Masada – Dead Sea

We did an early am start to get to Masada before the heat of the day. Even a 9:00 start wasn’t enough to avoid the heat. By the time we got to the cable car to the top, the temperature was already 120 degrees. It was amazing to see people actually walking up the mountain via the Snake Path in that kind of heat.


Masada – a free standing, sheer sided plateau above the Dead Sea, was fortified sometime between 103 and 76 BC before passing to Herod the Great in 43 BC. He built huge barracks, arsenals and storehouses as well as huge palaces complete with swimming pools. Herod died without needing to use the fortress. According to Jewish tradition, the Jews rose up against the Romans in 66 BC. A group called the Zealots took over Masada and it became a sanctuary for fleeing Jews. The Romans then set up 15,000 men in 8 camps around the base of the mountain and began building an earthen ramp up to the fortress walls. Inside the walls were 967 Jews. When the Romans completed the ramp, they began their siege. At this point, the Zealots set fire to their homes and all their possessions to prevent them from falling into Roman hands. Then, 10 men were chosen by lots and given the task of killing all of the others. The last man then killed them before he killed himself. The mass suicide marked the end of Jewish presence in Palestine.

The site itself was eerie. To stand at the top and look over to see the Romans’ base camps and imagine watching and waiting as the Romans built the ramp was a strange feeling.


Sweating and hot, we continued back north to the Dead Sea. What a sight! Steph and Kate changed and went in to float in the Dead Sea. The beach was filled with Russian Jews singing songs and dancing and people floating in the water (according to Steph, a bit slimy, very warm and not very refreshing).

From there, we headed to Hebron and went through the Jewish settlement to Abraham’s tomb. It was quite a learning experience for Kate and Steph.



Photo courtesy of Flickr