Judean Desert Jeep Tour

We drive southwards through the Judean Desert towards the Dead Sea. On the way, we pass the Inn of the Good Samaritan, the site of the famous Biblical parable. We continue our descent passing the landmark indicating that we are now descending beneath “sea level”. From here we can see the Biblical city of Jericho in the distance.

Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. It is famous as the city conquered by Joshua whose troops circled the city walls causing them to fall.

Our next stop is at the Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found. The 2000-year-old scrolls, which are now kept in the Shrine of the Book in Jerusalem, were found in good condition mainly due to the lack of humidity in the Dead Sea region. These scrolls provide invaluable insight into the ancient Essenes sect. They also include the oldest copy of the First Testament.

In Qumran, we change our car and transfer to a 4X4 jeep which is better suited to the rough desert terrain. We take an exciting ride through the desert up steep inclines, down ravines and over sand and rock. Our halt at the Cliffs of Dragot gives us a view of the Dragot River which only flows during winter flash floods. We make a visit to the Murbaat Caves with their fascinating square entrances. The Murbaat Caves, explored in the 50s, revealed many artifacts from the Chalcolithic and the Bronze era. Some documents dating back to the 2nd century were also discovered. One of the texts was penned by the revered Rabbi Shimon Bar Kochba who led the revolt. One of the most important discoveries was a set of tefillin (phylactery). This confirmed that the Jewish traditional tefillin prayer ritual dates back thousands of years.

We end our adventure by washing away the dust of the desert and cooling off with a relaxing swim in the Dead Sea. The mineral-rich saltine waters and black mud act as natural therapeutic body pack leaving us most rejuvenated.