Peter & Vinci
- Mar 11, 2020
- 8 min read

Part 16 : Masada

Updated: Apr 23, 2020

Masada

Masada. A great fort built on a great plateau in a great place. It needs no introduction to anyone who has been to Israel. If you've ever visited the country or considering a visit, chances are you have or will end up here - whether self-guided or as part of a large tour group.

Masada is on top of an isolated plateau at the edge of the Dead Sea. It is extremely steep on all sides and rises about 400 meters from the base. As far as getting a good view of the Dead Sea goes, this is about as good as it gets. Indeed if you are lucky enough to arrive on a clear day with no haze, you should be able to see most of the entire sea. The famous Roman historian, Flavius Josephus, wrote that this place was first settled in the first century BC by the Hasmonean's, yet to date there has been no physical evidence of this. Artifacts dating back to the Chalcolithic period, some 6000 years old, have been discovered in a cave half way up the mountain however. The current fortifications were built under the rule of Herod and took around six years to build beginning in 37BC. There was only one path leading to the top, known as the snake path. You can make out the path in the photo below as seen from the cable car.

Due to the sheer number of tourists who visit here, much work has been done to accommodate the scores of tour buses that may be present at any given time. For those who arrive by car, the private parking lot is unusual in that it is a multistory underground affair, indicative of the cash flow that makes its way through the park. A joint civil/military airport is between Masada and the Dead Sea, so if you've just won the lottery, you could consider a private helicopter flight over the fort from here. Access to the mountain is through admission and is rather pricey, however we saved significantly thanks to our trusty Parks Passes and finally these things were starting to pay for themselves. There are two ways to make it to the top of the park, either the cable car which costs the same amount for a return trip as the actual admission fee, or the snake trail which, as the name implies, is a torturous zig-zag trail all the way up to the top. Unless you have time, good hiking shoes, 10 litres of water, adequate sun protection, or are completely insane, stick to the cable car. The view is great and occasionally you can get a gap between the tourists.

The first thing we both noticed was the huge amount of extraordinarily friendly black birds. These are the very beautiful Tristram's starlings and can be found over most of the Middle East. The males are black with orange wings, looking fantastic in flight, and the females are typically brown. They have a very beautiful song, almost like a wolf whistle and show no fear of humans. One particular bird has learned how to beg for food by cocking his head over to one side. Vinci was able to get within centimeters of this friendly fella for quite some time.

We saw a number of different bird species here as well, but the only other type of animal seen was a very cute orange mouse that Vinci spotted. I only had a split second to get the photo before he scurried off .

As mentioned previously, there are stunning views for miles. One of the most interesting sites to me was a very striking valley below which is believed to the the site of Gomorrah, one of a few cities that was destroyed by God in a fire storm for their continued wicked ways. We wouldn't visit here, but we do visit Sodom in Part 24.

In 66AD, the great Jewish revolt broke out across Jerusalem against the Romans. A group of rebels, known as the Sicarii, fled south to Masada and took the Roman garrison based here by surprise. They used Masada as a refuge and also a military outpost of their own. The Roman's of course were not going to let this one slide and seven years later, the siege of Masada commenced. It took three months for them to finally breach the walls, only to find all the buildings on fire and all but two of the entire population of 960 inhabitants dead. Suicide is forbidden in Judaism, so they drew lots to murder each other, leaving only one to take his life. To the Sicarii, death was the preferred option over a life of slavery.

The remains of the eight Roman camps and the siege walls built around Masada can easily be spotted from the top and three of them are very close to the park center at the base of the mountain. In the photo above, one of the siege walls can be seen in front of Camp C. The largest Roman camp was Camp F and it is located on a ridge opposite Masada to the north west of the fort. The remains of the western siege wall leading to the cliff edge can also be seen in the photo below.

The commissioner's house near the eastern entrance of the fort has partially preserved plaster walls with a colourful painted design. These designs varied greatly and there are examples of such work in the bath house, the palaces and a handful of the wealthier residential areas.

Near the main entrance of the fort there are 29 huge storehouses that were built during Herod's reign. These were used to safely keep food stocks, liquids - such as olive oil - and weapons. There was enough corn to ensure survival for several years for around 1000 people.

Herod had two palaces built, one on the side of the northern face and one on top of the mountain called the western palace. Both are extremely impressive structures, particularly the northern palace due to the way it was built.

The western palace, although built on flat ground unlike it's northern sister, features beautiful mosaic floors. A platform has been built allowing visitors to view them all from above.

The grim discovery of skeletal and human remains were found during excavations of the western palace belonging to two young men and a braided scalp. It is believed the hair belonged to a young female hostage who met her demise here during the siege.

The synagogue was also built during Herod's reign, but was originally a stable for horses. During the Great Revolt it was converted into a synagogue. When the synagogue was excavated, a pit in the floor of a small room at the rear was found containing ancient scrolls, including Ezekial's version of the valley of the dry bones. This is one of the only synagogues built during the time of the 2nd temple, which was destroyed in 70AD.

Masada had a huge bath house complex which was an integral part of Roman culture. This included the dressing rooms, hot pools and tepid pools, massage rooms etc. Under the floor was the pillar system that we saw in Beit Shean (part 4), which supported the heavy marble slabs making up the floor and allowed hot air from the furnace to pass evenly underneath the surface. The steps leading down into the furnace can be seen in the photo below.

The most critical part of the fort's design was of course, its water source. Without it, sustained habitation would not be possible. Massive water cisterns were dug out in select locations on the base and a series of collection pools were dug out on the edges of the plateau, many of them hidden from sight. The system was very effective and a very large percentage of the limited water that fell throughout the year was able to be collected.

Human presence on the site lasted into the Byzantine era. A small Byzantine church was built sometime in the 5th century AD. During this period, a second gate was also incorporated into the western wall and used the old Roman siege path as a road. Towards the end of the Byzantine period, the fortress was abandoned and never re-settled.

We took the cable car back to the visitor center and, unlike the first time, we were squashed inside with people of varying degrees of body odor. There is a museum back at the visitor center which contains literally thousands of artifacts which have been found at Masada including earthenware, weapons, coins, clothing, etc. The museum is exceptionally dark and my feet were ready to fall off after the end of it all.

"We were the very first that revolted, and we are the last to fight against them; and I cannot but esteem it as a favor that God has granted us, that it is still in our power to die bravely, and in a state of freedom." - Elazar ben Yair, leader of the Rebels at Masada

The long drive north to our accommodation in Had Nes in the Golan Heights was very pleasant. Initially I had planned to use route 90 and then route 1 through Jerusalem, before making a massive arch around the border of the West Bank and into the northern district, however at fairly short notice I got word that Beit She'an check point was open and we could remain on road 90 all the way north. This would save us almost two hours of driving and gave us a little extra time to make a few stop overs and look for dinner. In most parts, the view of the Dead Sea is staggering and there are a few very good observation points which you should use if you plan on stopping - do NOT approach the coast due to the high risk of sink holes.

Towards the far north are many date palm plantations and even a cactus farm! We were also very lucky to see our first camel, although not a wild one sadly. A number of camels are brought to a service station near the route 1 / 90 intersection, hoping to find a tourist to sit on the back of it. Shortly after route 1 branched off, we were in the land of monasteries and we pulled over in one with some gleaming gold dome roofs called Deir Hijleh, but alas it was shut. We were also very close to Qasr el Yahud, which is the place on the Jordan river where Jesus was baptised. As luck would have it, this place was also closing as we arrived, so we had no choice but to continue northward.

Driving in Israel is a bit like being on the set of Mad Max at the best of times, however the West Bank is a totally different kettle of St. Peter's fish. The speed limit on this road is 100kph, and due to its twisty nature, particularly towards the northern border, this already feels rather brisk. Most of the cars with Palestinian plates are flat out nuts and before I knew it I was in a three way dog fight between a Toyota Corola and a tragic Dacia Duster. Vinci suggested I slow down, but even driving a Mitsubishi, I simply refuse to be overtaken by a Romanian built car. I thoroughly enjoyed punishing the ASX for the next half an hour and was surprised to find Budget hadn't put speed limiters on their vehicles. We were making record time, but ended the race for dinner at the café, Café Café. I never thought I would use the word café three times consecutively in the same sentence. We went in with low expectations, but we have to admit the food is actually really nice here.

We arrived at a reasonable hour at our lodging in Had Nes, a small settlement in the Golan Heights just north of the northern edge of the Sea of Galilee. We stayed at the Cherry Golan property with a very comfortable cabin overlooking the Sea of Galilee. More photos of Masada can be seen below.