Masada (A Bit of History)

We took the tram up to the Masada fortress, 

situated in the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea

It was built by Herod the Great as a resort for himself and his friends,

a castle built into the top of a mountain,

complete with aqueducts, cisterns, spa and bathhouse for meetings!

Today we see what remains.

Arches and murals give us glimpses of some of the beauty

Fire under a raised floor made it possible to push heat up through a piping system.

So many surprises as to the ingenuity of the times,

but ultimately what it is now known for is a monument to one of the saddest stories I've heard.

We were not told what it was used for after the death of Herod the Great,

but the story goes that while the Romans were destroying Jerusalem around 70 AD,

nearly 1000 Jews fled and locked themselves up in the old fortress.

They were protected there for about 3 years,

its defensive site challenging the highly developed siegeworks of their enemy,

before they also met their death.

This was the last and longest final conquest of this nation, by Emperor Titus.

The Jews became scattered around the Mediterranean and many sold into slavery.

It took another 1900 years for them to finally become a nation again 

and claim a homeland that continues to be fought over.