Virtually everyone has heard of Masada, though not everyone knows what happened there. This first picture was taken atop Masada facing southeast toward the Dead Sea.
Muki told a three-part story atop the ancient fortress, interweaving characters and ideas that give this place its identity.
The first story was about King Herod the Great who built the fortress and its palaces. Archaeology, however, cannot confirm that Herod ever visited the completed fortress. The second story was about the Jewish Zealots who made their last stand against the Romans in 73 CE. According to Josephus Flavius, a historian who was not present at the standoff, the Zealots chose death over slavery to the Romans. The third story was about Yigael Yadin, the father of modern archaeology and the techniques he used in the excavation of Massada in the 1960's.
The second picture is of a 2000-year-old "Jewish" mosaic, one which used no iconogcraphy, that was unearthed and preserved at Masada.
Usually a group visiting Masada in the summertime can expect 100+ degree temperatures, but we were lucky. It was about 80 with an occasional breeze.
The first story was about King Herod the Great who built the fortress and its palaces. Archaeology, however, cannot confirm that Herod ever visited the completed fortress. The second story was about the Jewish Zealots who made their last stand against the Romans in 73 CE. According to Josephus Flavius, a historian who was not present at the standoff, the Zealots chose death over slavery to the Romans. The third story was about Yigael Yadin, the father of modern archaeology and the techniques he used in the excavation of Massada in the 1960's.
The second picture is of a 2000-year-old "Jewish" mosaic, one which used no iconogcraphy, that was unearthed and preserved at Masada.Usually a group visiting Masada in the summertime can expect 100+ degree temperatures, but we were lucky. It was about 80 with an occasional breeze.
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