Machaerus

Today I visited my first real biblical site: Machaerus, the hill that was once the site of the castle of Herod the great. This site is said to be where Salome, stepdaughter of Herod Antipas, asked for "the head of John the Baptiser" (Mark 6:24) and where John the Baptist was imprisoned and beheaded. I suppose my main motivating factor for making this trip was my memory of seeing Gustave Moreau's "The Apparition" in Paris. The painting depicts a scantily clad Salome pointing to the apparition of John the Baptist's floating head. It was one my favorite paintings from Paris I remembered particularly well. Today, all the hill really has are a few minor ruins and incredible views of the surrounding hills. It sounds like it's really useful as a starting point for a hike to the Dead Sea. The hike up the hill itself is fun and the view at the top really is spectacular, but neither can really compare to what I experienced I Mt. Sinai. Still I didn't want to be anywhere else today. And as a result of this trip I now feel comfortable using the public bus transportation system! Also, in Islam John the Baptist is known as the prophet Yahya. Also, I heard about this place from the school. It tried to organize a trip there last week but it had to cancel is because not enought people signed up. I might have been the only one. Maybe because it was still midterms? Who knows?