Page 4 - Holyland Magazine - 2023 Edition

Luxurious Herodian bath.
Below: Masada’s northern cliff
- overlooks Dead Sea Valley.
Photos: Avinoam Michaeli, Israel
Nature and Parks Authority

Nonstop What exactly is it about Masada that excites us to
Masada
our core and never stops taking our breath away?

Sas Fialko
he mountain that proudly rises above
the Dead Sea has witnessed many
upheavals. After 2,000 years, Masada
received international recognition as a
T UNESCO World Heritage Site. Throngs
of visitors flock there and bring the place to life
night and day, so what makes it so special?
Fortunately, beyond the archaeological
remains and the spectacular view, there
survives an incredible historical tale, told by
Joseph Ben Mattathias (a Jewish historian
who worked for the Romans during the first
century C.E., also known by the Roman name
Josephus Flavius) in his book The Wars of the
Jews. The climax of the story is when Elazar
Ben Yair, leader of the zealots, called for the
besieged on the mountain to commit suicide
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