Page 47 - (DK Eyewitness) Top 10 Travel Guide - Israel & Petra

Ancient Synagogues ❮❮ 45

Capernaum
6 0 km 10 Avivim Ramot Naftali Ein Zivan
MAP B5 • Hwy 87
• Open 8am–5pm daily 0 miles 10 89 Tziv’on 90 91
The Roman-era fishing Nahariyya 89
4
village of Capernaum Akko Majd el- Farod Rosh Pina
(Kfar Nahum in Hebrew) 85 Krum Karmi’el Korazim
is mentioned in all Ginosar Capernaum
four gospels. It has an 70 Sakhnin
Sea of
impressive 4th-century Kiryat Shfar’am Rumane 65 77 Galilee Haspin
synagogue, built on the Ata 79 Tiberias ‘En Gev 98
foundations of a syna- Tzipori Kinneret Ha-On’
gogue two centuries Kiryat Tiv’on Kfar Tavor
older. According to the Mishmar Nazareth
New Testament, Jesus 66 HaEmek Afula Gesher
became angry at the 71 90 10
people of Capernaum Musmus Izre’el’ Beit HaShita
when they did not take Beit Alpha Beit She’an JORDAN
his message to heart 65 Umm al- 66
Fahm
(Matthew 11:23–24). Jenin 50 miles (80 km)
Magdala
7 from the 2nd to 4th centuries AD.
The catacombs and synagogue are
MAP B5 • Migdal Junction,
Hwy 90 • Open 8am–6pm daily decorated with geometric designs,
• Adm • www.magdala.org Jewish symbols, Hellenistic motifs,
The synagogue in Magdala, the and inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic,
birth place of Mary Magdalene, Greek, and Palmyrene. Yehuda
dates from the time of Jesus’ Sea of HaNasi (AD 135–217), who redacted
Galilee ministry. The seven-branched the Mishnah (the first compilation of
menorah adorning the Magdala Jewish law), lived and is buried here.
Stone (a copy of the original that is
Katzrin
now in Jerusalem’s Israel Museum) 0
was probably carved by an artist who MAP B6 • Ancient Katzrin Park,
had himself seen just such a meno- Golan Heights • (04) 696 2412 • Open
rah in the Temple in Jerusalem. 9am–4pm Sun–Thu, 9am–2pm Fri
• Adm • parkqatzrin.org.il
Shalom Al Yisrael
8 Known for its ornate Greek-style
MAP F5 • Jericho, West Bank
capitals, this black-basalt syna-
Built in the 7th century AD, this gogue, built in stages from the late
synagogue has a mosaic floor 4th to the 7th centuries AD, is sur-
decorated with a seven-branched rounded by a reconstructed Talmud-
menorah, a lulav (palm branch), a era village. Hebrew and Aramaic
shofar (ram’s horn), and the inscrip- inscriptions from 30 ancient Golan
tion “shalom al Yisrael” (“peace upon synagogues can be seen nearby in
Israel”). Since the Oslo Accords of the Golan Archeological Museum.
1993 it has been administered by
the Palestinian Authority. Katzrin’s black basalt synagogue
Beit She’arim National
9
Park
MAP C4 • Kiryat Tiv’on • Open
8am–4pm Sat–Thu, 8am–3pm Fri,
1 hour later during daylight saving
• Adm • www.parks.org.il
Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site,
Beit She’arim served as a hugely
important centre of Jewish learning

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