ISRAEL - Masada

As I posted the Dead Sea last, it makes sense to move on to the Masada, pronounced Metzada. The top of the Masada is actually 33 feet above sea level.. about 900 feet from the ground. Its a large rocky plateau about half way down the dead sea and was built on the oders of Herod as a hideaway.. Lucky palace builders building such a palace (including swimming pools) 900 feet up an impossible cliff! Herod never even went there... However the site is known for the end of the Roman Jewish war, when fearing they would be captured and enslaved over 960 Jews committed mass suice rather than be captive slaves. As suicide is forbidden in the Jewish faith they drew lots and 10 killed all the rest, then one man killed the other nine, and then he alone killed himself. (So murder is OK then!). This place now represents the Jewish belief that they will never be slaves again.....


The Masada, as taken from the car park (which you will see again in a moment)and a view of the cable car and also the snake path, which if you have a spare hour, a few spare lives and decent arteries you can climb to the top.... the carpark is behind the palm trees at the bottom...
the view from the top was definitely worth the journey!.. it's the dead sea with Jordan on the horizon...
and the same view through one of the windows of what I believe was the commandant's quarters
Pretty Little Mia, trying to look a bit mean and moody at the Masada . . .
and the first of many group shots.. or the last if you were actually on this holiday... as this is almost the last thing we did together!!
This is a Tristram's Grackle (or Tristram's Starling if you want to be boring) It is only found in this part of the Middle East.. Southern Israel, Jordan and Egypt.. and is found around the dead sea and the Masada in large numbers... It was certainly loud enough to keep me awake.. although as previously mentioned this did not actually take very much!!