Twenty kilometers south-west Madaba on the King's Highway is a signpost on the right to Mukawir, the site of Machaerus, mentioned in the New Testament as the palace in which Salome danced in exchange for the head of Johan the Baptist on a platter (Mark 6:21-29).
Mukawir lies on a stark promontory (700 meters) overlooking the Dead Sea and protected on three sides by deep ravines. The royal fortress on top of the steep hill is that of Herod the Great. It dates to 30 BC and is a replacement of an earlier structure. It is similar to Herod's other mountain-top abodes west of the River Jordan: Herodium, Alexanderum and Masada.
