This photo shows the cable car route to Massada, which is a plateau over 1300 feet high overlooking the Dead Sea. Originally built around 34 B.C. by Herod as a fortress retreat for use in case of civil disturbance, this inaccessible site was the location of a valiant resistance by Jews against Roman troops in 73 A.D. After years of siege, and the final construction by the Roman forces of an earthen ramp leading to the walls of the fortress, the zealot Jews in the fortress decided on death rather than capture by the Romans. The site of this mass suicide has become a symbol of freedom for Israelis.