Tell Jawa (South)

The Ammonites are known primarily from the biblical text, and little information is found here. Archaeology is beginning to change the situation. Tell Jawa is one of a few excavated sites with extensive Ammonite remains (see also the nearby site of Tell Umayri). The site preserves a gate building, a casemate wall, and several houses, which differ from contemporary Israelite houses. The site is not well known and has not been preserved for visitors. Nevertheless, the remains are in relatively good shape and will give the visitor a good impression of an Ammonite village.

Stop by and explore this little known site.

Audio interpretation available for Nimrod Fortress

We invite you now to take the audio tour of Nimrod Fortress, the largest and best preserved castle anywhere in Israel and the Syro-Palestinian region. Better known in medieval chronicles as Qal‘at as-Subayba, this majestic fortress sits perched on a high ridge in the foothills below Mt. Hermon overlooking the Hula Valley and the road to Damacus. This site will be of special interest to researchers of the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods.

Hammam as-Sarah

This is the site of an isolated Umayyad bath complex similar to the complex at ‘Amra in Jordan. The complex was in a good state of preservation until the 1950s, when its blocks were pilfered for nearby constructions. Today, only the core of the bath remains, partially restored by the Department of Antiquities of Jordan.

Al-Fedein

A sixth century Syrian manuscript describes al-Fedein as the southern most monophysite monastery in Syria, but the excavations have revealed much more. The Byzantine monastery is built within the cyclopean walls of an earlier Aramean fortress. Next to the fortress is a Umayyad palace with a bath and mosque. Further east is an Abbasid khan that served pilgrims on the Hajj to Mecca.

Come explore this interesting site hidden away in the middle of the modern city of Mafraq, Jordan.

Khirbet el-Minya

Located on the Ginnosaur plain along the western shore of the Sea of Galilee, Khirbet el-Minya is the ruin of a Umayyad palace wrapped in mystery. Its builder and history are largely unknown. Apparently, the palace was used for a short time during the Umayyad period and then again in the Mameluke period (to which some of the remains can be dated).

Khirbat al-Mafjar

Khirbat al-Mafjar has recently been updated.

Khirbat al-Mafjar is an elaborate palace that has traditionally be associated with the caliph Hisham’s palace, but more likely was built by his nephew el-Walid. The only part of the palace that was completed, interrupted due to el-Walid’s assassination, is the bath, with a large pool that served as the frigidarium. An unfinished mosque is also associated with the palace.

Tulul Abu al-Alayiq

Along the Wadi Qelt in Jericho, this site is where the Hasmonian kings and Herod the Great built their winter palaces to escape the cool, damp winters in Jerusalem. Beginning with John Hyrcanus I (or perhaps with his father Simeon), the Hasmonean kings established a royal estate, growing and processing dates and balsam. A large palace, built through seven stages was built at the southern end of the estate. Adjacent to the palace is perhaps the earliest surviving synagogue.

Herod the Great choose the same area for his three palaces. The first palace was built to the south of the Wadi Qelt and is not included in the virtual tour of the site. The second palace was built near the Hasmonean palace and incorporated some of its remains into it. The third palace was Herod's most ambitious and it bridges the Wadi Qelt. Unfortunately, most of the southern extension of the palace is not longer visible.