Megiddo:
Biblical “Armageddon”, this site was an important city place at the junction of important cross roads in old times. Excavations of this site uncovered 27 successive layers of human use, until its abandonment. The most important finds are from Canaanite and Israelite times. Megiddo is also significant to the Christian world as it is identified with “Armageddon”, the site of the battle at the end times.
One of the highlights of the tour is the water “factory” , built by King Ahab in the ninth century. The “factory” was built in order to bring water to the city without leaving the city exposing yourself to the enemy.
Beit-Sheen:
The city of Beit-Sheen is one of the oldest cities in the World. In Roman and Byzantine times it became a regional capital and it continued to thrive in the Early Muslim Periods. In 749 AC, the city was destroyed by a devastating earthquake, and later abandoned for centuries. The ruins of the city buried under for hundreds of years were found by mistake in the 1980’s while children played football! Only then a large scale excavations uncovered many parts of the city’s classical periods. Its main attractions include an impressive theater and a set of bath houses, commercial streets, some of which may have functioned as a brothel, and foundations of several Roman Temples. The finds include Canaanite, Egyptian and Israelite periods.
On top of the hill we can see a citadel overlooking the city which also provides stunning views of the Jordan Valley and the Gilboa Mountains.
Beit Alpha Synagogue mosaic floor:
A few minutes’ drive from Beit-Shean is Beit Alpha site. It’s located in Kibbutz Hefzi-Ba. Discovered in 1929, the Beth Alpha mosaic floor decorated a synagogue, yet, surprisingly, it proved to contain figurative images, and even a Zodiac. The synagogue, opens the door the a life of the Jews living here 1500 years ago.
