Masada

Masada is the ancient fortress built by Herod the Great, more than 2,000 years ago. This was his place of safety, located on top of a high geological feature with only difficult access. The site is probably best known for the siege by the Romans at the end of the 1st Jewish-Roman war in 73/4 CE where the last rebels held out.
My 1st impression was that the fortress is a lot larger than I expected. This is another example of mistaken ideas about what I expected.
The 1st picture is of the mountain looking up to where Herod built his fortress. This was taken from the cable car that provides easy access to the top.
The 2nd picture looks back down from the top. Notice the squares. These are Roman army encampments. There were 8 at that time, all connected by a wall that cut off any chance for relief to the rebels.
The 3rd picture is of the model of the north end of the fortress. The 3 levels constitute Herod's palace.
The 4th picture looks across the remains of the fortress, giving a sense of scale of the place. This is only half of it, looking south. There isn't any place to see the whole site at once unless you have a drone. The 5th picture looks north from about the same spot to show some of the ruins. Note that the palace in the 3rd picture is beyond what's visible here. If you look closely, you will see in some places a black line painted on the walls. This makes the extent of the ruins before restoration. Everything below the line is original in situ. Everything above the line is reconstructed.
The last picture is the synagogue of the fortress. It is a well preserved part of the structure.Read more