Yehi'am Fortress National Park
| Yehi'am Fortress National Park | |
|---|---|
 Part of the fortress | |
| Location | Northern District, Israel |
| Nearest city | Yehiam |
| Coordinates | 32°59′39″N 35°13′19″E / 32.9941°N 35.2219°E |
| Official website | |
Yehi'am Fortress National Park is an Israeli national park in the western Upper Galilee on the grounds of Kibbutz Yehi'am, whose main attraction are the ruins of a hilltop castle. The structure is based on the Crusader-time Iudyn Castle built by the Teutonic Order after 1220, destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baibars sometime between 1268 and 1271, rebuilt and expanded by the Bedouin ruler Zahir al-Umar as Qal'at Jiddin (Jiddin Castle) in the 1760s and destroyed again by Ahmed Jezzar Pasha around 1775.[1][2] The ruined fortress, known as Khirbat Jiddin (lit. "ruins of Jiddin"), was later inhabited by Bedouin tribes. The establishment of a kibbutz in 1946 is described on the Kibbutz Yehi'am page.
The buildings include a watch tower with a lookout platform, mosque, and large vaulted hall.[3]
The 1948 trenches laid around the castle can also be visited.
Archaeological finds in the park but outside the castle precinct include the remains of a Roman fort, a Byzantine monastery, burial caves, stones inscribed with crosses and fragments of mosaic.[4]
See also
- Tourism in Israel
- Khirbat Jiddin
- Kibbutz Yehiam
References
- ^ Pringle, Denys (1997). Secular buildings in the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem: an archaeological Gazetter. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521 46010 7.
- ^ Pringle, R. D., A. Petersen, M. Dow and C. Singer (1994). "Qalʿat Jiddin: A castle of the Crusader and Ottoman periods in Galilee". Levant. 26: 135–66.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "http://www.attractions-in-israel.com/galilee/galilee-national-parks/yehiam-fortress-national-park-%E2%80%93-yehiam-crusader-fortress-protects-settlers-in-1948/". Attractions in Israel. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
{{cite web}}: External link in|title= - ^ "Help from above - Jerusalem Post | HighBeam Research". highbeam.com. Retrieved 5 February 2016.
External links
