Trip to Masada

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Today, I went to Masada. It was the palace of King Herod. He built it around 60 CE. Later, there was a great revolt by the Jews against the Romans. They lost the fight and most the Jews that had escaped to Masada decided to die by suicide because they did not want to become slaves. We took a cable car to the top and hiked around the ruins. We saw the original floor tiles from thousands of years ago. The colors of some of the murals, on the side of the walls, still had plaster on them and bright paint. We saw the very stairs King Herod walked down. It was really amazing.

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Photos

A model
This is what the Northern Palace looked like. Herod had two palaces built on Masada.

Swimming pool
Herod liked to swim!

Stairs in the Bathouse
Herod liked being like the Romans- so he had a Roman bathhouse built.

Bathhouse floor
A floor was built on these llittle pillars and hot air was put in to make the floor hot like a sauna.

Cistern
This was where they stored water. It was built out of the rock.

Pigion
I liked the way he looked in the shadow

Moscaic floor
Herod spent a lot of money having very fancy tiled floors made.

Comments

[Cathy A]

Pigeon
I like the pigeon picture, too! Sometimes looking at ones like that will more easily bring back memories of that location. Christina often describes a place with "where we got that weird ice cream made from potatoes" or where "the bird pooped on my head." I like the other pictures, too. We have seen ruins in many parts of the world but these are extra interesting because of how high they are and how much they blend in with the scenery. You are seeing so much. Lucky you.

[Sally]

nice pictures
Hi, Abby! Thanks for inviting me to see your travel blog. It is great to see pictures of you and all of the places you are visiting, too.

[Your Class]

Hello from your Class!
Hi Abby! We just read your last 3 entries and took a look at most of the pictures. Anna says she thinks the tiles you showed are cool. Melanie likes the fish video. Molly wants to know if being with those fish was a neat feeling. Jill wants to know if you are totally used to where you're now living. Nicolette and others say Happy St. Patrick's Day! We noticed that you are going places near;ly every day. Are you loving that? Aiden S. says your photos are great! The hyrax lloks like a gopher to him. When are we going to Skype? We are dying to talk to you!! Love, Your Class!! (Muah Muah Muah - we're blowing you kisses!!)

[Kathy Bousquet]

Hi Abby, I enjoyed the photo gallery and the captions you wrote about your trip to Masada. It is amazing to see the tiles still so beautiful after so many years. The ruins remind me of when I went to Mexico and saw the Mayan ruins. I kept pondering on how hard it must have been to build these structures without all of the machinery and technology we have today. I laughed when I saw the pigeon picture and why you took it! So cute! I miss you! Thank you for your great blogs! xoxo Mrs. Bousquet