Massada

Set on an isolated messa (table mountain) in the Judean Desert, Massada's steep slopes rise more than 400 meters above the Dead Sea. It was first fortified by the Hasmonean king Alexander Jannaus in the second Century B.C. King Herod build there a magnificent fortified palace as place of refuge in time of emergency. During the great Jewish revolt against the Romans, 66-70 CE, a group of Zealots with their families gathered Massada. It was the last stand of the Jews that ended in their suicide on Passover of the year 73. The excavated site is one of Israel's main attractions. Back