hannaH's wanderings: Masada and Beit She'an

on our trip we got to experience a lot of ruins and old things.

these things might have been my favorites.

2 of the places we got to see were Masada and Beit She'an.

Masada was a mountain top fortress mostly built by king Herod around 37-31 BC. the entry to the front is a winding snake path that would make for a very difficult climb. the one in the back is not as difficult, but still would be a challenge. we went up via a cable car.

the amount and quality of things on top the 1500 ft fortress was of the highest standard which would be expected of anything Herod was responsible for.

after the Herodian period Jewish extremists found refuge on Masada but were under attack of the Romans. the story the tour guide told us was that it got down to about 9 people left and rather than surrender or be captured by the Romans they killed each other or committed suicide.

Masada has a very interesting history. it is unlikely that Herod spent much time there. as it was in the middle of nowhere near the dead sea. but it was stocked and ready for any amount of time he would need to be there with cisterns and huge store rooms of food.

sake path entrance, yes there are people hiking it.

a doorway on the edge of the fortress

canon balls shot by the Romans

beit she'an is a city with evidence of occupation since ancient times. which is fascinating. but the more fascinating thing to me was the city that was left of the Hellenistic period. it was part of the Decapolis and would have been known as Scythopolis to the roman culture.

in 749 it was destroyed by an earthquake and abandoned. this is why the ruins were so intact in the Hellenistic/byzantine period.

they have uncovered 400 acres with more than that still buried.

the life style of those living here in the times of Paul would have been similar to those that he was writing to.

the construction and detail of carvings and mosaic tile floors were amazing. i could have explored there the entire day.