First glimpse of Masada |
Masada National Park, one of the most important archaeological sites in Israel |
Masada, a place I've wanted to visit since I saw the epic 1981 TV miniseries "Masada" with Peter O'Toole as the Roman commander |
The 1300 ft cliffs of the eastern face of the fortress of Masada rising above the Dead Sea |
Masada was the site of a siege of Jewish zealots by the Romans in 72-73 A.D. |
Welcome to Masada National Park |
Israeli flag with Masada - important focal point of Israeli nationalism |
Masada - last Jewish bastion during the Great Revolt (66 AD-72 AD) commanded by Elazar ben Ya'ir, leader of the Sicarii Zealots |
The new visitor's center at the base of the eastern face of Masada |
You can reach the top via cable car or a for a more authentic experience, climb the Snake Path |
Model of the plateau with the Fortress of Masada in the Visitor's Center |
Sculpted model of Masada at the Visitor's Center |
Masada Visitor's Center |
Masada Visitor's Center |
Masada - World Heritage Site |
View of the Dead Sea from the Masada Visitor's Center |
900m Aerial Ropeway to the top of Masada built in 1998 |
Masada Cable Car base station, elevation -257m (below sea level) |
Remains of a Roman camp (one of eight) from the siege of 72-73 AD |
View of the Snake Path from the cable car, Masada |
Cyclist walking his bike down steps on the Snake Path |
Shadow of the Masada Cable Car with the Snake Path |
Shadow of the Masada Cable Car |
Ascending Masada the easy way |
Nearing the top of Masada |
View from the upper cable car station at 33m above sea level |
The cable car climbs 290m from the Visitor's Center |
The eastern cliffs of Masada rising 455m above the level of the Dead Sea |
View of the desert at the base of Masada, the Dead Sea and the runway of Bar Yehuda Airport |
Archeological remains of a Roman camp from the Siege of Masada, 72-73 AD during the Great Revolt |
Stone formations in the desert at the base of Masada along Highway 90 |
Walkway leading from the Cable Car station to the entrance of Masada where it meets the Snake Path |
Southern Dead Sea seen from Masada |
View of the Southern Dead Sea with the mountains of Jordan on the other side |
Upper cable car station, Masada |
Upper cable car station, Masada |
Model of Masada seen from the northwest |
Artists impression of the Fortress of Masada and the Roman Camps during the siege, 73 AD |
Ruins of the Fortress of Masada |
Masada was rediscovered in 1842 and excavated 1963-1965 |
Storehouses which helped the defenders withstand a long siege |
Rows of storehouses at the north end of the plateau, Masada |
The top of Masada measures 550m x 275m (1800 ft x 900 ft) |
Ruins of Masada, partially reconstructed by Israeli archaeologists |
View from the northern watchtower, Masada |
The Quarry, Masada |
The Quarry, Masada |
Masada was built during the reign of Herod the Great (37 BC to 4 BC) |
Color fragments decorating the inside of a Masada villa |
The Dead Sea and Bar Yehuda Airport seen from the top of Masada |
The Masada Visitors Center |
Partially reconstructed storeroom - below the black line is the level of the original ruins |
The north end of Masada with the bath house |
Storerooms at the north end of Masada |
Looking down on Herod's spectacularly situated Northern Palace |
Model of Herod's Northern Palace |
The view looking north from Masada |
The view looking northwest from Masada with the remains of one of the 8 Roman siege camps |
The 8 Roman siege camps (72-73 AD) housed 8000 Legionaries commanded by Falvius Silva |
Masada was defended by 967 Jewish rebels (men, women and children) |
The fall of Masada in 73 AD marked the end of the Jews in Palestine for almost 2 millenia |
Jewish ritual bath, Masada |
Herod's Bathhouse, Masada |
Herod's Bathhouse, Masada |
Steps leading down to the ruins of Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
Looking north from the steps to Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
The path to Herod's Northern Palace cut into the northwestern cliffs of Masada |
Northwestern cliffs, Masada |
Columns of Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
Columns of Herod's Northern Palace |
Columns of Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
Columns of Herod's Northern Palace |
The Roman Siege Ramp built on the western side of Masada |
The Roman Siege Ramp built on the western side of Masada |
Looking up at the upper terraces of Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
Lower terrace, Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
View of the badlands between Masada and the Dead Sea |
Capital of a column, Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
The path to Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
Back at the storerooms on top of Masada with the Dead Sea and Jordan in the background |
Tristram's Starling or Tristram's Grackle (Onychognathus tristramii), Masada |
Tristram's Starling or Tristram's Grackle (Onychognathus tristramii), Masada |
Mikveh - Jewish ritual bath, Masada |
Northwestern ruins, Masada |
Viewpoint overlooking the Roman camp on the cliffs to the northwest of Masada |
Northern Cistern, Masada |
Northern Cistern, Masada |
Map of the Masada water supply |
View from the Northern Palace Lookout, Masada |
The Synagogue of Masada, the oldest in the world and the only one dating from the time of the Second Temple Period |
Jewish scribe with a quill pen, Synagogue of Masada |
Synagogue of Masada, restored to use |
Northern Watchtower, Masada |
Ruins on the west side of Masada - Columbarium Towers |
Ruins on the west side of Masada |
Construction detail, Masada |
Looking down on the Roman Siege Ramp, Masada |
The Breaching Point at the top of the Roman Siege Ramp |
Artists impression of the Roman Siege Tower at the top of the ramp attacking the walls of Masada |
Roman Siege Ramp, Masada - watch the TV miniseries for an excellent recreation of the siege of Masada |
Due to high terrain to the west, the western face of Masada is much shorter than the eastern face |
Tanner's Tower at the top of the present serpentine path leading up the western face of Masada |
Byzantine West Gate - 4th or 5th C. AD when Byzantine monks occupied Masada |
Byzantine West Gate, Masada |
Ruins of the Western Palace, Masada |
Rather than face defeat or capture by the Romans, the Jewish zealots defending Masada chose mass suicide instead |
Byzantine Gate on the west side of Masada |
Byzantine Gate on the west side of Masada |
View of the Roman Siege Ramp leading up the western side of Masada |
Panoramic looking to the west from Masada with the Roman Siege Ramp |
Below the black line is original, above the back line is reconstruction from the 1960s |
Cliffs across the valley to the southwest of Masada |
Cliffs across the valley to the southwest of Masada |
Cliffs across the valley to the southwest of Masada |
Panoramic view to the southwest of Masada |
Circular remains, Western Palace, Masada |
Ruins of the southwestern walls of Masada |
View from the southwestern walls, Masada |
The center of the plateau, Masada |
Small Palace, Masada |
View to the southwest from Masada |
The Southern Citadel, Masada |
View to the southeast from the Southern Citadel, Masada |
View to the south from the Southern Citadel, Masada |
Panoramic view of to the southeast of Masada |
Panoramic view of to the southeast of Masada |
Panoramic view of to the southeast of Masada |
Ruins of the Southern Citadel, Masada |
Entrance to the southern cistern, Masada |
Stairway carved into the top of the mountain leading to the southern cistern, Masada |
Southern cistern, Masada |
Southern Citadel, Masada |
Place where the Israeli Defence Forces hold swearing-in ceremonies - "Masada Shall Not Fall Again" |
View to the southeast from Masada |
Visitors Center and the remains of a Roman camp, Masada |
View through a breach in the southeastern wall, Masada |
View to the southeast from Masada |
The southeastern cliffs, Masada |
The mountain to the south of Masada |
Ruins of the eastern walls, Masada |
View from the eastern walls, Masada |
Wild gerbil, Masada |
Caves inhabited by the Byzantine monks in the 4th & 5th Centuries |
View of the Dead Sea from Masada |
Ruins in the center of the plateau, Masada |
Ruins in the center of the plateau, Masada |
Byzantine Church, 5th C. AD |
Mosaic floor of the Byzantine church, 5th C. AD |
Mosaic floor of the Byzantine church, 5th C. AD |
Byzantine Church, 5th C. AD, Masada |
Nave, Byzantine Church, 5th C. AD |
Byzantine Church of Masada, 5th C. AD |
Byzantine Church of Masada, 5th C. AD |
The top of the path leading down the western face of Masada |
Western Path, Masada |
Path down the western side of Masada built into the side of the Roman siege ramp |
Western cliffs of Masada - the side the Romans chose for their assault |
The Roman Siege Ramp, 72-73 BC, Masada |
Looking south from the Roman Siege Ramp with the western cliffs of Masada on the left |
The Roman Ramp, Masada |
The path leading up the Roman Ramp to the west side of Masada |
View south from the base of the Roman Siege Ramp, Masada |
View northeast from the base of the Roman Siege Ramp, Masada |
The terraces of Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
The terraces of Herod's Northern Palace, Masada |
Panoramic view of the northwestern cliffs of Masada and the Dead Sea |
The Roman Siege Wall - Circumvallation, Masada |
Burial site of the remains found during excavation of Masada |
The Remains of the Last Defenders of Masada Who Had Fallen Three Years After the Destruction of the Second Temple (73 C.E.) |
Looking up at Masada and the Roman Siege Ramp from the Tomb of the Defenders, Masada |
The Roman Siege Ramp where the walls of Masada were breached in 73 AD |
Panoramic view of the western face of Masada and the Roman Siege Ramp |
Panoramic view of the western face of Masada and the Roman Siege Ramp |
Panoramic view of the western face of Masada and the Roman Siege Ramp |
Panoramic view of the western face of Masada and the Roman Siege Ramp |
Masada National Park World Heritage Site |
The northern half of the western face of Masada |
The Roman siege ramp on the west face of Masada, 73 A.D. |
View of Masada from the Sound-and-Light Theatre on the northwest side |
An incredible amount of work - the Roman Siege Ramp, Masada |
The western side of Masada is reachable by road via Arad or on foot via the Roman Ramp path |
Masada seen from the west, late afternoon |
Reconstruction of a Roman siege engine at the Masada Sound and Light Theatre |
Recreations of Roman equipment at the Sound and Light Theater, Masada |
Valley to the southwest of Masada |
Climbing back up the Roman Siege Ramp path |
Herod's Northern Palace with the sheer cliffs of Masada |
Roman Siege Ramp, Masada |
Path leading up the Roman Siege Ramp to the west side of Masada |
Tower overlooking the Roman Siege Ramp, Masada |
Looking south from the Roman Siege Ramp, Masada |
Stair leading to the Byzantine Gate, Masada |
Tanner's Tower, Masada |
Byzantine Gate (4th-5th C), Masada |
Descending again by cable car |
Descent by cable car |
Stairs of the Snake Path, Masada |
The cliffs of the mountain to the south of Masada from the cable car, late afternoon |
The cliffs of the mountain to the south of Masada from the cable car, late afternoon |
The cliffs of the mountain to the south of Masada from the cable car, late afternoon |
The mountain south of Masada from the cable car |
Jordan Rift Valley floor, Masada |
VIP guest at Masada |
Masada Guest House (YHA) |