Friday October 25, 2019
Saturday October 26, 2019
JERUSALEM, Israel – On Friday, we did not leave the house and took the day to recover. Still feeling the effects of walking 13 miles in Petra and Waynette also achy, we allowed time to recover, give our bodies a chance to heal and recover.
For Saturday, we took a day trip to Masada, about 130 kilometers southeast of here and adjacent to the Dead Sea. The drive took about 90 minutes and parking was free. Located on the eastern fringe of the Judean desert, Masada is a mountain block and rises 450 meters, or 1,500 feet, above sea level.
At its core, Masada was a fortress built by Herod, the Roman king of Judea. A series of structures was constructed in the form of a Roman royal residence and considered a palatial retreat built for personal benefit and protection.
The area included storerooms, a cistern system, Roman bath facilitates, private residence and public reception areas.
Ruling from 37 BC to 4 BC, Herod was aware of Masada’s strategic importance and access quick to the Dead Sea. After his death in 4 BC, the Romans annexed Judea and a garrison was established on site.
Within the next 50 years, the Romans conquered Judea, destroyed the second temple in 70 AD and sought destruction of the Jewish people. That forced the Jews to flee Jerusalem and seek out Masada. The last fortress of Jewish resistance, Masada became an amalgam of various Jewish groups whose sole aim was to gather an army and defeat the Romans. Labeled as the Great Revolt, the leader of the Rebels, so identified by historians, was Eleazar ben Yair, who took overall command.
In their attempt to finalize the conquest of Judea, the Romans dispatched a legion of 8,000 soldiers to the foothills of Masada and began the siege. The Roman camps, fortification, and assault ramps are considered the most complete surviving Roman siege system in the world.
In total, the Romans established eight base camps around the circumference of Masada and began their assault in 73 or 74 AD. Led by Flavius Silva, the 10th Legion used the apparatus of earth and wooden supports on a natural slope to the west to commence their operation.
After a few months, the Romans built a tower with a battering ram and began to destroy rock and rock formations. Slowly, the Romans advanced and made the situation of the 960 Rebels hopeless.
Here, ben Yair gave two speeches and explained that taking their own lives was a better fate than to surrender to Rome and their plans for slavery.
All died except for two woman and five children who hid in the cisterns. The final siege was completed on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan, the first day of Passover.
The site is important to the Jewish people because of the sacrifice and martyrdom of nearly 1,000 people. Masada, itself, was largely lost to history until the mid-19th century but not until 100 years later did the true excavation commence. Under the direction of Dr. Yigel Yadin of The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, findings included well-preserved artifacts from both the Rebels and the Romans.
On site is an impressive museum with several hundred items, including vases, personal items, weapons, writings and even a pay slip given to a Roman officer.
Remaining on the site is Herod’s original structures, including the Western Palace, the baths, storage areas, the cisterns and, when the Jews arrived, the synagogue and study area.
The site can be reached by walking from the visitors center on the snake trail and the time here is about 45 minutes. Having just walked the 800 steps at Petra to the Monastery, I simply said, “thanks, but no thanks” and took the 80 passenger funicular.
Overall, we spent about three hours touring the site and that was enough time to digest the events and understand the significance in Jewish history.
After Masada, we returned back to the apartment and reached the property owner. When we left in the morning, the internet was down and Omar, the husband of the woman in which we have communicated, came over. He speaks perfect English with no accent and I asked if he was from the United States. He told us his mother was born in Oregon, his father from Palestine and his parents met while students in California.
In no time, we engaged in a fascinating conversation about Israel and the neighboring Arab states. Not to change the subject, Omar said he would give us the names of some restaurants and dinner time was upon us.
Though we did not know, the Palestinian territories go back to Standard Time Friday night over Saturday and Israel is scheduled to change Saturday night over Sunday.
STEPS – 5,300 steps at Masada and about three miles. The weather was overcast and temps in the low 70s.
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