Sound and light shows around historical and architectural monuments are not new. Monuments make a marvellous backdrop for such shows. We have many sound and light shows in India of this nature at almost most of our historical palaces, temples, etc. But Israel has taken this effort a bit ahead in more bigger way, where a mountain itself has become a canvas for the audio-visual show. And, it has also added many more features to this concept to make it an adventure and outing in itself, something quite unique in nature.
The Israel Nature and Parks Authority offers a new nocturnal 45 minutes show ‘From Dusk to Dawn’ at the Masada National Park, its’ flagship site. Ranked as Israel’s most popular national park with 1 million visitors a year, the site has created a first of its kind evening spectacle screened for the audience by means of innovative, multimedia technologies. Mount Masada itself serves as the “screen” on which the performance is shown. Video mapping technology as well as advanced lighting and sound effects have created a world-class exhibit. The western side of Mount Masada also offers historical information zones along the route that takes the visitors to the performance.
A short film where visitors can get a glimpse from behind the scenes of the archaeological excavations on Masada, as well as two audio zones that recount the story of the Roman siege of Masada and King Herod’s extravagant life style. The moving soundtrack was composed especially for the show by Shlomo Gronich, with many soloists, including Harel Sakat and Liraz Charhi. Dozens of actors, extras, orchestra and an extensive choir participate in the performance, breathing life into the ancient story of Masada and its historical heroes. The open air theatre at Masada hosts up to 1,500 persons and a spacious camping area is available for visitors who choose to spend the night at Masada and climb to the top of the mountain to watch the magnificent sunrise at dawn.
Alongwith Dead Sea, Masada is among the two most visited places in Israel. But, getting there and travelling in the region isn’t that easy as Public buses are quite infrequent and often do not stop at your point of choice. Renting a car is the best idea to be there. There are different tours from Tel Aviv for Masada covering a distance of almost 160 kms. Masada is located on the edge of Judean Desert 20 km east of Arad between Sin Gedi and Sodom. Cliff made of chalk, dolomite and marl strata stands about 400 metres above the Dead Sea. In 1966 it was declared a National Park and a cable car to the top was built in 1977.
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