(Mezada), on the left bank of the Dead Sea, is where the once luxurious palace of King Herod still stands (and site of the famous seige), perched on a clifftop. It can be reached by cable car or a winding footpath and there is a breathtaking view of the Dead Sea and the pink mountains of Moab from here.
Other interesting sights around the Dead Sea include Mount Sodom, a 13km- (8 mile-) long mountain range made up of pure salt which has many caves with extraordinary hanging salt formations, and Qumran, where the Dead Sea Scrolls, written by Essene scribes, were discovered in ancient pottery jars. The discovery of the Scrolls was made in 1947 by an Arab shepherd looking for a stray goat. Seven scrolls were found, the most famous being the scroll of Isaiah, which is 1 foot wide and 24 feet long. Excavations at the site found more than 900 pieces of scrolls in more than 30 caves. Except for two scrolls written on copper, all the scrolls were written on leather and papyrus.