Priebe's Travel

Archive for the ‘Masada, Israel’ Category

You may have seen the mini-series with Peter O’Toole and Peter Strauss telling the story of the last rebel stronghold in Judea, and the Romans’ siege of that last Jewish fortress, Masada.

At the Eastern fringe of the Judea Desert near the shores of the Dead Sea, it’s remote location and its natural defenses were the advantages that transformed it into a fortress during the Second Temple period. The last of the rebels fled to Masada after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE and joined the rebel community already at the mountain fortress under the command of Eleazar ben Yair.

After a siege that lasted a few months, surrounded by 8,000 Roman troops, the hope of the rebels dwindled. Eleazar ben Yair gave two speeches in which he convinced the leaders of the 960 members of the community that it would be better to take their own lives and the lives of their families than to let their wives be abused and their children turned into slaves. That day, the people of Masada gave up their own lives.

The Roman troops were denied the pleasure of taking over the people and their city. Only two women and 5 children survived. Hiding in the cisterns on the mountaintop, they lived to tell the story of what had happen that night on the first day of Passover.

The tragic events of those last days of the rebels at Masada transformed this impressive plateau mountain into a Jewish cultural icon as well as a symbol of continuous struggle for freedom from oppression. It stands today as the most complete surviving ancient Roman siege system in the world. Many of the walls still stands giving visitors today a true sense of what it was like living in that time.

From the green hills to the desert, there is always something to see riding the roads of Israel. Take in the desert’s vast soft sand mountains that change regularly by flash floods. You will see the caves in the side of the mountains where the dead sea scrolls where found. You’ll see wild mountain goats, camels, new excavations, along with the Bedouin communities, a predominantly desert-dwelling Arab ethnic group (previously nomadic, currently mostly settled) found throughout most of the desert belt.

The Dead Sea may not be much to look at until you realize there is only one like it in the world, and also the lowest point of the earth at 1500 feet below sea level. Walk into the water and your skin can feel the healing minerals. Walk past where your feet touch and keep on walking never to sink. Sit back as if in a chair, and yes you will float high.

Enjoy my slide show below.