The brochure for my trip to Israel stated that students must be in good shape because there would be a lot of walking during the course. So, I was prepared to do a lot of walking. What surprised me was the almost constant uphill and downhill walking in Israel. Even the “plateau” regions had hills, just less of them. Throughout the country, many hills were quite steep. I am in better-than-average physical condition, and there were a handful of occasions when I “felt the burn” in my legs or felt my heart pounding after a quick, steep climb.
On May 25th, our group set out for a four-day field trip to the biblical territory of Judah. In modern parlance, this means southern Israel, which includes the Negev and the wilderness (desert). As you might guess, our first stop was a steep mountain fortress called the Herodium. As the name suggests, the Herodium was a part-time defense fortress, part-time luxurious getaway for King Herod the Great, who ruled in Israel from about 37 BC to 4 BC. (He is the Herod that is mentioned in the Bible around the time of Jesus’ birth.) The Herodium is located about seven and a half miles from Jerusalem on the route out to the desert. It served as a refuge in case Herod ever had to “get out of town” quickly, but also had a large pool for his vacations. Historical records indicate that Herod the Great wanted to be buried at the Herodium. And sure enough, more recently (i.e. in the last century or two) the burial site of Herod has been discovered there.
The first picture above is the Herodium from a distance (and, you can see part of the pool at the bottom of the hill, in the foreground). Yes, we walked to the very top, although the bus dropped us off about half-way up. Still, it was a steep climb. The second photo is me at the top of the fortress. You can see how high it is by looking at the landscape and mountains in the background. The third photo shows you the Roman remains at the top of the fortress. The remains include living and storage spaces for troops.
We visited two of Herod’s fortresses in all (we went to Masada a few days later), and one of the challenges at both was the realization that once you got to the top, your walking was not done. You see, in order to get from one part of the fortress to another, you often have to walk up and down steep stairways on the sides of the mountain. The fourth photo depicts an example of this. In order to get to Herod’s burial site, we had to descend approximately 150-200 steep stairs. The fifth photo is Herod’s burial site. After seeing the burial site, it was time to once again climb back up to the top. Such mini-excursions were always tiring, but always worth it.
One thing that came across loud and clear on this trip was that Herod the Great was a prolific builder. He orchestrated a major renovation of the Jerusalem Temple, built the port city of Caesarea, and constructed several impressive forts, such as the Herodium and Masada. He was a tyrannical, paranoid, vindictive, yet “larger than life” kind of leader. In fact, he was dubbed “King of the Jews” (ruler over Israel, though he himself was not Jewish). What’s more, his rule was under one of the most prolific emperors in the history of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus. Isn’t it interesting that at the height of Caesar Augustus’ power, he decreed that a census be taken in the Roman Empire—a census that required a Jewish man named Joseph to travel with his pregnant fiancé to a town called Bethlehem, where, of course, the real King of the Jews was born?
The brochure for my trip to Israel stated that students must be in good shape because there would be a lot of walking during the course. So, I was prepared to do a lot of walking. What surprised me was the almost constant uphill and downhill walking in Israel. Even the “plateau” regions had hills, just less of them. Throughout the country, many hills were quite steep. I am in better-than-average physical condition, and there were a handful of occasions when I “felt the burn” in my legs or felt my heart pounding after a quick, steep climb.
On May 25th, our group set out for a four-day field trip to the biblical territory of Judah. In modern parlance, this means southern Israel, which includes the Negev and the wilderness (desert). As you might guess, our first stop was a steep mountain fortress called the Herodium. As the name suggests, the Herodium was a part-time defense fortress, part-time luxurious getaway for King Herod the Great, who ruled in Israel from about 37 BC to 4 BC. (He is the Herod that is mentioned in the Bible around the time of Jesus’ birth.) The Herodium is located about seven and a half miles from Jerusalem on the route out to the desert. It served as a refuge in case Herod ever had to “get out of town” quickly, but also had a large pool for his vacations. Historical records indicate that Herod the Great wanted to be buried at the Herodium. And sure enough, more recently (i.e. in the last century or two) the burial site of Herod has been discovered there.
The first picture above is the Herodium from a distance (and, you can see part of the pool at the bottom of the hill, in the foreground). Yes, we walked to the very top, although the bus dropped us off about half-way up. Still, it was a steep climb. The second photo is me at the top of the fortress. You can see how high it is by looking at the landscape and mountains in the background. The third photo shows you the Roman remains at the top of the fortress. The remains include living and storage spaces for troops.
We visited two of Herod’s fortresses in all (we went to Masada a few days later), and one of the challenges at both was the realization that once you got to the top, your walking was not done. You see, in order to get from one part of the fortress to another, you often have to walk up and down steep stairways on the sides of the mountain. The fourth photo depicts an example of this. In order to get to Herod’s burial site, we had to descend approximately 150-200 steep stairs. The fifth photo is Herod’s burial site. After seeing the burial site, it was time to once again climb back up to the top. Such mini-excursions were always tiring, but always worth it.
One thing that came across loud and clear on this trip was that Herod the Great was a prolific builder. He orchestrated a major renovation of the Jerusalem Temple, built the port city of Caesarea, and constructed several impressive forts, such as the Herodium and Masada. He was a tyrannical, paranoid, vindictive, yet “larger than life” kind of leader. In fact, he was dubbed “King of the Jews” (ruler over Israel, though he himself was not Jewish). What’s more, his rule was under one of the most prolific emperors in the history of the Roman Empire, Caesar Augustus. Isn’t it interesting that at the height of Caesar Augustus’ power, he decreed that a census be taken in the Roman Empire—a census that required a Jewish man named Joseph to travel with his pregnant fiancé to a town called Bethlehem, where, of course, the real King of the Jews was born?
Again, great pictures! Interesting observations on Herod. We are again reminded of how much tougher everyday life was in that age as compared to now.
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