Fortress Masada (Masada) description and photos - Israel: Dead Sea (Topic)

Masada fortress description and photos - Israel: Dead Sea. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The title in English is Masada.

Photo and description

Masada is an ancient fortress located near the Israeli city of Arad, on the southern coast of the Dead Sea. At the top of one of the rocks of the Judean Desert, rising 450 meters above the Dead Sea, in 25 BC. e. King Herod I the Great built a refuge for himself and his family, significantly strengthening and completing the Hasmonean fortress that existed on this site.

Steep cliffs surround Masada on all sides. Only from the side of the sea a narrow, so-called `` snake path '' leads up. You can still climb the fortress along this path. However, now there is another route for tourists - the cable car.

The top of the cliff is crowned by an almost flat trapezoidal plateau, the dimensions of which are about 600 by 300 meters. The plateau is surrounded by powerful fortress walls with a total length of 1400 meters and a thickness of about 4 meters, in which 37 towers are arranged. Here, palaces, a synagogue, armories, pits for collecting and storing rainwater and other auxiliary buildings were built and have survived to this day, albeit in ruins. The fortress was also used to store royal gold.

We also recommend reading Palazzo Riso description and photos - Italy: Palermo (Sicily)

Topic: Fortress Masada (Masada) description and photos - Israel: Dead Sea.