Our Israel/Greece tour was canceled due to the coronavirus. We have postponed it to 2021. For each day that we would have been traveling, we will post an article about where we would have been that day. Today we would have been visiting Masada.

Masada is one of Israel’s most popular tourist attractions. It is an ancient fortification in the Southern part of Israel situated on top of an isolated rock plateau. It is located on the eastern part of the Judean desert and overlooks the Dead Sea. The view is unbelievable!

Herod the Great built this palace for himself sometime between 37 and 31 BCE. According to Josephus, the siege of Masada by Roman troops from 73 to 74 CE, at the end of the First Jewish-Roman War, ended in the mass suicide of the 960 rebels who were hiding there.

One of the highlights of our visit to Masada was entering the large bathhouse complex which was built by King Herod. As you enter the outer courtyard of the bathhouse you can see a model of what it would have looked like. This helped to visualize the bathhouse which was an integral and vital part of Roman culture. The bathhouses were not only for washing but also for relaxing, enjoying spa-type treatments, and for socializing. Private bathhouses were a luxury afforded only by the very wealthy, especially for those living on Masada in the middle of a desert where water was a rare and valuable commodity.

The bathhouse is located south of the Northern Palace and has four rooms. On the floor of the outer courtyard is what remains of a mosaic made up of tiny tiles. The Romans would exercise in this courtyard before entering the bathhouse.

The hot room floor has been partially reconstructed so that visitors can get an idea of what it would have looked like. 200 short clay pillars beneath the floor created an open space under the floor. A furnace would pump hot air into the space beneath the floor where it would circulate and create heat. The heat rising from the floor produced a Turkish-bath effect, like a sauna. In addition, the walls were lined with hollow clay pipes which were pumped full of hot air. When you exit the bathhouse, you can see where the furnace would have stood to warm the waters and pump hot air through a hole in the bathhouse wall into the area beneath the floor.

The movie, MASADA with Peter O’Toole and Peter Strauss, gives a great explanation of what occurred in history. Here is the write up about the movie: “In first century A.D., Flavius Silva (Peter O’Toole), commander in Roman Palestine, leads his forces in combat against the remaining Jewish Zealots who have taken refuge in the seemingly impregnable fortress of Masada. There, the engineering and military might of Rome faces the passion and ingenuity of Eleazar Ben Yair (Peter Strauss) and his people. Based on the novel "The Antagonists" by Ernest K. Gann, this epic, 4-part mini-series was shot on location in Israel.“ You can watch it on YouTube.

Below you will see a video and a slideshow of photos taken from our various tours of Masada.

Come see it for yourself on one of our next tours to Israel (April 6-19, 2021 or November 2-16, 2021 ). For more information, click here.