Blogs from Masada, South District, Israel, Middle East - page 2

Yesterday, we went to Masada. It was built in the 1st century B.C.E by the Judean Herod the Great. He was the second son of the Antipater. The Antipater was the chief minister of Judea, which he was appointed as when aiding Julies Caesar in Alexandra. Herod built the second temple in Jerusalem. His son, Herod Archelaus, took over after him. 75 years after Herod’s death the revolt started. There is only one written source about Masada which is Joseph Flavius’s book The Jewish War. In the revolt, the men and woman…of all ages…who could pick up a weapon fought equally. The Romans laid siege on Masada, surrounding it with a great wall. Thanks to Herod’s amazing store rooms, they were able to last a very long time. The Romans began to become impatient, but they ... read more

Today was an interesting day as it was more relaxing than the other days we have spent here. Following breakfast we boarded the bus for the Dead Sea area and Masada. Today is the first day we have seen much traffic in the city, though we have been here since Friday. This city is full of Muslims, Jews, and Christians (I am sure there are some others thrown in for good measure). Muslims celebrate their Sabbath on Friday, Jews on Saturday, and Christians on Sunday. Therefore shops are closed all three days, so today is the first day that we have seen all the major religious groups out on the road going to work. Very Interesting. Our guide said he would like to celebrate with all three so he could always have a 3-day weekend. One ... read more

I was really starting to question my faith? After all these Muslim sights I’ve seen, Israel gave me a chance to answer the call. But would I take this opportunity to connect with my religion? I chose Mt Nemo instead of Bethany-Beyond the Jordan where Jesus was baptised. Now I had a chance to go to either Bethlehem or Masada. The night before my Aussie mate Chris bought a backgammon set and a bottle of vodka. Sitting on the roof of our hostel. The sun was setting over Jerusalem and we got carried away. Drinking ourselves to a separate stumble back to the hostel in the early hours of the morning. Maybe it was just the hangover talking but I chose Masada. 3 days earlier my Israeli friend Shy Lee opened up a map in Hebrew. ... read more

We were back at full strength today for an exciting and active outdoors day. It looks like we stayed one day ahead of the weather with a strom front expected on Friday. We got lucky, because if there are heavy rains on Friday, there could be a chance of fast floods in the Dead Sea area we went to today. We left Jerusalem in the morning and headed into the desert. This was a new environment for us and it was different from the rocky hills of Jerusalem and the costal plain of Tel Aviv and Haifa. We saw the West Bank city of Jericho and a Bedouin shanty town from the road as we drove. Even from the bus, we could see how much different they were from the modern, western-style Israeli places we have ... read more

We drive along the west shore of the Dead Sea, called the Salt Sea in the Bible. The people still call it the "Sea of Lot", and believe that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah now lie covered underneath. It is nine times as salty as the ocean, and lies 1,300 feet below sea level, making it the lowest spot on the surface of the earth. We are now in the territory of Judah. Looming massively before us is the mountain fortress of Masada, strengthened by Herod the Great and captured by the Romans in 73 CE. It took a Roman army of 15,000 soldiers almost 2 years to capture Masada, which was defended by about 967 Jews, including the women and children. The mesa towers 1,400 feet above the level of the Dead Sea below. ... read more