Masada and the Negev

June 21^st

The next day we took the cable car up to visit one of Israel’s most important historical sites, the Masada, an ancient palace and fortification on top of an isolated rocky plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. 

After the First Jewish-Roman War (also known as the Great Jewish Revolt) a siege of the fortress by troops of the Roman Empire led to the mass suicide of Jewish rebels, who preferred death to surrender and slavery. Despite a lack of undeniable archeological evidence, this story has become one of the central myths of modern Zionism and it was repeated and glossed over and over by the many tourist guides that were leading groups through the site during our visit. 

It was a hellish, hot hike around these vast ruins,  but it was fascinating and  illuminating to see what remains of this extraordinary site situated in such a glorious location overlooking the sea. Once again, we could get a real sense of what life might have been like during these early days and it boggles the mind to consider the vast human forces that were required to complete such feats of mass construction made entirely of carved stoned in a totally inhospitable spot.

We then drove onwards into the Negev Desert on way to visit Sammy’s niece Rivka who is just finishing a year-long volunteer and study program prior to her service in the army. She was based in Sde Boker at the College founded by Ben Gurion, Israel’s first Prime Minister and the architect of modern Israeli society.  This was an opportunity for Rivka to learn about life in the desert and to interact with Bedouin women and children who live in nearby communities. It was fascinating to hear her describe the dualities that go along with such an existence. On the one hand, these families are part of Israeli society, attending school and sometimes college and serve in the military; on the other hand, they belong to tightly knit ancient tribes that have their own unique customs and traditions. For example, they still expect girls to marry by the age of 12 in order to start a family and to serve the men in the community. There is a clear disconnect between these two opposing sets of expectations –tradition and modernity-- and many Bedouin women, according to Rivka, have an enormously difficult time shuttling between the two.

At the end of the day, we arrived at Chan Ha Shayarot, a Caravan’s Inn in the desert that provides traditional Bedouin hospitality complete with tents, camels and a delicious meal served to us while sitting cross-legged on the ground. It was very relaxing and quiet and seemingly authentic.