Next to the Dead Sea appears an oval-shaped flat-topped mesa and a mountain surrounded by a virtual sheer drop.
Unlike the rest of the landscape, this site was secure for King Herod to build himself a palace-fortress in which he could retire in case of emergency. The splendour of Masada was epic. A sheer marvel of engineering that used artificial water courses to channel the desertās rare rainfall into large cisterns where, despite the 120-degree heat, they could make and store ice.
![smiling white male wearing a backpack](https://oasistravel.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/smiling-backpacker.png?x82136)
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