Masada

Hi! This is Levi,
For the past week we have been traveling around with our good friends Larry and Toni Sullins. One of the places we went to was Masada, which is located near the Dead Sea.

Masada was first built by the Hasmonean king Alexander Janaeus (103-76 BCE.)which is approximately 650 meters long and 300 meters wide. In 37 BCE a man named Herod ruled over Israel and  knew that Masada had a geological advantage located in the mountains!! It could be used as a strong hold. so he took this place as a winter home and as a strong hold against his enemies,he had luxurious palaces built as well as store rooms , cisterns, and a casemate wall. Herod died in 4BCE. And in 66 CE a revolt began between the Jews and the Roman empire. Israeli rebels seized Masada and made it a fortress for all Jews who needed refuge. in 73 or 74 CE. The Roman tenth legion was ordered to take Masada from the rebels, but this was not an easy task. the romans began to build a huge ramp of dirt and reach the people that way. After a few months of surviving on top of the mountain, Eleazar Ben Yair ( a leader of the Jews) gave a speech in which he suggested it would be better to take their own lives rather than become prisoners of the  Romans, so by the time the romans got to the top of the mountain, everyone was dead except for a woman and five children that told the romans what had happened.. :(

since we started out on our sailing adventure we have seen tons of old cities, ruins, caves, grave sites and so much more. Even though Masada was another city in ruins, it was truly amazing!!! We took a cable car up to the mountain top, and hiked around for about 4 hours, it was a lot of walking... :) 

After we hiked around we took another cable car down the mountain. The weather was not to bad, around 80 to 85, hot but still bearable and quite enjoyable. :)

After we got down from Masada we went to the restaurant in the main area, and had a full Israeli meal, Falafel, Pita and Hummus bread, salads, and Juice smoothies!!! (accompanied with Classic Coke Cola. :))

Thanks for the amazing visit Larry and Toni we love you guys.. :)

Levi