We headed to the ancient Judean fortress of Masada on Saturday. It was a two hour drive from the city, much of it through the desert. It looked like the surface of the moon once we hit the entrance to Masada. A very dramatic and seemingly inhospitable landscape.
We had gotten a late start, so we only had an hour to explore the fortress’ ruins before it closed. The heat in the desert was intense, and we loaded up on water and sunscreen before scrambling up the Roman road to the fortress.
The views were beautiful from the top of the fortress, and the ruins themselves were impressive considering how ancient they are. Especially on such a hot day, it was hard to imagine anyone living here, or thriving here, but they made it work. It served mostly as a winter palace and fortress for Herod the Great until it was the location for a battle between the Jews, who were in the fortress, and the Romans who attacked it.
From Masada we drove along the Dead Sea, trying, without success, to find an entry point for going in the water. Apparently there have been sink hole issues recently in the region, causing some of the beaches to shut down. By the time we reached an official beach, they were closed, but we decided to come back a few days later for the proper experience.
We stopped along the Sea and watched the red of the sunset against the walls of rock on the Jordanian side, playing the Lumineer’s Dead Sea on repeat until the novelty wore off. We both took a minute to meditate and soak in such a wonderful moment. Another good day indeed.
