Bethlehem, Jericho And Masada Tour, 2 Days From Tel Aviv

We begin out journey by taking the route down from Jerusalem descending below sea level through the Biblical wilderness towards the Dead Sea. On the way we can see the Inn of the Good Samaritan and stop on route to look out across the desert as we pass the point marking "sea level". The ancient city of Jericho can be seen in the distance where Joshua's troops caused the walls to fall (Joshua 6) and where Jesus healed the blind (Mark 10:46-52).

We reach the shores of the Dead Sea encrusted with white salt and follow the shoreline towards Masada. Although it's possible to climb the ancient Snake Path up Masada as the Romans did 2000 years ago, we take the convenient cable car up to the mountain top plateau. It was here that King Herod built a fortified palace complete with every convenience. Herod had built a swimming pool, water cisterns, two palaces, store rooms and even a synagogue.

Following Herod's death the mountain top was the last outpost of Jewish zealots when the Romans tried to rid the land of Jews in the First Jewish-Roman War of 66-73AD. The Jewish zealots maintained their position for three years before the Romans finally managed to scale Masada using a ramp built by slaves. The 960 Jews didn't wait for the Romans to reach the summit, instead they killed themselves, becoming religious martyrs.

It was on Masada that the first parchment from this era was discovered in an Israeli archaeological excavation. On the parchment was the prophesy of Ezekiel "…I will take the children of Israeli from among the nations…and bring them into their own land…" (Ezekiel 37).

Heading back to the Dead Sea we pass the desert oasis of Ein Gedi where there is lush foliage and gorgeous waterfalls and where David hid from angry King Saul. We also pass by Qumran were the 2,000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in a number of hillside caves.

To end off a perfect day we stop at the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth and a contender for the title of one of the Seven Wonders of the World. People come from across the globe to enjoy the therapeutic mineral rich waters. And don't worry if you don't know how to swim, the high salt content will keep you afloat.

We drive south from Jerusalem in the direction of the Dead Sea on the way we pass the Inn of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) and continue on through the Biblical wilderness of the Judean Desert. We pass Wadi Kelt and can see the 5th century Monastery of Saint George. We pause at the mark which indicates that we have reached "sea level" and from there we continue on to Jericho 258 meters below sea level. This ancient city features in both the New and Old Testament. Joshua led his troops around the city walls until they fell (Joshua 6) and Jesus entered Jericho after his sojourn in the wilderness (Luke 19:1-10). When Jesus entered Jericho, The City of Palms, the tax collector Zachaeus climbed a sycamore tree to see him better and we stop to take a look at this ancient tree. Jesus spent forty days and forty nights on the nearby Mount Temptation, here the devil tried to turn Jesus away from God but Jesus responded "Man shall not live by bread alone." (Mathew 4:1-4). Our journey takes us back towards Jerusalem and the Judean Mountains where we visit Bethlehem, both the home of Jesse, King David's father and the place where Jesus was born (Mathew 2:1).

From Manger Square we enter through a small door into the Church of the Nativity. The church was built in the 4th century over the grotto where Jesus was born and later in the 6th century the church was reconstructed. In recent times the church has been restored and renovated. Within the church is the Grotto of the Nativity where a star marks the spot where Jesus was born and an altar to the three Wise Men. Next we visit the Crusader Church of Saint Catherine and see the underground grotto where Saint Jerome painstakingly translated the Bible from Hebrew to Latin, creating the Vulgate. We make another stop in Bethlehem at the Shepherds Field where an Angel of the Lord appeared to shepherds on Christmas night to tell them of the imminent birth of the savior.