Journey to Galilee: Archaeological Parks: Beit She’an, Megiddo, Sepphoris

Overview

Beit She’an (Hebrew: בית שאן Bethsan, Hebrew Σκυθόπολις – Scythopolis, Arabic – Bisan or Bezan) is a modern city in the north of Israel with a population of 17 thousand people. Located in the Jordan Valley about 25 km south of the Sea of ​​Galilee. The population of modern Beit She’an is 17.3 thousand people (as of 2013). The historical city is one of the ancient cities of Decapolis (ten Hellenistic cities, united by the Roman commander Pompey into a separate administrative unit). On the territory of Beit She’an there is a national archaeological park of the historical Scythopolis, where one can see the colonnades of the Roman streets of Cardo and Decumanus, the Roman theater, the thermae, the Roman baths discovered during archaeological excavations.

Megiddo is a hill in the western part of the Jezreel Valley, on the territory of the modern state of Israel, near a modern settlement of the same name. Known due to the Greek word Armageddon (al-Greek Ἁρμαγεδών), which is a transliteration of the Hebrew phrase hag Megiddo (Hebrew הַר מְגִדּוֹ, lit. – “Mount Megiddo”).

In ancient times, Megiddo was an important city-state. His excavations number about 26 cultural layers, this indicates that the settlement existed here for a very long time. Megiddo is located near the strategically important passage through the mountain range of Carmel. Today, the Megiddo archaeological complex is protected by the state as a national park and included in the Unesco World Heritage List since 2005.

Sepphoris (other Greek, Σέπφωρις), Zipori (Hebrew צִפּוֹרִי), Diocaesarea (Latin Diocaesaraea, other Greek, Διοκαισάρεια, Saffuria, La Sephori (Old La Sephorie, Le Saforie) The crusaders are the historical capital of the Galilee, located 6 km northwest of Nazareth, currently an archaeological site and a national park in Israel, excavated here since 1931. As a result of the works, a whole residential quarter was discovered and on display, date from the end of the 1st and beginning of the 2nd century AD On the north side of the hill the Roman theater a synagogue of the 6th century is also excavated in the lower city, a long building of the synagogue (16 by 6.5 m) is divided by a colonnade to the main hall and a side nave.In the center of the mosaic floor is a zodiacal circle, in addition to the names of the signs, there are the names of the months of the Jewish calendar , in the center of the circle of Helios in the form of a solar disk, operating the chariot.The floor also depicts biblical scenes (including Abraham with the angels and the sacrifice of Isaac) and the attributes of worship in the Jerusalem Temple.

The excursion begins at the place of accommodation of the tourists in Jerusalem (the address and time of the excursion beginning is indicated in advance by the guide). On the tour you need to have comfortable shoes, drinking water and a hat from the sun. To cross the border post between Jerusalem and Beit Shean, tourists need to have a passport with them.