020 ISRAEL - Masada (WHS)

Masada is an ancient fortification in the Southern District of Israel, on top of an isolated rock plateau (akin to a mesa) on the eastern 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. The Siege of Masada by troops of the Roman Empire towards the end of the First Jewish-Roman War ended in the mass suicide of the 960 Jewish rebels and their families hiding there.

The cliffs on the east edge are about 1,300 feet (400m) high and the cliffs on the west are about 300 feet (91m) high; the natural approaches to the cliff top are very difficult. The top of the plateau is flat and rhomboid-shaped, about 1,800 ft (550m) by 900 ft (270m). There was a casemate wall around the top of the plateau totaling 4,300 feet (1.3km) long and 12 feet (3.7m) high with many towers and the fortress included storehouses, barracks, an armory, the palace and cisterns that were refilled by rainwater. Three narrow, winding paths led from below up to fortified gates.

About the sender

Christina Pinchuk-Olebu (direct swap) sent from Holon (Israel) on 30.08.2013