Masada National Park, Israel

Masada National Park is located in the southern district of Israel. The magnificent mountain top ruins offer a spectacular view of the Dead Sea and the surrounding desert. Herod the Great captured this mountain fortress and built two palaces here in the event he faced a popular revolt. The palaces were built around 37 BC, approximately a century before the Roman siege.

While this site has no direct Christian correlation, the events leading up to the Roman siege were concurrent with the birth and fledgling spread of Christianity. There were a group of Jews who were known as zealots, who openly defied Roman authority. A subset of this group were called the Sicarii named for the small daggers (sicae) that they carried concealed in their cloaks. The Sicarii were the last holdouts of the Jewish revolt against Rome. In 66 AD, many sicarii took up residence at Masada, joined by another group four years later. The sicarii converted many of the elegant buildings built by Herod the Great to more practical purposes. Both religious as well as functional. Their modifications of the original palaces and Herodian structures are still visible today.

In 73, Rome had virtually conquered the rebellion. The last remaining hold outs were nearly 1000 sicarii, heavily fortified in the mountaintop community at Masada. The Romans laid seige, setting up camps around the base. The fortifications of those camps are still readily visible from higher altitudes. The Romans then began building a siege ramp up the interior side of the mountain. That siege ramp is also still visible today. When the ramp was completed, the Romans used a massive battering ram to breach the fortress.

The sicarii made that decision that they would live free or die. They set fire to most of the structures inside the compound, with the exception of the storehouses. They wanted the Romans to know that they still had plenty of food to survive. The community then committed suicide or chose men who would act as executioners. While the number is said to have been close to 1,000, the remains of only 28 bodies have ever been excavated. That does not mean that they may not have been removed by the Romans or some later group. Or that they have not yet been discovered, which is less likely. But there is a discrepancy in the numbers based on archaeological evidence. Either way, the sicarii who occupied Masada chose death rather than submission.

I took plenty of photos at Masada. When you enter the National Park, you enter into a museum that also has a gift shop and restaurants. We visited on a Sunday, which meant nothing was cooked fresh that day. The food was mediocre, so keep that in mind if you visit on a Sunday. Entrance to the park is 28 NIS, which converts to about eight US dollars currently. However, that is only if you plan to hike up the steep, serpentine trail. If you want to use the cable car both directions, admission is 74 NIS, closer to twenty dollars. It was worth it to take the cable car.

There are two cable cars on opposite cables. When one goes up, the other comes down. There is a queue for the cable car, where you present your ticket. You need another ticket for the trip down, so don't lose it! It's a long walk down.

Last entry to the park is one hour before closing time
Summer Hours:
Sunday - Thursday and Saturday – 8 am – 5 pm
Fridays and the eve of holidays – 8 am – 4 pm
Winter Hours:
Sunday - Thursday and Saturday – 8 am – 4 pm
Fridays and the eve of holidays – 8 am – 3 pm
On the eve of holidays, 8 am – 1 pm
On the eve of the Day of Atonement, 8 am – 12 noon

Enjoy the photos. I will put brief notes, but this will be mostly pictorial.

Model of Masada

Waiting for the cable car

View from the cable car looking toward the Dead Sea

The square shapes are the remains of Roman camps

Partially intact ruins

Ceremonial bath

Roman camp ruins behind Masada

Siege Ramp

Storehouses

Model of the bathhouse at Masada

Interior of bathhouse

Method used to heat bathhouse

Cistern used for storing water

Masada was an amazing place to visit. I purchased a lithograph from a famous Israeli artist in the gift shop. I had it framed at Hobby Lobby with a placard that reads "Live free or die." Masada represents that sentiment in a way few other places could. The visit took us less than four hours to include time spent at the gift shop and eating a forgettable lunch. If it is Sunday, skip lunch.

Be sure to check out my other adventures in Israel.

A Christian Guide to Israel

Hotels
Cinema Hotel Tel Aviv, Israel
Ron Beach Hotel, Tiberias, Israel
Prima Park Hotel Jerusalem, Israel

Attractions
Caesarea National Park Caesarea, Israel
Mount Precipice Mount Kedimum, Israel
Sea of Galilee Boat Ride Tiberias, Israel
Yigal Alon Museum (Jesus Boat) Ginosar, Israel
Capernaum, Israel
St. Peter’s Restaurant Kinneret, Israel
Caesarea Phillipi Banias, Israel
Gadot Lookout and Memorial Golan Heights, Israel
Jordan River Baptismal Site Yardenit, Israel
Beit She’an National Park Beit She’an, Israel
Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, Israel
Garden Tomb Jerusalem, Israel
Western Wall Jerusalem, Israel
Western Wall Tunnels Jerusalem, Israel
Bethlehem New Store Gift Shop
Pools of Bethesda Jerusalem, Israel
Via Dolorosa Jerusalem, Israel
Shrine of the Book Jerusalem, Israel
Yad Vashem Jerusalem, Israel
The Upper Room Jerusalem, Israel
Tomb of King David Jerusalem, Israel
Holyland Model of Jerusalem Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel
Masada National Park, Masada, Israel
The Dead Sea, Masada, Israel