Dead = fun...

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ORIGINAL POST: 27 Mar 2008
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The Jewish historian Josephus wrote these infamous lines said by Roman general Flavius Silva after the fall of the Masada fortress during the first century:

"What have we really won?
We have won a giant rock in the middle of a desert next to a poison sea."

The day began with Israel covered in a great cloud of haze and dust as the weather sometimes does. This haze continued for the next two days... and though it detracted from the "interestingness" and quality of photographs for the day, it definitely added to the drama of seeing the sites.

Oh yeah... and crossing into the West Bank.

"I think people build walls here to pass the time," Avner said, "We build a wall in the south in Gaza, we build walls in the north to keep Syria out, we build walls in the middle of our country to keep us away from each other! What does it really keep out?

Oh well... walls are a part of life in Israel."

So, have you ever been to Qumran? The site of the Dead Sea Scrolls...

Stored within these caves just a few kilometers from the Dead Sea were large jars containing scrolls, written by the monastic Essenes, placed there almost 2000 years ago. They were placed there to be disposed of... since they contained the name of God and could not be destroyed.

I wonder if I were to print out all my blogs and put them in a jar in the middle of nowhere... when they're found in 2000 years I bet they'd be a priceless artifact.

Almost like the hieroglyphics of Egypt or something... descriptions of everyday life for us... lost history to the scientists of 2000 years.

I bet I know what would be priceless...

...my Moleskines that contain dates and times and locations for thousands of years of Mediterranean history.

Maybe not... maybe they'll disappear into the void of history and a drawer somewhere in an attic... who knows...

SIDETRACK:
A random abandoned fruit stand near the base of the mountain...

Something that DID stand the test of time was the events surrounding the mountaintop fortress Masada. The day we were there, the mountaintop was shrouded in haze and mist, but a significant event in Israeli history occurred here...

...and... to the top...

Meet John... enjoying himself in a crowded cable-car... kinda crowded...

But here's the alternative - the way it was done in the first century...

...which is how we came down.

So... on with the story...

A small force of about 900 Zealot Jews barricaded themselves on top of this fortress while about 5000 Roman soldiers and thousands of Jewish slaves worked to build a ramp up to the top to invade.

...see the ramp? Bottom side...

...it is still there...

It might have been a rather good view from the ruins of Herod's palaces on the northern slope...

...if not for the haze.

Well... the end of the story is kind of sad...

SPOILER ALERT:
After months and months of standing against the Romans as they built their ramp, the Romans completed the ramp and the siege machine that would break through the wall.

Seeing that the Romans would invade on the following morning, the leaders gathered in the synagogue to discuss their options. The man who had been leading them thus far, Eleazar ben Yair, delivered a famous speech recorded by Josephus. In the speech, he declares that the 960 Jews on Masada should maintain their dignity and take away the Roman victory the only way they could... take their own lives.

So, as Eleazar finished all his speech all the men who were gathered there ran out of the synagogue in a fit of zealous intensity - in order to be the first to do the deed - they all killed their family. Then, they elected 10 from the remaining men to slay all the rest of the men. Then, one was voted from the final 10 to kill the last 9.

The last man on Masada burned all the buildings and melted down all the silver - but left their food - and finally killed himself.

The Romans burst through the wall the next day to a completely burned wasteland strewn with the bodies of 960 Jews.

In modern times, Masada is venerated and has gone down in history to be taught from a young age. Why do they teach such a horrible event? They learn from a young age: never ever let yourself get into this situation... no matter what.

Then we went down...

...way way down...

...and it looks even longer considering we couldn't see more than a kilometer...

Okay... moving on...

The Dead Sea.

If you've never done something like this... nothing else like it! It is like you're lying on a pool floaty... but not...

It actually takes some getting used to...

...but the water isn't deep at all...

...and then they found the mud...

...a lot of mud...

That one was B&W. This one is not...

Not much difference, huh?

So, it was just as it got dark... Pushing that f/2.8 to its limits... which showed off the cheapness of the lens. But at least I had a lens!!

Dirty people...

Cool place...

The Dead Sea...

Everyone needs to experience it...

The photos ended... but the events of the day did not...

Two posts in one day... I'm doing pretty good... four posts for four days of trip in three days... gotta pick it up a bit...

See ya soon,
~Noah D