe-inspiring structure is inhabited by around twenty Greek Orthodox monks, who also meditate in the surrounding rock caves. From here through the incredible desert landscape the track leads to the road and to the Herodion, a man-made flat mountain, one of the world finest exemples of preserved Roman architecture. Built as fortress and summer palace by king Herod the Great.

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  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500503.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500504.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500506.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500508.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500517.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500520.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500523.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500525.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500533.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500536.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500545.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500551.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500565-2.jpg
  • Mt Sodom, near the desert area of Dead Sea's south end. This big salt mountain, 2 km wide and 4 km deep,  was the Biblical site of the old city of Sodom and has been mined from Roman time.
    em2500571.jpg
  • Mt Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500577.jpg
  • Wadi Sodom, a desert area near Dead sea's south end. Mt Sodom is the Biblical site of the city of Sodom, that God resolved to strike down for sexual promiscuity.
    em2500584.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, specializes in state-of-the-art desert agricultural technology. The farmer Gaby Maloul, exports his basil also in Europe.
    em2500587.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, specializes in state-of-the-art desert agricultural technology. The farmer Gaby Maloul, exports his basil also in Europe.
    em2500589.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, specializes in state-of-the-art desert agricultural technology. The farmer Gaby Maloul, exports his basil also in Europe.
    em2500600.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, specializes in state-of-the-art desert agricultural technology. Today many immigrants from Thailand work here as laborers.
    em2500607.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, specializes in state-of-the-art desert agricultural technology. Today many immigrants from Thailand work here as laborers.
    em2500613.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, specializes in state-of-the-art desert agricultural technology.
    em2500614.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, the artist Jojo Ohayon design sculptured metal vases and furnishings in a modern style.
    em2500619.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, the artist Jojo Ohayon design sculptured metal vases and furnishings in a modern style.
    em2500625.jpg
  • Dead Sea, moshav Neot Ha-Kikkar, 20km south of Ein Bokek, the artist Estee Uzi works pottery.
    em2500631.jpg
  • Dead Sea, salt crystals edge mineral-rich waters. Also the king Herod the Great bathed here.
    em2500636.jpg
  • Dead sea, the road connecting Ein Bokek to Jerusalem.
    em2500657.jpg
  • Dead Sea. Ein Gedi Natural Reserve. The Ein Gedi oasis ha a long history. David fled here to escape king Saul as, later, Simon Bar Kokhba, leader of the second Jewish revolt (132--135 A.D.) against Roman empire.
    em2500659.jpg
  • Dead Sea. Ein Gedi Natural Reserve. The Ein Gedi oasis ha a long history. David fled here to escape king Saul as, later, Simon Bar Kokhba, leader of the second Jewish revolt (132--135 A.D.) against Roman empire. The hyrax, a rare mammal rodent.
    em2500664.jpg
  • Dead Sea. Ein Gedi Natural Reserve. The Ein Gedi oasis ha a long history. David fled here to escape king Saul as, later, Simon Bar Kokhba, leader of the second Jewish revolt (132--135 A.D.) against Roman empire. Shulamit falls.
    em2500677.jpg
  • Dead Sea. Ein Gedi Natural Reserve. The Ein Gedi oasis ha a long history. David fled here to escape king Saul as, later, Simon Bar Kokhba, leader of the second Jewish revolt (132--135 A.D.) against Roman empire. Shulamit falls.
    em2500678.jpg
  • Masada. Herod the Great palace built on the rock of the north face of Masada. Under Herod the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender.
    em2500682.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender.
    em2500685.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender.
    em2500686.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender.
    em2500692.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender. The Roman camp, nearly intact through the dry climate of the desert, is one of the best survived exemple of Roman military technology.
    em2500693.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender. The Roman camp, nearly intact through the dry climate of the desert, is one of the best survived exemple of Roman military technology.
    em2500694.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender.
    em2500709.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender.
    em2500713.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender. The cable connecting the fortress.
    em2500720.jpg
  • Masada. Under Herod the Great the fortress bacame an enormous muntaintop fortress. At the time of Jewish rebellion against Rome (70 A.D.) the Jewish fighters preferred death to surrender. The Roman camp, nearly intact through the dry climate of the desert, is one of the best survived exemple of Roman military technology.
    em2500722.jpg
  • Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Qumran was a refuge for the Jewish sect of the Essenes who searched refuge in the desert, disillusioned by the Hellenisation of Jerusalem.
    em2500726.jpg
  • Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Qumran was a refuge for the Jewish sect of the Essenes who searched refuge in the desert, disillusioned by the Hellenisation of Jerusalem.
    em2500728.jpg
  • Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Qumran was a refuge for the Jewish sect of the Essenes who searched refuge in the desert, disillusioned by the Hellenisation of Jerusalem. The cave where a young beduin looking for a sheep discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.
    em2500730.jpg
  • Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Qumran was a refuge for the Jewish sect of the Essenes who searched refuge in the desert, disillusioned by the Hellenisation of Jerusalem. The cave where a young beduin looking for a sheep discovered the Dead Sea Scrolls.
    em2500731.jpg
  • Qumran, the site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947. Qumran was a refuge for the Jewish sect of the Essenes who searched refuge in the desert, disillusioned by the Hellenisation of Jerusalem.
    em2500733.jpg
  • Dead Sea. Ein Gedi Natural Reserve. The Ein Gedi oasis ha a long history. David fled here to escape king Saul as, later, Simon Bar Kokhba, leader of the second Jewish revolt (132--135 A.D.) against Roman empire. Ibex.
    em2500740.jpg
  • Road in the desert near the Dead Sea.
    em2500742.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500751.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500758.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500768.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500771.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500773.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500777.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500784.jpg
  • Nebi Musa, is a Moslim holy place in the Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem. The building which marks the Mausoleum of Moses is located where once the pilgrims could look Mount Nebo, where the tomb of Moses was thought to be located. Mamluk sultan Baibars  built a small shrine (1269 A.D.) here, gradually the lookout point  was confused with Moses' tomb itself, increasing for the Islam  the religious importance Nabi Musa.
    em2500784.jpg
  • Judean desert between Jericho and Jerusalem.
    em2500788.jpg
  • Mar Saba. The greek orthodox monastery stands in complete isolation in the middle of the Judean desert. The monastery is built near the cave where St sabs began his ascetic life in 478 A.D.
    em2500799.jpg
  • Mar Saba. The greek orthodox monastery stands in complete isolation in the middle of the Judean desert. The monastery is built near the cave where St sabs began his ascetic life in 478 A.D.
    em2500801.jpg
  • Mar Saba. The greek orthodox monastery stands in complete isolation in the middle of the Judean desert. The monastery is built near the cave where St sabs began his ascetic life in 478 A.D.
    em2500803.jpg
  • Mar Saba. The greek orthodox monastery stands in complete isolation in the middle of the Judean desert. The monastery is built near the cave where St sabs began his ascetic life in 478 A.D. Pilgrims. The women may only view the monastery from outside.
    em2500812.jpg
  • Mar Saba. The greek orthodox monastery stands in complete isolation in the middle of the Judean desert. The monastery is built near the cave where St sabs began his ascetic life in 478 A.D. Pilgrims. The women may only view the monastery from outside.
    em2500818.jpg
  • Herodion, the man-made, flat mountain, one of the world finest exemples of preserved Roman architecture. Built as fortress and summer palace by king Herod the Great, is also the place where the king was buried. The tomb was discovered in  2007.
    em2500836.jpg
  • Herodion, the man-made, flat mountain, one of the world finest exemples of preserved Roman architecture. Built as fortress and summer palace by king Herod the Great, is also the place where the king was buried. The tomb was discovered in  2007.
    em2500837.jpg
  • Herodion, the man-made, flat mountain, one of the world finest exemples of preserved Roman architecture. Built as fortress and summer palace by king Herod the Great, is also the place where the king was buried. The tomb was discovered in  2007. The cisterns, a network of tunnels and water reservoir under the fortress.
    em2500852.jpg
  • Herodion, the man-made, flat mountain, one of the world finest exemples of preserved Roman architecture. Built as fortress and summer palace by king Herod the Great, is also the place where the king was buried. The tomb was discovered in  2007.
    em2500853.jpg
  • Bethlehem, nativity church.
    em2500862.jpg
  • Bethlehem, Nativity Church.
    em2500863.jpg
  • Bethlehem, nativity church.
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  • Bethlehem, nativity church, nativity church.
    em2500873.jpg
  • Betlehem, the wall dividing Israel from Palestinian Authority territory.
    em2500884.jpg
  • Judean desert, beduin camp, in the back Jerusalem new residential areas.
    em2500894.jpg
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