Sarah and I got up a little bit late today, given that we returned from Egypt at 2:30 this morning. We met up with our friends James and Shaylyn and headed over to Israel. After a relatively uneventful border crossing, we headed south to Masada. We drove, and drove, and drove some more.
Turns out Masada is actually an hour and 15 minutes south of the border. Luckily, we got there 7 1/2 minutes before the last tram headed up the mountain. We spent our hour up top admiring the view and the sheer grit of both the zealots who held out against the Romans and the Romans who built an enormous siege wall to defeat them...all on and around a forbidding desert mesa. We also asked ourselves how the Jewish occupants of Masada, who killed themselves rather than surrender to the Romans, were different from David Koresh and his followers or those in Jonestown under Jim Jones. The perspective of 2,000 years mellows and ennobles mass suicide, I guess?
Turns out Masada is actually an hour and 15 minutes south of the border. Luckily, we got there 7 1/2 minutes before the last tram headed up the mountain. We spent our hour up top admiring the view and the sheer grit of both the zealots who held out against the Romans and the Romans who built an enormous siege wall to defeat them...all on and around a forbidding desert mesa. We also asked ourselves how the Jewish occupants of Masada, who killed themselves rather than surrender to the Romans, were different from David Koresh and his followers or those in Jonestown under Jim Jones. The perspective of 2,000 years mellows and ennobles mass suicide, I guess?
the remains of Herod's palace and storehouse complex, built as a retreat against Jewish revolt
Roman encampments built during the seige
Roman seige wall built up the side of the mesa, to the base of the walls of Masada
From Masada, we attempted to swim in the Dead Sea but were rebuffed by their 6 p.m. closing time (the sun hadn't even set!!). So we headed back to Jerusalem where we had delicious bagel sandwiches on Ben Yehuda street.
When I dropped my three traveling companions off in West Jerusalem at 8:52 p.m. I hadn't reached a panic point yet - I still had 1 hour and 8 minutes until the border closed. 23 minutes later, when I was just emerging from a bermuda triangle otherwise known as Rehayvia neighborhood, I was in full-blown panic mode. I drove at between 80 and 90 mph down to the border (this was between 30 and 40 mph over the speed limit, btw) and screeched to a halt outside the border checkpoint at 9:34. "Never again" I promised myself. Famous last words.
glad to be on the side of the Dead Sea with better food
awesome air kicks, Dead Sea style
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