Massada, Israel

Massada: The Ultimate Jewish Fortress


lookout
Corvid perched on a wall of the fortress of Masada
Between columns
Visitor walks past columns on the terrace of Herod's palace
In AD 73, after months of siege, a Roman legion found that the resisters at the top of Masada had committed suicide. Once again Jewish, this fortress is now the supreme symbol of Zionist determination

The cable car gains altitude.

Unveil the inhospitable and yellowish vastness of the Negev Desert and, to the east, the smudge of mist generated by the evaporation of the Dead Sea.

It had crossed our minds to climb the trail that winds along the steep slope on foot, but the summer heat is pressing and discouraging. There are other stops for the rest of the afternoon and even in these biblical and secular settings, time is running out.

Some visitors chose not to resist the appeal and strive to add sensations to the solemn memory of the place. We see them, in the middle of the route, relatively close, but as the cabin approaches the top, their figures almost disappear against the dimension of the plateau.

Cable car, Masada Fortress, Israel

Cable car connecting the Negev desert plain to the heights of the Masada plateau

A semi-suspended platform leads us from the exit of the cable car and, after passing a door carved into the rock, we finally enter the elevated stronghold of Masada where the blue and white flag of Israel immediately stands out.

Masada fortress, Israel

Israeli flag flies on top of Massada

We learned about the configuration of the space. We went on looking for structures that resisted erosion, lost, here and there, in an international crowd of outsiders and guides that make us think that we could also be at the top of the mythical Tower of Babel.

Masada's Remote Judeo-Roman Origin

Until around 103 BC – when it began to be fortified – Masada was nothing more than a small plateau about 400 meters high and almost inaccessible, lost in the immensity of the Negev.

Where other rulers had found nothing of interest, Herod the Great saw a perfect refuge to protect himself both from an eventual Jewish revolt and from the whims of Cleopatra, who by this time yearned to take all Judea from him.

It is said that at their very first meeting, the queen tampered with the Roman maxim Vini, Vidi, Vinci.

Masada fortress, Israel

Corner of Masada endowed with paths dug into the slope.

Marco Antonio arrived and saw. Cleopatra won him over. If the Roman had not dared to do his mistress's complete will, symbolic parts of Herod's subdomain, including his royal plantings of dates and balsam of Jericho and Ein Gedi, had already been offered to him.

At Masada, Herod prepared for future advances by the Egyptian queen.

The Desert Plateau Herod Appalated

The monarch reinforced the defenses of the fortress with casemate walls and towers. It also added barracks, arsenals and warehouses and, in order to ensure that any forced retreat was not spent in discomfort, it also built two luxurious palaces equipped with terraces overlooking the desert and the Dead Sea, thermal baths and swimming pools.

Herod Columns, Masada Fortress, Israel

Visitor walks past columns on the terrace of Herod's palace

Many of these structures have remained recognizable to archaeologists. They feed the visitors' imagination, enriched by the descriptions and explanations of the guides who also make an effort to clarify several associated questions.

These are the cases of complex water storage and supply, the real function of the dovecote and the place where, later, the Romans would come to the top.

The Taking of the Jewish Revolts

Herod died of natural causes in 4 BC. He never got to use his resplendent refuge. In AD 66, the first Jewish revolt against the Romans took place. A group of hit men (extremist zealots who wore sicae, daggers) from Jerusalem, took the fortress from the imperial troops who guarded it.

They found themselves gifted with a varied supply of weapons and ammunition, raw materials that allowed them to build more, as well as grains, oils, wine, dates and gardens that provided fresh food. Also the cisterns that received the rain water turned out to be full.

Seven years later, Masada was still occupied by 960 zealots and Jewish families under Eleazar ben Yair, used as a base for planned attacks on the Romans.

Like almost all visitors, we wonder if the various rectangles visible in the rocky ground around the fortress are traces of Roman military encampments.

The guides summarize for the millionth time, but with enthusiasm, the epic answer to history.

Negev Desert, Dead Sea, Israel

The desolate surface of the Negev Desert and, in the background, the Dead Sea.

Masada. A Stronghold of Resistance that Embarrassed the Romans

For two years, the garrison was the last focus of Jewish insubordination in the region. It resisted the attacks of the Roman legions and humiliated the occupying leaders.

By that time, the governor General Flavius ​​Silva he took over military operations in southern Judea himself and, determined to put an end to the insult, led the march of the Legio X Carregansis from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea.

Arriving in Masada, he distributed 8000 men in eight camps installed around the base of the mountain and, using Jewish slaves, took advantage of a natural formation to install an earthen ramp along the slope now considered to be the back of the fortress.

Remains of Roman encampment, Masada Fortress, Israel

Geological traces left by the camp of the Roman Legion that had the mission to contain the revolt of Masada.

Roman engineers planned it with a base of 210 meters and a gradient of 1:3. At that point, the ramp needed to evolve only about 140 meters. When the work was completed, a 28 meter siege tower was installed against the wall.

From the top of this tower, Roman gunners could operate their scorpions and ballistae, while a ram destroyed the base of the wall.

The Final Assault on the Jewish Stronghold

About a month after Flavius ​​Silva's arrival at Masada, with the various preparations that the zealots accompanied from the interior having completed, the Romans were ready for the final assault.

The morning they entered the fortress, they found her in silence. When they called the rebels into combat, they found only two women and five children.

Walking visitors, Masada Fortress, Israel

Group of visitors crosses the plateau of Masada

As determined as they were radicals, overnight, the resisters had decided that they would rather kill themselves than be killed or enslaved by the Romans.

They began by sacrificing the women and children and then all the others, until only the commander and ten other men remained, who drew lots among themselves to determine who would kill the rest.

After doing so, the last man set fire to the palace and committed suicide. The five women and children who appeared to the Romans hid from the slaughter in underground water pipes.

Little by little, we investigated every corner of the plateau, including the area where the Roman ramp was erected and partially resisted erosion.

We descend to the lower terrace of Herod's palace and enjoy the view of the desert and the Dead Sea, flown over by flocks of small corvids.

Corvideo, Masada Fortress, Israel

Corvid perched on a wall of the fortress of Masada

The Conversion of Masada into the Supreme Symbol of Jewish Determination

We return to the top and, as we pass through the space that remains of the old synagogue of the Zealots, we come across a semi-retired Bar Mitzvah ritual.

An American Jewish family on vacation in Israel had decided to bind their children with a solemn ceremony above the fortress.

After the rediscovery and archaeological recovery of 1963, more than a religious site, Masada became the ultimate symbol of Zionist determination. The story of the harassment to which the zealots were victims is often used as a representation of the situation in the modern Jewish state.

Accordingly, many Israeli schools organize visits to the fortress as a rite of passage for their children, something as important as learning Hebrew and mathematics.

Balcony, Masada Fortress, Israel

Visitor admires the desolate Negev desert scenery from a balcony of the Masada Fortress.

Several units of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) carry out the oaths of your new recruits, realized with the renewal of the shouted promise that: “Masada will not fall again”.

We are still at its top when a deafening roar from the south intensifies. Without further warning, an Israeli fighter squadron flies over the Negev Desert to assure him.

The Roman threat may have been left behind but Israel's new Jews are also besieged.

Sigiriya, Sri Lanka

The Capital Fortress of a Parricide King

Kashyapa I came to power after walling up his father's monarch. Afraid of a probable attack by his brother heir to the throne, he moved the main city of the kingdom to the top of a granite peak. Today, his eccentric haven is more accessible than ever and has allowed us to explore the Machiavellian plot of this Sri Lankan drama.
Dead Sea, Israel

Afloat, in the Depths of the Earth

It is the lowest place on the surface of the planet and the scene of several biblical narratives. But the Dead Sea is also special because of the concentration of salt that makes life unfeasible but sustains those who bathe in it.
Saint John of Acre, Israel

The Fortress That Withstood Everything

It was a frequent target of the Crusades and taken over and over again. Today, Israeli, Acre is shared by Arabs and Jews. He lives much more peaceful and stable times than the ones he went through.
Tsfat (Safed), Israel

When the Kabbalah is a Victim of Itself

In the 50s, Tsfat brought together the artistic life of the young Israeli nation and regained its secular mystique. But famous converts like Madonna have come to disturb the most elemental Kabbalist discretion.
Cemeteries

the last address

From the grandiose tombs of Novodevichy, in Moscow, to the boxed Mayan bones of Pomuch, in the Mexican province of Campeche, each people flaunts its own way of life. Even in death.
Jerusalem, Israel

Closer to God

Three thousand years of history as mystical as it is troubled come to life in Jerusalem. Worshiped by Christians, Jews and Muslims, this city radiates controversy but attracts believers from all over the world.
Jaffa, Israel

Where Tel Aviv Settles Always in Party

Tel Aviv is famous for the most intense night in the Middle East. But, if its youngsters are having fun until exhaustion in the clubs along the Mediterranean, it is more and more in the nearby Old Jaffa that they tie the knot.
Serengeti, Great Savannah Migration, Tanzania, wildebeest on river
Safari
Serengeti NP, Tanzania

The Great Migration of the Endless Savanna

In these prairies that the Masai people say syringet (run forever), millions of wildebeests and other herbivores chase the rains. For predators, their arrival and that of the monsoon are the same salvation.
Faithful light candles, Milarepa Grotto temple, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 9th Manang to Milarepa Cave, Nepal

A Walk between Acclimatization and Pilgrimage

In full Annapurna Circuit, we finally arrived in Manang (3519m). we still need acclimatize to the higher stretches that followed, we inaugurated an equally spiritual journey to a Nepalese cave of Milarepa (4000m), the refuge of a siddha (sage) and Buddhist saint.
Alaskan Lumberjack Show Competition, Ketchikan, Alaska, USA
Architecture & Design
Ketchikan, Alaska

Here begins Alaska

The reality goes unnoticed in most of the world, but there are two Alaskas. In urban terms, the state is inaugurated in the south of its hidden frying pan handle, a strip of land separated from the contiguous USA along the west coast of Canada. Ketchikan, is the southernmost of Alaskan cities, its Rain Capital and the Salmon Capital of the World.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Adventure
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
Military Religious, Wailing Wall, IDF Flag Oath, Jerusalem, Israel
Ceremonies and Festivities
Jerusalem, Israel

A Festive Wailing Wall

The holiest place in Judaism is not only attended by prayers and prayers. Its ancient stones have witnessed the oath of new IDF recruits for decades and echo the euphoric screams that follow.
on Stage, Antigua, Guatemala
Cities
Antigua (Antilles), Guatemala

Hispanic Guatemala, the Antigua Fashion

In 1743, several earthquakes razed one of the most charming pioneer colonial cities in the Americas. Antigua has regenerated but preserves the religiosity and drama of its epic-tragic past.
young saleswoman, nation, bread, uzbekistan
Meal
Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan

Uzbekistan, The Nation That Does Not Lack Bread

Few countries employ cereals like Uzbekistan. In this republic of Central Asia, bread plays a vital and social role. The Uzbeks produce it and consume it with devotion and in abundance.
One against all, Sera Monastery, Sacred Debate, Tibet
Culture
Lhasa, Tibet

Sera, the Monastery of the Sacred Debate

In few places in the world a dialect is used as vehemently as in the monastery of Sera. There, hundreds of monks, in Tibetan, engage in intense and raucous debates about the teachings of the Buddha.
Reindeer Racing, Kings Cup, Inari, Finland
Sport
Inari, Finland

The Wackiest Race on the Top of the World

Finland's Lapps have been competing in the tow of their reindeer for centuries. In the final of the Kings Cup - Porokuninkuusajot - , they face each other at great speed, well above the Arctic Circle and well below zero.
Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Traveling
Morondava, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar

The Malagasy Way to Dazzle

Out of nowhere, a colony of baobab trees 30 meters high and 800 years old flanks a section of the clayey and ocher road parallel to the Mozambique Channel and the fishing coast of Morondava. The natives consider these colossal trees the mothers of their forest. Travelers venerate them as a kind of initiatory corridor.
Cahuita National Park, Costa Rica, Caribbean, Punta Cahuita aerial view
Ethnic
Cahuita, Costa Rica

Dreadlocked Costa Rica

Traveling through Central America, we explore a Costa Rican coastline as much as the Caribbean. In Cahuita, Pura Vida is inspired by an eccentric faith in Jah and a maddening devotion to cannabis.
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Got2Globe Portfolio

life outside

History
São Nicolau, Cape Verde

Photography of Nha Terra São Nicolau

The voice of the late Cesária Verde crystallized the feeling of Cape Verdeans who were forced to leave their island. who visits São Nicolau or, wherever it may be, admires images that illustrate it well, understands why its people proudly and forever call it their land.
Champagne Beach, Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
Islands
Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu

Divine Melanesia

Pedro Fernandes de Queirós thought he had discovered Terra Australis. The colony he proposed never materialized. Today, Espiritu Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu, is a kind of Eden.
coast, fjord, Seydisfjordur, Iceland
Winter White
Seydisfjordur, Iceland

From the Art of Fishing to the Fishing of Art

When shipowners from Reykjavik bought the Seydisfjordur fishing fleet, the village had to adapt. Today, it captures Dieter Roth's art disciples and other bohemian and creative souls.
Almada Negreiros, Roça Saudade, Sao Tome
Literature
Saudade, São Tomé, São Tomé and Principe

Almada Negreiros: From Saudade to Eternity

Almada Negreiros was born in April 1893, on a farm in the interior of São Tomé. Upon discovering his origins, we believe that the luxuriant exuberance in which he began to grow oxygenated his fruitful creativity.
Cauldron of Corvo Island, Azores,
Nature
Corvo, Azores

The Improbable Atlantic Shelter of Corvo Island

17 km2 of a volcano sunk in a verdant caldera. A solitary village based on a fajã. Four hundred and thirty souls snuggled by the smallness of their land and the glimpse of their neighbor Flores. Welcome to the most fearless of the Azorean islands.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Aurora lights up the Pisang Valley, Nepal.
Natural Parks
Annapurna Circuit: 3rd- Upper Banana, Nepal

An Unexpected Snowy Aurora

At the first glimmers of light, the sight of the white mantle that had covered the village during the night dazzles us. With one of the toughest walks on the Annapurna Circuit ahead of us, we postponed the match as much as possible. Annoyed, we left Upper Pisang towards Escort when the last snow faded.
Gray roofs, Lijiang, Yunnan, China
UNESCO World Heritage
Lijiang, China

A Gray City but Little

Seen from afar, its vast houses are dreary, but Lijiang's centuries-old sidewalks and canals are more folkloric than ever. This city once shone as the grandiose capital of the Naxi people. Today, floods of Chinese visitors who fight for the quasi-theme park it have become take it by storm.
In elevator kimono, Osaka, Japan
Characters
Osaka, Japan

In the Company of Mayu

Japanese nightlife is a multi-faceted, multi-billion business. In Osaka, an enigmatic couchsurfing hostess welcomes us, somewhere between the geisha and the luxury escort.
Network launch, Ouvéa Island-Lealdade Islands, New Caledonia
Beaches
Ouvéa, New Caledonia

Between Loyalty and Freedom

New Caledonia has always questioned integration into faraway France. On the island of Ouvéa, Loyalty Archipelago, we find an history of resistance but also natives who prefer French-speaking citizenship and privileges.
Ulugh Beg, Astronomer, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, A Space Marriage
Religion
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

The Astronomer Sultan

The grandson of one of the great conquerors of Central Asia, Ulugh Beg, preferred the sciences. In 1428, he built a space observatory in Samarkand. His studies of the stars led him to name a crater on the Moon.
Chepe Express, Chihuahua Al Pacifico Railway
On Rails
Creel to Los Mochis, Mexico

The Barrancas del Cobre & the CHEPE Iron Horse

The Sierra Madre Occidental's relief turned the dream into a construction nightmare that lasted six decades. In 1961, at last, the prodigious Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad was opened. Its 643km cross some of the most dramatic scenery in Mexico.
Tokyo, Japan catteries, customers and sphynx cat
Society
Tokyo, Japan

Disposable Purrs

Tokyo is the largest of the metropolises but, in its tiny apartments, there is no place for pets. Japanese entrepreneurs detected the gap and launched "catteries" in which the feline affections are paid by the hour.
herd, foot-and-mouth disease, weak meat, colonia pellegrini, argentina
Daily life
Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
Howler Monkey, PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica
Wildlife
PN Tortuguero, Costa Rica

Tortuguero: From the Flooded Jungle to the Caribbean Sea

After two days of impasse due to torrential rain, we set out to discover the Tortuguero National Park. Channel after channel, we marvel at the natural richness and exuberance of this Costa Rican fluvial marine ecosystem.
Napali Coast and Waimea Canyon, Kauai, Hawaii Wrinkles
Scenic Flights
napali coast, Hawaii

Hawaii's Dazzling Wrinkles

Kauai is the greenest and rainiest island in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is also the oldest. As we explore its Napalo Coast by land, sea and air, we are amazed to see how the passage of millennia has only favored it.