This morning started out cool; but, we were in our short sleeves by 11:00. It was a perfect day for being outside.
The Three Americanos began the day early with a brisk walk, to explore a large outdoor market just off Jaffa Street, called The Shuk. No, it is not short for "sugar", Sugar! ;) The Arabic equivalent would be "souk", a large outdoor market for foodstuffs. Oh my goodness....more beautiful, fresh food I have never, ever seen. I bought two small pastries, enjoying them while meandering through the market. Breakfast of Champions! Here are a few pictures.
After a quick coffee, we met up with Jiries, then made a brief stop at the Museum on the Seam, so named because it is located on the "old" border of what used to be Jordan/Israel. It is in the Musrara community, where we have been staying. Chris had wanted to visit this museum of modern art. He thoroughly enjoyed it! By 11:15 we were on the road to Masada.
In Jesus' day Masada, a high plateau near the shore of the Dead Sea, was the Southern home to the Judean king, Herod the Great, who had it built around 35 B.C.E. Despite or because of its remote location, it had to be a very efficient operation. Huge storehouses for food and weapons were necessary, as well as the ability to produce some food and make some weapons as needed. Evidence of all these processes can be found at Masada, in addition to a synagogue, a Western and a Northern palace, numerous cisterns, a couple of swimming pools, a governmental center, the commandant's quarters, a special area for raising doves and more.
It took the Romans about four years to subdue the Jews of Palestine. They burned the Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E., but Masada was "the last holdout" of The Resistance. It was not just soldiers who lived there at that time, but also their wives and children. The Romans built a tall tower outside the western wall of the fortress. Using this device they were able to breach the fortifications of the Jewish soldiers. Although they fought valiantly, it became plain that the Romans would be overrunning the encampment the next morning. Sadly, the leader of the group asked that each soldier kill his wife and children before killing himself, and the last remaining soldiers drew lots to see who would be "the last man standing". Almost 1000 people died. When the Romans arrived the next morning, they found only a couple of women and children who had been spared. In the fifth and sixth centuries, Byzantine monks inhabited Masada. It was extensively excavated in the 1960s.
There is a cable car that ascends up the eastern side of the mesa, which rises 1300 above the Dead Sea's elevation. The western side is a "mere" 300 feet. It was this side the Romans breached. Some people hike up and down the fortification, but that is not for the weak or faint of heart....The three of us took the cable car and were mighty glad we did. There is a great deal of walking around on rocky ground to see things, once you get up there. My feet were very tired, just from doing that. We spent a couple of hours, separately, nosing around the site. Then, of all things, we happened to hear English on the cable car, coming down. Of course, I asked the speakers where they were from. Long story short: they are Southern Baptist missionaries to England, vacationing in Israel! It was great to make that connection and encourage them in ministry. If you want to see pictures from Masada, I have shared my traveling companion, Debbie Ausburn Bailey's, wonderful pictures on my Facebook page this evening.
We were so enthralled with Masada that we skipped lunch! Chris had requested falafel for dinner. Now, a pronunciation lesson: don't be ignorant like me by pronouncing it "FA-la-fel". It is "fa-LAF-el". No charge! You're welcome! Also, if (like me) you don't know what falafel is, I can help with that too. Here is a picture.
Doesn't that look wonderful? Oh, it was! Falafel is pita bread sliced open, with hummus, Ranch-like (dill?) dressing, pickled red cabbage, jalapenos, salsa, slaw and marinated carrots all stuffed onto the top of 3 deep-fried chickpea balls! Then, some wonderfully greasy french fries were stuffed into the very top. Amazing! Thank you, Jiries! He really "went the extra mile" to get us our falafel this afternoon because Friday is the Muslim holy day and the Sabbath was upon us as well. Still, he found some falafel at the King of Falafel walk-up counter in the Muslim district of Musrara.
On the way, there was an unusual traffic jam. We sat for about 5 minutes, and another taxi driver comes running by, calling to Jiries he was going to go see what the problem was. Shortly, the young man came running back saying excitedly that there is a suspicious package up ahead, and that the police are diverting traffic while they investigate. So, naturally, we are thinking, "Is it a bomb?" We finally got on by the scene to shortly arrive at the King of Falafel. Debbie and Chris sat in the car while Jiries and I ran over to get the sandwiches (also known as "morsels of fabulousness", lol!).
We managed not to eat them in Jiries' car (just barely, because we were SO hungry). They did not last long as soon as we were in the flat.
By the way, Happy Groundhog Day! Punxsutawney Phil in Pennsylvania has seen his shadow, which means the midwest/northeast USA are in for 6 more weeks of winter. We are about to celebrate by watching the Bill Murray movie, "Groundhog Day". I mean, we could be packing to leave tomorrow; but, where would be the fun in that?!?!
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