Day 28: Monday, May 19, Masada

A view back into the valley. Our hostel is just to the right of the trees.

Today we got up bright and early to hike to the top of Masada. Our tour guide was deciding between 5AM and 4:30AM; he chose 5AM, but I wish we had left at 4:30. The sun was already fighting its way over the Jordanian mountains as we started up the Snake Path. There are three ways to get to the top: the Snake Path on the east, the path the Romans took (or built) from the west, and a modern cable car. We hiked up the Snake Path, which rises about 1000 ft over 1.5 miles of switchbacks. The sunrise over the Dead Sea was visible the entire time. When I got to the top there were tons of Birthright kids up there as well as a group of Young Presidents. We got the talks and tour and then headed back down the cable car; there were plenty of jokes about hiking the toughest path up and going down via the cable car.

Herod's overlooks carved into the cliff. His palace is in the rock behind them. If it looks like it's a long way down to the valley, you're right.

Masada is a stunning place. Any mountain fortress would be difficult to capture in those days, but this is in a whole new category. Even today, taking it would be like taking Iwo Jima – you could bomb it back to the Roman Period but the defenders would just be sitting underground waiting to pick apart anyone who tries to scale the cliffs. Herod had an entire summer palace complex built into the cliff, with his private quarters and a bath at the north tip that juts out like the point of a teardrop. He had a 300 degree view for miles. Granted, there isn’t a lot to see (desert and the Dead Sea), but it’s awe-inspiring. You realize how easy it was for the Jews, number about 960 including women and children (so probably more like 400 fighting men) could hold off an entire legion of about 15,000 Romans. The Romans built their siege ramp from the taller side of the surrounding valley, but they still probably had to build up at least 500 feet vertically. No wonder it is a powerful symbol of Jewish resistance and courage.

William on the Snake Trail, with an overexposed sunrise reflecting off the Dead Sea.

It also makes you think about history and historians and be sure you separate facts and interpretation. Josephus records the speech the Jewish leader made when convincing them to kill their own wives and children. One problem: Josephus wasn’t there, and I’m sure that the seven women and children who survived were not at that meeting, either.

We then went to Beersheba. It pops up in the Bible with some regularity; it was where Boaz and Ruth met. The entire town was 5.5 acres, which really makes you realize how small they used to be. Modern Beersheba is a couple of miles away and is 120,000 people.

William and a chameleon face off. This guy was a vibrant green a minute ago; in about one more minute he'll be a mottled brown just like the plank.

I bought a postcard from a guy who runs a little shop in the hostel. Yesterday I asked him how much a postcard was and he told me two shekels. Today I went and told him I wanted two postcards. I was holding four shekels in my closed hand, but I didn’t just hand it to him, I wanted to see what his price would be. He told me five shekels for the two postcards, so then I reminded him that he had told me two per card the previous day, and I got them for four. It taught me two things. First, you can bargain on anything no matter how small. Second, it reminded me that it’s a game. I couldn’t be miffed that he was trying to charge me more than four, because I was holding out to see if he would name a number less than four. I also used a computer at the hostel that was in Hebrew; since Hebrew reads right to left, the Start menu in Windows is on the right side.

I also saw on the news that it is 36 C in Houston, which is hotter than it is here – and we have no humidity. I’m not looking forward to that part of the return.