Masada and the Dead Sea

A couple weekends ago we hopped a bus about 2 hours outside of Jerusalem to Masada and the Dead Sea.  Despite getting a bit of motion sickness on the bus ride out there (I should know better than to sit in the back of the bus by now), this was probably one of the best things we have done so far.  Masada is the site of archeological ruins from palaces built by Herod the Great between 37 and 31 BCE.  The palace and surrounding buildings are all situated on top on a massive plateau, which provided protection from invaders until the Romans figured out a way to get up and seize the city in 73 CE.  One of the (many) incredible struggles of maintaining a city on top of a mountain in the middle of the desert is water.  Amongst the ruins are numerous cisterns that could hold vast amounts of water for the residents of the city, but when the Romans were planning their attack on Masada, they also had to figure out how to source water.  Walking to and from the closet source of drinkable water would have taken almost one full day, so the Romans must have had groups going back and forth at all times.

 To get to the ruins, you can either hike up the mountain or take a cable car.  We opted for the hike up the Snake Trail (which you can see in this photo), and quickly realized that hiking in the desert is no joke. 

Just a small portion of the ruins.  It is miraculous how intact so many of the walls and buildings still are after all of these years.

 The inside of one of the remaining structures.  The black line on the wall indicates where the original wall ends, so the colorful pieces date back over 2000 years.

 The bathhouse room had a unique heating system that involved two floors.  Here you can see some of the pillars that held the upper floor a couple feet above the lower floor.  A furnace outside the room funneled hot air into the cavity between the floors, which heated the water poured on top of the second floor.

 Looking directly at the center of this photo, you can see a diamond shape in the sand.  This is one of the spots where the Romans set up camp as they planned their siege of Masada.  I kept thinking how terrifying it would have been to be at the top of the mountain just watching the Romans plan their attack on your home.

 Perspective on how steep the mountain really is.  In order to invade, the Romans had to build a ramp leading up the side of the mountain.

 There are a couple little structures like this around the grounds and we learned that they were designed to house doves.  The doves would nest in the spaces between the stone (seen on the left).  The residents could use their droppings for fertilizer and eat their meat.

 Beautifully preserved tile floor.

Below: A view of the Judean Desert from the top of Masada.  The Dead Sea is the body of water in the distance.

 Remains of the Byzantine church.

 The Dead Sea was a well-deserved treat after spending the day hiking and walking around in the hot sun.  Just look at that water!  This is the lowest point on Earth and the high salt content of the water prevents you from sinking. 

 Although gorgeous, the water does have an interesting texture-- almost slimy from all of the minerals it contains.  You come out feeling oily and gritty, but then you just cover yourself in mud anyway :)

 The mud pit.

 All along the shoreline, we found these huge salt deposits.  The rocks along the water were all covered in a thick layer of hardened salt.

For some reason I thought the water of the Dead Sea was going to be fairly dirty and murky, but it turned out to be just the opposite.  The water was crystal clear and bright blue!

The Dead Sea is a place that I learned about in text books growing up, but I honestly never imagined I would have the opportunity to experience it myself.  This was such a magical day and I hope the pictures do it justice!

xo. D+E