"Masada Shall Not Fall Again"

 

Masada is a high plateau overlooking the Dead Sea and Jordan.  What was essentially a small city was built on top by Herod the Great and used as a Jewish refuge during the revolt beginning in 66 C.E.  When the 2nd temple was destroyed in 70 C.E., the Romans came for Masada.  They surrounded it and started building a ramp to the top.  The Jews decided they would rather die than have the women raped and the children enslaved, so they set fire to their homes and selected 10 people to kill the whole community. When everyone was dead, one of the ten was selected to kill the other nine, and finally, himself.  Two women and five children survived by hiding.  The Romans finally made it to the top expecting a battle, but instead found an eery silence and an unbelievable scene.  The only account of what happened came from Flavius Josephus.  Most kids come as part of the school curriculum and some branches of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) have their swearing in ceremonies here.

That morning we woke up at four a.m., after going to bed at midnight, so we could hike up Masada before sunrise.  We took the ramp built by the Romans.  From the top, we watched the sunrise and sang pop songs with the word sun in them, an example of our fun activities.  We walked around the ruins at the top and our Israeli guide, Yael, told us the story.  It was another very moving experience. I absolutely loved it and I can't wait to do it again when Dad visits.     

Pictures:

1st: Hike up the Roman ramp in the dark.

2nd: Sunrise over the Dead Sea, Jordan just beyond. Devout Jewish bird.

3rd: Ruins and the desert in the background

4th: Pals Lora, Libby, Sarah and Ben

 5th: Looking back up after the hike down. Cable car ropes on the left.