To reach the summit of Masada is a 350 meter vertical hike to the ancient fortification at the edge of the Judaean Desert, overlooking the Dead Sea. Herod the Great built palaces for himself on the mountain and fortified Masada between 37 and 31 BC.
Standing atop this ancient fortification and looking out over the vast desert, little changed since Biblical times, the mind drifts to the siege of Masada by Roman Legions at the end of the First Jewish–Roman War which ended in the mass suicide of 960 people. The Jewish rebels chose death by their own hands instead of being Killed, raped or turned into slaves by the Romans.
Dead Sea
Thee lowest point on earth at more than 1,400 feet bolo sea level or 430 meters. The Dead Sea is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west.
Many people go to the spas along the shore for the therapeutic waters, of which I did not particularly enjoy. Although I did enjoy the beauty of the desert and the Dead Sea.
