We were picked up at our hotel for our group highlights tour of Israel. There are 15 of us which is a nice size. We are from America, Canada, Germany and Holland. We left Tel Aviv driving past Ashod(largest harbor now), the Gaza strip(now Palestinian) and Be’er Sheva (capital of Negev), the Tamaran trees(the same as Moses planted as covenant with God), and the remains of the temple from the Book of Amos at Tel Sheva(8th century BC) before arriving at Masada. Here we ascended in the cable car to Herod the Great’s fortress at the top, which was the Jewish Zealots last stronghold in the war against the Romans after the destruction of the second temple. Here they fought valiantly for 3 years before they decided upon self inflicted death versus slavery. We toured the excavations, Herod’s palaces, bathhouse, and synagogue. From here, one can see the remains of the Roman encampments, the Dead Sea, Jordan, and Ein Gedi. The history of Masada was chronicled by Josephus Flavius.