One of my top favorite sites in Israel

If I had to make of list of "Coolest places in Israel"... well, it would be REALLY long—and Masada would be in the top 10. 

Its story is incredible—heartbreaking, full of heroism, and even more stunning when you actually go and see it for yourself. If you don't know the story, please stop now and go read it.

The first time I went there, it was late March 2017 and a high 80 degrees. I thought it was hot, haha. Then I went back in May 2022, and it was over 100 degrees in full sun! It was an incredible day, though very, very hot in full sun (shout out to Mike'n'Ikes for keeping us going). Because the yearly hamsin (the dust from the Sahara that fills the air between Passover and Shavuot) was in the air, it was actually hard to see very far, even from that high. You can barely see the Dead Sea in the picture above!

Still, the views were breathtaking:

This time I got to see some new places, as well as some I'd visited before.

Like, this public immersion pool!

These original floors in the Western Palace:

The Byzantine Era church (of course there's one!)

Then it was back to some old favorites:

the dove cote!

the synagogue

views of the Roman camps

and the Northern Palace (you can barely see the Dead Sea!!!)

Still, there's a whole section I haven't been to, at the southern end of the site. And, I didn't go down to the lower levels of the Northern Palace because it was a lot of steps and we were all very hot and tired. Definitely next time!