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You are now entering the West Bank

Our trip to the Dead Sea and Masada started with the usual stop and go grind up the hills through Jerusalem. The first new scenery began immediately upon the decent from Jerusalem as we passed through an area of the West Bank into the rift valley that separates Israel from Jordan. The landscape changed immediately from the lush greenery of Jerusalem to brutal, arid desert within a short span of a few miles. As we descended from the 2500 ft high hills to the sea level mark, and finally to the 1200 ft below sea level floor of the rift valley, the temperature soared to 105 °.

Sea Level-Halfway there

Along the side of the road were shacks housing Bedouins, who we saw herding goats or walking along the side of the highway. We stopped at a service area for refreshments, and the kids took advantage of the short camel rides available to them. Some advice: don’t hang around downwind of a camel.

DesertTrans

Just Friends

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on the surface of the earth. It is bordered by high cliffs pockmarked with caves, some of which had provided shelter to monks and other recluses over the millennia. Our destination was a small beach which provided towels, showers, refreshments, sulfur baths, mud massages, and changing rooms. And of course, the big attraction was the dead sea itself.

Skin Treatment at 105°

We were warned the day before not to shave, because the salt water was so concentrated it would burn the small nicks and cuts. Let me tell you, I found cuts I never knew I had. After doing the waddling in the mud, floating high in the sea, showering and changing. I was ready for a nap. Not going to happen. We immediately proceeded down the road to visit Masada, which is a 1200 meter high Mesa in the desert.

DesertTrans at Masada

Masada

We ran through the beautiful visitors center (no time to stop-move it move it!) and caught the cable car to the top. Soaring over the reddish-tan desert below, we saw people winding their way down the Snake Trail back to their cars.

The Snake Trail Down

Top of Masada

Once on top, we spent an hour touring the ruins of Herod’s Fortress, and the various forts and shelters left over the millennia.

Model of Herod's Fortress at Masada

Herod's Fortress Ruins-looking down from the top of Masada

This fortress was actually built. Herod was motivated by two factors, his fear of an uprising by his Jewish subjects and the possibility of an attack by Cleopatra’s Egyptian forces. Construction of the luxurious fort took place between 37 and 31 BCE. Here is a photograph of the ruins. Some of the original Mosaic floors are still visible. Herod never needed the refuge the fortress provided, and it was occupied by a Roman garrison after his death in 4 AD.During the second Jewish revolt, Masada was taken from the Romans by the Jewish Zealot Maccabees forces, and held until their defeat in 74 AD by Roman general Flavius Silva. It took 10,000 Roman troops more than three years to defeat the Maccabees. Silva constructed a siege wall around the Mesa to prevent the escape of the Jews, and also established eight army camps around the base of Masada. In order to breach the fortress walls, he constructed an assault ramp from the valley floor to within 150 feet of the top of the fortress casement on Masada’s west side, and built on top of this ramp a siege tower with flamethrowers, battering rams and catapults. The remains of this ramp are still in place today, and form part of the walking path down the 1200 ft high western side of Masada.

“Josephus described the dramatic last hours of Masada, including Eleazar’s speech to the Jewish defenders and the mass suicide of 960 men, women, and children. By lot ten men were chosen to kill all the others. Then among those ten, one was chosen to kill the other nine, set fire to the palace, and then kill himself. This tragic tale was preserved and told to Josephus by two women who survived by hiding with five children in the underground aqueducts.

The only other inhabitants of Masada were a group of Byzantine monks that established themselves there in the fifth or sixth century AD. After this, the location of Masada was forgotten, and it was not correctly identified until 1838 by two American travelers.

Various explorers continued to make discoveries at Masada until the 1960s, when the first complete, organized archaeological expedition took place under the leadership of Yigael Yadin and the direction of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Israel Exploration Society, and the Department of Antiquity of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

The symbol of the Jewish freedom fighters with their families choosing death over enslavement to the Romans continues today to be a legend very much alive in the identity of the Jews. Israeli school children learn about and visit the site as part of their curriculum. Until recently, new members of the Israeli Defense Force were sworn in atop Masada. Today the beautiful remains of the Herodian structures and the haunting ruins of the Roman camps and siege ramps, as well as the symbol of fierce determination and courage embodied in the slogan “never again”, draw tourists to Masada’s mighty form.”

Reference: Y. Yadin, Masada, 1966

At sunset, we attended a service lead by Rabbi Irwin Kula, who brought up some very interesting points regarding the sacrifices made by the Macabbian rebels who slew their families and themselves, rather than to be taken by the Roman Legions. One point which really seemed to resonate with the kids, was that we may be witnessing in our time the end of traditional rabbinical Judaism, and that the religion is in a constant state of evolution. He emphasized that some of the disconnection many modern Jews feel with their religion is a good thing, in that it motivates them to seek meaningful experiences that will move the religion forward. He made a very strong point that if only one form of religion was chosen, and it was wrong, then the religion reaches a dead end. By example he discussed the mass suicide that happened at Masada, and indicated that since other Jews at the time chose other paths, the religion survived, rather than dieing with the Maccabees in 74AD.

We started on our decent by foot using the remains of a ramp built by the Romans to lay siege to the fort. An easy 20 minute hike brought us back to the buses, and a drive through the beautiful desert sunset to a fabulous dinner hosted by a Bedoin community, complete with belly dancing (which quickly degenerated into hip-hop) so much for the joys of globalization.

A little Nosh

Light Entertainment (photo courtesy of Jason Schulman)