Masada & the Dead Sea
Written by Zvika Gasner 31-August-2019, Edited 12-February-2022. Photography by Angela Hechtfisch.
Getting to “Masada”
“Masada” is a national park mount that is located next to the south part of the Dead Sea, and the two are of Israel’s most impressive highlights. There are two gateways to the mountain top, east and west, and they are disconnected between them for reasons of nature preservation. To the east, entry from Jerusalem is by road #90 to the south and from Arad city driving road #31.
Once you finally arrive at Masada’s east side, you may then take a 3 minutes cable cart to “Masada’s top, costing 20$ back-and-return trip, and then you can explore the ancient ruins. Alternatively, you can mount the fortress by climbing on the “Snake Trail”, a climbing walk that will take about an hour. The climbing level is considered difficult, and between May and September, it is possible to climb NOT later than 08:00. After these hours, it is simply dangerous because of the heat that can reach 50 Celsius and more.
The Snake Path winds its way up approximately 450 meters from the bottom and then continues to the mount peak. It is a challenging climb, BUT you need NOT be a professional hiker, simply someone in a regular shape. We found ourselves highly proud of managing to conquer the mountain.
On the top of Masada’s Herods, the Great built a palace with three levels, giving the northern-eastern side of the mountain its famous three steps profile. According to Josephus, the siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire at the end of the First Jewish–Roman War ended in the mass suicide of 960 people – the Sicarii rebels and their families hiding there. Only two women and five children survived this tragic end leaving us the philosophical question: is it better to die free or live as an enslaved person, by the wording of “Yair Ben Elazar”, the leader of the Jewish rebels. Nowadays, the story of Masada symbolizes the independence of the Jewish people in Israel and is considered a heroin story.
On the west side of Masada (reaching from the city of Arad with road “3199”) facing the Roman soil platform, a night light show taking place. The show is only on Tuesday and Thursday between March and December (because of the highly chilly nights in the desert). It unfolds the dramatic story of Masada, with the last days of the Jewish rebels facing thousands of Roman soldiers, fighting till the final tragic moments. The show is suitable for young children, preferably Hebrew speakers. Our suggestion is to skip this show if you are an English audience older than ten years.
You can get a day tour to experience the story-tell of Masada, which will bring to life the magic of Masada, a fortress with an incredible history, or also its amazingly famous Sunrise tour, where the glory of Judea mountains desert are beautifuly exposes in the early hours of the day.
The Dead Sea
“Masada” lies to the western shores of the Dead Sea. Not only is the Dead Sea the lowest point on earth, but its waters in which you float naturally, are famous also for their healing properties, and the muds are bottled and sold around the world. The Dead Sea has 26 unique minerals in the water, also observed in the black mud. Also, because it is more than 400 meters under sea levels, it is especially suited for people with psoriasis who need a long exposure to sunlight without getting sunburn (Because of the haze of the minerals filter UVA).
The Dead Sea has attracted visitors from around the Mediterranean basin for thousands of years. In Biblical times, it was a place of refuge for King David. Later on, it was one of the world’s first health resorts for King Herod the Great. Also, it has been the supplier of a wide variety of products, from asphalt for Egyptian mummification, to potash for agriculture fertilizers, to the biblical persimmon.
The persimmon which grew at “Ein Gedi” was an essential source of fragrance in the ancient world and was a leading export of the kingdom of Judea, worth its weight in gold. People also use the salt and the minerals from the Dead Sea to create cosmetics and herbal sachets like they do nowadays.
