I
really feel like a kid whose new
toy was stolen. Actually, my toy is my travelling to
Israel and Dubai. I have so many thoughts to share about the live of Jewish and
Palestinians and what? Everything broke
down.
Is
it possible to convince people how many nice things were created on the past and now among
the arid desert of the
Arabian Peninsula, when again
and again, the most blood
was shed? This is their own blood and that of their children. Their own
cities, where they have
to live with their children were
ruined. The farms that supposed to feed their
families were burned. Bitterness
and vengeance have altered the eyes of so many fighters for "faith"
that soon these lands do not remain faithful. Is there a universal belief? Who has rights to
punish "crooked believers"? Who gives us
the right to be judgmental?
What luck we had to sneak in a lull and see what the
Palestinians and the Jewish do, if they not fight. And
why, the
first, is this fight?
How many times I'm asking this question and I'm not the only one. The history gives the
answers, but
they depend on who, when and why wrote
them. Everyone chooses those who supports his
cause. Join point
of course is that
these lands are populated longer from Jewish and Palestinians,
as well from Romans and neighboring Empires. Convenient summary, which
is close to the facts of the millennium.
That
is why the event, which I want to tell begins and ends with the
reign of the cruel, selfish King Herod. Something remind you of that name, or
the expression "evil like Herod? He is the son of a highly placed officer
of the Roman Jewish ancestry (74/73 BC)
With the help of the Roman Senate, he became the King of Israel for 37 years. His name remains for
generations connected
with building of significant
architectural monuments such as the Temple of Herod in Jerusalem nearly
destroyed later, the fortresses Hedorium and Masada. Imagine, he and Cleopatra had a monopoly on the
asphaltum deposits in the Dead
sea, which help a lot in building fleets.
If you're known as one of the most brutal rulers, who among
other evils is ordered the murder of 14000 innocent
children in Bitleem, out of fear for his throne, who killed his own wife and
child, then you won't be wondering why he had 2,000 people personal security. You won't be
wondering that when relations with Rome worsen to extreme, King Herod ran in the fortress
Masada.
I wonder if someone from modern rulers has surpassed Herod in self-protection? Whether if any protection has
the power to keep them from what bed
rulers deserved?
Masada is one of many archaeological monuments, which are
supposed to show us the meaninglessness
of the wars. King Herod,
roman, accepts Jewish faith because he wanted to become King of
Israel, but with the support of the occupiers. Later he
had started war
with them. What is its cause? Why exactly, he and many like him led people to war? Is the protection of the throne
and crown their
"high politics".
Is this all the intrigue in the world, so thousands of people are dying?
I
wonder, how can there be a “higher
policy” in the World, and
there is no overriding “global wisdom”? If it is a
stalemate of unresolved
problems, then it is better to
talk about the traveling
experience, for
flowers, for
birds of love, for
everything else that makes people happy. Why should we put the finger on the
exact spot where it hurts the most, it is better to drive around. We need a
distraction, but In my “distraction” there are
quite a few rocks. I will tell you something about the
place – Masada (Fortress). Herod went there when Jerusalem become very
"hot" for him in, even though there was no shadow under the scorching
sun among the rocks of
desert.. There he spent the last years of his life, in the siege
of the Romans. Those`,
who 3-4 decades
ago gave him the Jewish crown.
We are on the road to Masada. The greenery around us is
over, after the bus left the Jerusalem’s
outskirts. The highway crosses the infinite white plain. On one side elevates equally white high mountain plateaus. Here
there are oases of Jewish kibbutzim. It
turned out that these groups do not differ too much from former Soc-collective farms,
but only the idea. Do you remember French philosopher Jan Jack Russo? But everything is
divided according the
work people do. If you need something extra, then the General Assembly
decides. Residents gather every evening on the report and the design for the
next day. Moreover, children live in hostels apart from fathers and mothers and
spend too little under parental custody.
This was for a more effective protection of children in the attacks.
Great! So,
this is the way to do good
and strong
people. O, yes only if
you start your preparedness from childhood you may resist intense years
in these wars? Maybe the discipline with which they are bred contributes to a surprisingly
high standard of living in Israel, until recently. Unfortunately, the wars and
the incoming Palestinians who together with Israeli nationality, receive
unemployment progressively drain the country.
Masada was founded in the 1st century BC. by Alexander Janneus on
a vast plateau near the Dead
sea. It has a natural slope to the sea, and this has enabled the defenders to
collect pelting in huge underground reservoirs. In other similar
repositories was stored their
food. So the defenders of the fortress resisted there 3 years of siege.
The plateau was only
400 meters above sea level, but long was impregnable for the opponents. Finally, 10,000 Roman army built an enormous
trestle, which got to the plateau. The defenders, 960 cikarii (zioni), headed
by Herod suicide and only
women and children left alive.
Alexander Janneus
and later Herod have
created big and luxurious settlement. The fortress with all its reception
halls, the Throne Hall, patios and
sleeping accommodations were arranged on three terraces, one below the other,
along the edge of the slope. The wind even now
carries the freshness of the sea, although it is catches a few miles away.
Little remains for us, despite the efforts at excavations in the 1960 's.
However, it is enough to make
us wander how in such a place at the former technique level were built marble halls, bathrooms and even a swimming pool on the middle of the desert.
I
walked away from the band, so I can imagine the white walls of the three
main buildings, sparkling in blue sky. It is the only one that has not changed.
I have imagined the worried defenders, who
knew that their end is coming. I could see down into the plain eager Roman
soldiers. I thought, if the war can be a good thing, which is more acceptable,
their primitive, denouncing the enemy of slow death, or modern our instantaneous
dealing with opponents?
Our guide shows very
thoroughly all that's left of the distant centuries and how it is protected
now. Posters and
three-dimensional shapes help us implement the idea of the fortress and the
small village of servants.
I don't want to get a lift back. This place is like
halfway between heaven and Earth. I look up, shoreless blue sky, down
- valley full of white, yellow and brown
overlays of dolomite. Forward the gaze is lost in the blue of the Dead sea. A nice
breeze and the spirit invites me to stay longer. What songs were sang the
erstwhile inhabitants.
The blue Dead sea
invites us, it is our next goal. In minutes, we come to the humble beach complex. Once the picture has been another, medical
sanatoriuns and hotels were scattered along the coast, but the withdrawal of the
sea for miles has destroyed their business.
We stop at a nice shopping center, with
regular commercial stores and restaurants.
A small path leads to the sea.
I wonder how some
tourists haven’t gone in the water, at least out of curiosity. There is also
another attraction – black healing mud, thrown down in a pile right on the
sand. Around it, like Devils lurking black, shiny bodies. I coated from head to
toe for the first time in my life and I went timidly in the water. Nothing
special, you don't feel a difference, try to swim, it's even easier. They told
us to keep the eyes and nose out of the water, of course that I put on doubt,
but why you should keep your head higher than your body? If I kick twice I can
restore my balance. No, not kicking helps, but the surrounding people reacted
quickly. I apologized telling that maybe my very heavy head irresistibly pulls
down ....If this head weighs that much… it might be smart?
Here's a new method for measurement of brain
weight, my patent. .
