34 | SUNRAYS APRIL 2014
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Teenage transport in Petra, Jordan.
The Holy Land
M
asada is no mere mountaintop
fortress overlooking the Dead
Sea in Israel. Here, Herod
the Great built a stunning palace, with
water cisterns and swimming pools re-
plenished through an intricate system
of conduits that captured water from
the seasonal flash floods that scoured
the valleys below. Here, the last of the
Jewish zealots from Jerusalem fled for
security after the Romans sacked the
city and tore down the walls of the sa-
cred temple in 70 AD. Here, the Romans
patiently camped and, over the course
of three years, built a siege ramp from
the valley floor to the top of the towering
mountain, finally breaching the walls of
a seemingly impregnable fortress. And,
when at last the Romans were able to
enter the fortress, it was here, in an
eerie silence, that they found 900 bod-
ies of the zealots: murder/suicide on an
unprecedented scale, by a people who
refused to be enslaved. And, it is here
today that elite Israeli military units
come to pledge their oaths of loyalty and
faith, surrounded by the ghosts of those
who refused to submit.
On a recent trip to Jordan, Israel, and
Palestine (West Bank), my husband Nick
Martinez and I were awestruck by the
sights and history; amazed at the re-
silience of the Jewish state; heartened
that there were many viewpoints, yet
many expressed desires for peace; and
saddened that the fundamental issues
seem so irreconcilable.
Jordan
We began our journey in Jordan. Al-
though it is an interesting country, with
many Roman and crusader ruins, the
highlight for us was the ancient red city
of Petra. Hidden for years in the des-
ert—and made familiar to many through
Indiana Jones’ escapades there in
The
Last Crusade
—a deep and narrow gorge
offers the only route into the city. As the
gorge widens to the entrance of the city,
a colossal façade, cut into the rock, comes
into view and takes your breath away. It
is only the beginning. The gorge winds
on, with temples and tombs carved into
canyon walls that swirl with mineral
color: purples, reds, yellows. Built four
centuries before Christ, the camels, boys
on donkeys, and vendor booths are remi-
niscent of what the bustling merchant
town of 30,000 must have been like.
Israel
When it came time to cross the border
into Israel, we had the first hint of things
to come: Israeli border agents delayed us
for two hours while we tried to explain
PHOTOS BY SANDY NIELSEN
A Meeting Place of Cultures,
Empires, and Religions
By Sandy Nielsen
