Combine natural beauty with history on a trip to Israel
Israel is full of historical sights that you'll probably want to visit if you take a holiday there but one place that you certainly shouldn't miss is the Masada fortress.
Located atop a mountain looking over the Dead Sea, the sunrise from its summit is worth making the climb to see.
Ella Ide recently returned from a trip to the country and her account of her journey to Masada won the Daily Telegraph's weekly travel writing competition Just Back.
From Ella's description, it seems the climb at dawn is pretty difficult but I think it'd be worth it based on the sight you see as you reach the plateau at the top.
She wrote: "The sun, rising behind distant peaks, colours the mottled flats a luminous gold, which deepens as it creeps towards us until, as dawn breaks, the ruins of Herod's glorious palace are tinged blood-red once more."
Even if you don't make it up the mountain in time to see the sunrise, you'll still find that it's worth the trip.
Centuries old, the fortress is a Unesco World Heritage site and is known as a symbol of the ancient kingdom of Israel.
You'll certainly want to do some research about its fascinating history before you make the climb!
