Page 17 - Holyland Magazine - 2019 Edition
P. 17
Tel Megiddo. the city’s water reservoir. Today’s exit was
Photo: Israel Nature and blocked in ancient times, so that no enemy
Parks Authority Archives could access and contaminate the reservoir.
This way, its inhabitants enjoyed a steady
water supply throughout the year, as well as Good to know!
in times of siege. At the end of the tunnel,
you will walk up 83 steps to a new exit cut A serendipitous discovery at Kursi
in the wall, and within seconds you’ll move National Park uncovered one of the
back from the 1st millennium BC straight into greatest Byzantine monasteries in the
the 3rd millennium AD, and the modern-day Holy Land, where according to the
parking lot awaiting outside. New Testament, the Miracle of the
Swine took place:“Then they sailed
Zippori National Park harbors an to the country of the Gadarenes,
which is opposite Galilee. And when
ancient city from the 1st century BC. The He stepped out on the land, there
town reached its heyday in the 1st-4th met Him a certain man from the city
centuries AD, when it was described as “the who had demons for a long time...
ornament of all Galilee” and its capital. Rabbi Then the demons went out of the
Yehuda HaNasi lived here at the beginning man and entered the swine, and the
of the 3rd century AD, and here he compiled herd ran violently down the steep
the Mishnah. In the Byzantine era, Zippori place into the lake...” (Luke 8:26-
became a Diocese, and was a mixed town 33). Inside the monastery complex is
of Jews and Christians, right to the end of a big church with beautiful mosaic
the Byzantine rule, when the city declined. floors, and above it, the steep slope
described as the place of the miracle.
On a tour of Zipori, you will discover some The site, on the eastern coast of
important public buildings, as well as town the Sea of Galilee, is managed and
houses, with a synagogue, churches, the meticulously maintained by the
Roman street layout (the Cardo and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority.
Decumanus), a Crusader Castle and a
theater. Do not miss out on the wonderfully
preserved floors, including the Nile Mosaic,
the Dionysus Mosaic, the Synagogue
Mosaic in the Roman villa at Zippori.
Photo: Sharon Goldson
View of the church at
Kursi. Photo: Tsvika Tsuk
17
