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So where did I get up to with those stories? I guess I better dig out some of the broschures and give you some proper iinformation on some of the places in the photos on here…
The site of Masada was the farthest back if I remember rightly. Masada is a major tourist destination by the Dead Sea and sacred almost by folklore to the Jewish population. The Masada fortress is situated on top of an isolated plateau and while dry, provided an ideal vantage point to spot incoming invaders. The engineering and massive water storage atop the mountain is amazing as are the glimpses of just how decadent the place was. Visiting these ruins now its easy to think of civilization back in these times being basic and for many it was but many areas including Masada were highly ornate with stucco render finished with details colours and mosaics. Really unbelievable to think about on top of the parched and crumbling mountain ruins of today.
The reputedly crazy and merciless Herod the Great was responsible for the creation of Masada among a great portion of ancient Judean infrastructure between 37 and 31 BCE. The folklore part of things (I shouldn't call it that) takes place during the siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the first Jewish-Roman War. This siege involved the occupation of the base of Masada by eight roman camps (the ruins of which can still be seen in pics here if you try really hard). It finally ended in the mass suicide of 960 Sicarii Jewish rebels and their families hiding there, deciding as a final act of defiance they would destroy everything but leave the food supplies to show the invading Romans they died willingly rather than be captured. From names written on ceramic shards it has been hypothesized that the order of the deaths of the final members of the group was decided through a lottery.
Now I hate writing about these things in too much depth because I'm not a historian and enjoy the sights on these trips as much as the history so I could well be steering you wrong with that information (this is my disclaimer). But hey I walked around the site with a head set on and tackily paused the audio to eavesdrop on paid tour guides insights, so I have to be pretty close right?
There is a hike up the mountain for those who brave the desert heat and lack of shade or a cable car for the less adventurous. I figured I'd take a walk up, be knackered and take a cable car down and I was on the money, I was hot and nearly dead by the time I got to the top, (actually I shouldn't joke about that, a tourist fell off Masada last week and died in the heat.. Unforgiving place, poor b*****). I just lost my cable car ticket at the top and had to walk back down again, nothing to complain about put in that perspective. Jeez I should end on a better note than that shouldn't I…
But that's all for now, next time stories from all those other places.. I promise… ish…
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