Gamla

Gamla

The Masada of the north

Gamla was a Jewish town on a steep ridge in the Golan, shaped like a camel's hump, from which its name derives. In 67 CE it held out against Roman forces in the Jewish revolt, and according to Josephus thousands of its people died when the town fell, many by throwing themselves off the cliff. Excavations have uncovered a synagogue from the first century, one of the oldest known, along with a city wall, houses, and a ritual bath. The nature reserve around it has a high waterfall and a colony of griffon vultures that nest in the cliffs.

Glossary: Gamla