As a kid, I loved to read P.M., a German popular science magazine. You would get stories about stealth bombers, ghosts, space lifts, and occasionally history. It was here that I first read the Masada legend.

In 60 CE, Jewish freedom fights (i.e., rebels) had revolted against the Roman occupiers and had valiantly fought for the liberty of their homeland. After being expelled from Jerusalem, they had retreated to Masada, an impenetrable fortress on top of a large rock overlooking the Dead Sea. They felt sure that there was nothing the Romans could do. But Romans being Romans, there was something they could do: They built a large ramp and siege tower. But when they finally breached the walls, they found all rebels dead. They murdered each other by drawing straws, and only the last rebel had to commit the eternal sin of suicide.

As other pointed out, the suicide pact is considered a legend nowadays. It's only mentioned by Josephus, a Jewish author with close ties to the emperor, considered a traitor by other Jews, so he may well have been biased. Side note: It's also Josephus who first mentions Jesus Christ.

But the suicide pact to me is not the legend that I meant. It's what modern day Israel has turned Masada into: a patriotic symbol of the state of Israel. Indeed, some official info signs in Masada call the site and rebels "patriotic". For me, this is never appropriate when dealing with supposedly universal world heritage sites.

My personal, sober reading of the First Jewish Roman War which ended with the siege at Masada is this: Riots were started due to economic hardships and taxation. Some Jews revolted, others did not, some like Josephus relented. I think I would have been on Josephus' side. Any sensible citizen of the Roman Empire at 60 CE knew what a revolt would trigger: the Romans sending their legions and mercilessly applying the full force of their empire to this province. The result was a foregone conclusion, even if the Romans had to put a bit of extra work in by sieging Masada.

One casualty of the war was the Temple in Jerusalem, which was desecrated, plundered, and burnt after Jerusalem fell to the Romans in 70 CE. Another were the Jews themselves who got taken as slaves, the rebellions against Romes a major reason for the Jewish diaspora. I am hard-pressed to see the Jewish upsides of all the rebellions. For a more elaborate discussion, I recommend the Rest is History podcast.

Leaving history behind, Masada is two things:

• It's a well preserved fortress and palace dating back to Herodot with later Roman structures in stunning scenery.
• It's the remnants of a Roman siege.

I think the latter point is often overlooked by the previous reviewers. I have not seen any as tangible remains of Roman (or for that matter any other pre modern) siege warfare as here in Masada. You still see the camps they set up around the fortress way down below you. The rebels must have laughed at the Roman effort. And then you see the ramp and how the Romans crossed over. And it's hard not to be astonished by the Roman engineering.

Apart from the siege warfare and the views, Herodot's palace tucked on the cliff side (picture) is the highlight of any visit.

Getting There

Masada can easily be done as a day trip from Jerusalem, thanks to the a Highway 1 cutting right through the West Bank. While all car rental agencies say, you can't take your car to the West Bank, what they actually mean is this: You can't take your car to any area in the West Bank, that has a red "Israelis not allowed to enter" sign. This is way smaller, and not discernable from looking at official maps.

As mentioned by Wojciech, the fast access is from the Western entry and follows the Roman ramp. The default entry with visitor center and cable car is the Eastern one.

We skipped paying and waiting for the cable car and hiked up ourselves. I would say 45min and a reasonable fitness level are fully sufficient. One thing to consider, though, is that you don't get any shade before lunch as the snake trail faces east. Especially in summer, this could be gruesome, so bring water and sunscreen. In any case, you should have bought one variation of the Israel pass as it covers Masada (but not the cable car), reduces hassle and saves you money.

While You Are There

En Bokek has a large, open Dead Sea beach. Note that due to the sinking Dead Sea, many historic beaches now have sinkholes and are closed. En Gedi is an oasis with an old synagogue. Supposedly, King David hid here from his mortal enemies. Further North, is where the Qumran scrolls (T) were found.

Personally, I wanted to see Lot's Wife and Mount Sodom a bit further down. It's on the way to Eilat and Beer Scheeva where you can tick off Incense Routes and Ancient Tels.