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Avir at the Byzantine West Gate in the ruins at Masada

Avir is taking a photo close by to part of the Masada fortress, known as the Byzantine West Gate which was so named by Byzantine Monks who lived here in the 5th Century onwards. The settlement consisted of a small group of monks who built “cells” scattered over the summit.  Some also probably lived in caves because of the crosses that were painted on the walls.  It is assumed that they were forced to leave this location when the Persian conquest of Judea began in the 7th Century.  The Monks were the last inhabitants of Masada, which left Masada unoccupied and ‘lost’ to antiquity until it was rediscovered in 1838 by an American named Edward Robinson.

Today, visitors to Masada can either walk up to the top along the very steep and ancient ‘Snake Path’ or by cable car which provides spectacular views of the surrounding landscape right across Ein-Gedi National Park and the Dead Sea.

A visit to Masada offer a thrilling and exciting experience.  The chilling stories and the archaeological remains contribute to a special atmosphere preserved by historic events and the imagination of a time when a David and Goliath battle took place, but with a different outcome.

You will see more of Avir and his exploring of Masada next time.

MEA Weekly Picture from Israel Masada

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Avir on the paths at the top of Masada

Avir is visiting Masada today.  Masada is a rugged natural fortress situated on an isolated rock plateau, on the eastern edge of the Judean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea.   It is a dramatic landscape of great natural beauty.  On the eastern side, the rock falls in a sheer drop of approximately 450 metres to the Dead Sea.

Herod the Great had his ‘winter home’ on the top of Masada.  During the Roman Period, Herod ruled Judea and with his great wealth he built several palaces based on classic Roman architecture.  As a winter home, Masada was luxurious, particularly the ‘Hanging Palace’ with its three terraced swimming pools hanging off the top side of the hill at one end.  These opulent terraces is an outstanding example of design and elaborate engineering, constructed in extreme conditions.  As a fortress, it was well-stocked in its storehouses, cisterns and well protected by a wall.

The Great Revolt of the Jews against the Romans began in 66 AD, about 36 years after the life of Yeshua and some 75 years after Herod’s death.  After the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, a group of zealots joined the residents at Masada. For three years, this small band of Jewish zealots held out by harassing and raiding the significant Roman military force. The Romans finally held siege to this tiny fortress high up in the sky, which held the last of the Jewish rebels, an event which was chronicled by Flavius Josephus, a famous Jewish rebel leader whom the Romans captured and used his talents as an historian.

After three years of building a huge ramp on earth right up to the fortress on top of Masada, the Jews realised that the Tenth Roman Legion’s battering rams and catapults would succeed in breaching Masada’s walls. Elazar ben Yair, the Zealots’ leader, decided that all the Jewish defenders should commit suicide at their own hand, rather than be taken into slavery or killed at the hands of the Romans. The Zealots cast lots to choose ten men to kill the remainder as well as choosing one man who would kill the final few, after which he killed himself.

Flavius recounts this dramatically story, told to him by two surviving women. Ben Yair led almost one thousand men, women and children in this last heroic stand after they burnt down the fortress.  To many, Masada symbolizes the determination of the Jewish people to be free in its own land.  Avir is to appear in other Masada pictures over the next few weeks.

MEA Weekly Picture from Israel

Pictures from Israel

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Avir at the Gates

From the top of the Mount of Olives, Avir is looking through the gates to a scene that is familiar to many visitors in Jerusalem, the 150,000 gravestones that cover the entire western and much of the southern slopes of this Mount, which has been used as a Jewish cemetery for over 3,000 years.

The Mount of Olives, where according to the Bible in Zechariah 14:4, those buried here will be resurrected when the Messiah comes.  The earliest tombs are located at the foot of the mountain in the Kidron Valley, where great men of history were also buried. Some of them were: King David’s rebellious son Absalom; the First Temple priest Zechariah; another bears an inscription mentioning the sons of Hezir, a priestly family that lived 2,000 years ago.

Jewish burial here continued throughout the centuries, interrupted only between 1948 and 1967 when Jerusalem was divided.