We’re in the final week of our trip before we head back to the US for Thanksgiving. Like the horse sensing the closeness of the barn, we’ve become a bit desensitized to the country we’re traveling through. Akko (aka Acre), in Northern Israel, was fine, but kinda same-same. We’ve seen many lovely coastal cities, vibrant markets and ancient ruins, so maybe it’s just getting harder to impress us at this stage.
So, it’s fair to say we were ebbing a bit, heading into a couple of desert stops, Masada and Mitzpe Ramon, in the southern part of the country.
Then a funny thing happened: we got a bit of a second wind from an unexpected source. We drove south along the river Jordan and the west shores of the Dead Sea (and could almost pick out on the east side the Jordanian resort we visited a couple weeks ago), and stopped at a hostel at the foot of the ruined hilltop citadel of Masada. There’s nothing around this site (no town, store, etc.), so we hunkered down for a short night in our room. We were annoyingly kept awake by the din from buses of high school students (this is a really popular school trip), preparing for our pre-dawn hike up the dry and dusty mountain.
We woke at 5 am, dressed and started up the trail. It was a steep climb (1,200 feet of gain in less than two miles), and the air was heavy and, surprisingly, still hot. The payoff though was worth it with a beautiful sunrise and interesting history.
The site itself is not reconstructed in a meaningful way, though it’s well marked with lots of educational placards. It’s a former castle built by King Herod atop a mountain with views of the Dead Sea, which has become a symbol of pride and defiance of the Jews against the Roman empire. Once again we run into vestiges of the Roman empire — I’m starting to think it was a big deal ;-).
King Herod, also known as Herod the Great, built an opulent palace in 35 BCE with three terraces on the mountain, a sophisticated water system, and appropriate fortifications. The fortress was captured by Jews resisting Roman rule, but later, in 73 CE, during a year-long siege of Masada by Roman troops, 967 rebels chose mass suicide rather than submitting to the Romans. (Note: BCE stands for Before Common Era, a more secular version of BC, Before Christ; CE is Common Era, instead of AD, Anno Domini or “In the year of our Lord.”)
“In the days of the Great Revolt, the last of the rebels against Rome entrenched themselves at Masada, and turned their desperate fight into a symbol of the struggle for freedom.”– Israel Parks Authority
After hiking back down, we ate, showered and packed up the car for a drive to the southern part of the country, the desert town of Mitzpe Ramon. The view from our very comfortable AirBnb apartment was of undeveloped rock and sand- we’re out in the sticks.
The aim here was a some desert exploration- there are interesting formations and sights around the Ramon Geological Reserve. Jenn befriended a very helpful docent at the local visitor center, who suggested a day hike in the crater. It wasn’t long but was more than enough to give us a taste of exercise.
We capped off the day with a guided “star tour”. This desert is a great place to see stars, as the rim of the crater blocks out most ambient light from any surrounding activity. Our guide (a funny man from the US, who’d lived in Palo Alto and then New Jersey before following his daughter to Israel), sat us down and pointed out a series of constellations visible in the winter sky. I got to fulfill some of the night photography I’d been missing!
There’s something about the desert that was alien and soothing at the same time.
It was a needed tonic to lift our flagging spirits, and ready us for our final stop: Jerusalem.
Notes from a Big World 