MASADA

Masada was a mountain fortress built by Herod the Great on a rocky plateau rising some 1400 feet high about two and a half miles from the western shore of the Dead Sea. This is where 960 zealots took their own lives rather than be captured by the Romans in 73 A.D. On top of this fortress built around 40 B.C. the elaborate buildings tell the secrets of Herod’s lifestyle of luxury and fear. Sodom and Gomorrah are about 20 miles away. Masada is a table-top (mesa) with a view of the Dead Sea, the Wilderness of Judea, and the surrounding mountains. Herod had built two palaces there, bathhouses, storage space for food and water. It took the Roman Tenth Legion and attached units of 10,000 soldiers to overcome this fortress designed to withstand any seige. The story of Masada is inspiring, and Israeli soldiers are sometimes taken there before their final induction into the service to view the "sacrifice" they must be willing to make in serving their country in the military. The fortification is only 220 yards wide and a half mile long. They were able to grow their own food on top of this mountain and were able to trap the waters from the rains and flash floods of the winter seasons. It took the Romans three years to defeat the 960 zealots there by building a ramp to the top and breaking down the walls. When the Romans went inside on their "victory day," they were met with the silence of death. The proud oath of the cadets who go there today is, "Masada shall not fall again!"