Dead Sea from Masada

Dead Sea from Masada
Originally uploaded by BrianSearwar

Dead Sea from Masada
Masada is located at the top of an isolated rock on the edge of the Judean Desert and the Dead Sea valley, between Sdom and Ein Gedi. The flat top of the rock has a rhomboid shape, elongated from north to south. Its height is 440 metres above the Dead Sea (50 m above sea level), and it is isolated from its surroundings by deep gorges on all sides forming a natural fortification. The access in ancient times was by a steep "Snake Path" from the east, "the White Rock" from the west, and two approaches from north and south, all of them rather difficult to climb. It took about 45 minutes to follow the Snake Path to the top of the fortress of Masada. A cable-car was available for less intrepid visitors.

The landscape surrounding Masada is dramatic and it's easy to see how this place was ideal as a refuge and fortress.

Masada is symbolic of the ancient kingdom of Israel and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So important is this place to Israelis that Israeli soldiers take an oath there: "Masada shall not fall again", on the completion of their training and many of them climb the Snake Path to seal the oath.

The guide on the trip to Masada and the Dead Sea stressed the importance of Jerusalem as the Israeli capital. On the map he indicated to the group Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. He made no mention of the West Bank or Gaza, an indication that the Palestinians are constantly marginalized.

Masada was Herod's royal citadel and later the last outpost of Zealots during the Jewish Revolt. The citadel was a site of the most dramatic and symbolic act in Jewish history, where rebels chose mass suicide rather than submit to Roman capture. After the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Masada remained the only point of Jewish resistance. A few surviving Jewish fighters that managed to travel across Judean mountains joined the defenders of Masada, and it became the rebels' base for raiding operations.
In 72 C.E. the Roman governor Flavius Silva resolved to suppress this outpost of resistance. He marched against Masada at the head of the Tenth Legion, its auxiliary troops, and thousands of Jewish war prisoners, totalling ten to fifteen thousand people. The troops prepared for a long siege; they established eight camps at the base of the Masada rock and surrounded it with a high wall, leaving no escape for rebels.Then Romans started to build an assault ramp to the top using the prisoners they brought with them. After the ramp was complete, the Romans succeeded in moving a battering ram up to the wall.

The ruins of Roman camps can be seen from the top of the fortress.(left and below).

The Romans broke the stone wall, but the defenders managed to built a wall of earth and wood that was flexible and hard to break. Eventuallythe attackers managed to destroy it by fire, and decided to enter the fortress the next day. At night Eleazar, their leader, gathered all the defenders and persuaded them to kill themselves rather than fall into the hands of Romans. The people set fire to their personal belongings, and then ten people chosen by a lot killed everyone else and then committed suicide. In the morning Romans entered a silent fortress and found only dead bodies. Two women and five children survived the mass suicide by hiding in a cave; they came out to Romans.In 20th century Masada became a symbol of courage for the emerging modern Jewish state. It was a pilgrimage site for youth movements and Haganah members. In 1949, at the end of War of Independence, the Israel flag was hoisted on Masada's summit.

The Dead Sea is the Earth's lowest point not covered by ice, at 418 m (1371 feet) below sea level and falling. It measures 67 km (42 miles) long, 18 km (11 miles) wide at its widest point, and is located on the border between Israel, The West Bank, and Jordan and lies in the Jordan Rift Valley. The main tributary is the Jordan River.

This is a the view from Masada looking towards the Dead Sea. The stormy conditions added a certain apocalyptical mood to the entire scene. And in the middle of the desert, 1000 ft above the Dead Sea, we had a thunderstorm; biblical in nature, with winds so strong that the sand and rain were blown horizontally.

Uploaded by BrianSearwar on 10 Jan 09, 11.27AM MYT