| Yehi'am Fortress National Park | |
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 Part of the fortress | |
| Location | Northern District, Israel |
| Nearest city | Yehiam |
| Coordinates | 32°59′39″N35°13′19″E / 32.9941°N 35.2219°E |
| Official website | |
Yehi'am Fortress National Park is an Israeli national park in the western Upper Galilee on the grounds of Kibbutz Yehi'am, whose main attraction are the ruins of a hilltop castle of Jiddin. The castle, ruined in the early 14th century, became a small town known as Khirbat Jiddin; the town was depopulated in 1948.
On the site are the remains of a small Crusader citadel from the twelfth century, which was destroyed during the Muslim occupation. Flint tools and relics from the Hellenistic period were also found there. The citadel was part of the peripheral fortifications that guarded Acre, which was the capital of the Crusaders after the fall of Jerusalem. From the top of the citadel there is a view of the entire area.
The fort was handed over to the German Teutonic Order in 1208, but about 100 years after its construction it was destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baybars and nowadays only remnants of the fort remain. The fort was extensively renovated by the Bedouin ruler of the Galilee in the 18th century, Zahir al-Umar, and buildings were added to the upper part. According to a Crusader Christian source, from the thirteenth century the Arabs called the place "Jadin" .
in his tour of the Galilee in the 1860's Victor Guérin mentions Yhi'am Fortress. He describes the place as a large deteriorating castle on the edge of Wadi Jadin, and only a few shepherds live there, whom he calls "men of horror." Gadin Citadel, despite its dilapidated condition, left a strong impression on Guérin, with its sturdy remains on the summit, on which it stands. Under the castle is a complex fortified with towers, with remains of ruined houses, cisterns and bushes. On the north side Guérin saw abandoned orchards.
During the 1936–1939 Arab revolt in Palestine, the fort was a used a hiding place and court house for the Arab gangs. At the foot of the fortress, Kibbutz Yehiam was established in 1946. During Isral's War of Independence, the people of Kibbutz Yehiam fortified themselves in the fort and fought against their Arab attackers.
Today the buildings include a watch tower with a lookout platform and large vaulted hall. [1] Trenches from Israel's 1948 War Of independence lay around the castle and can also be visited too.
Archaeological finds in the park but outside the castle precinct include the remains of a Roman fort, a Byzantine monastery, burial caves, stones inscribed with crosses and fragments of mosaic. [2]
Khirbat Iribbin or Khurbet 'Arubbin, was a Palestinian Arab village in the Upper Galilee, located 23 km (14 mi) northeast of the city of Acre. In 1945, it had a built-up land area of over 2,000 dunums and a population of 360 Arab Muslims.
Khirbat Jiddin, known in the Kingdom of Jerusalem as Judin, was an Ottoman fortress in the western Upper Galilee, originally built by the Teutonic Order after 1220 as a crusader castle, 16 km northeast of the city of Acre, which at the time was the capital of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The castle was destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baibars sometime between 1268-1271 and lay in ruins until being rebuilt and expanded by the Arab ruler Zahir al-Umar as Qal'at Jiddin in the 1760s, only to be destroyed again around 1775 by Jazzar Pasha. The ruined fortress, known as Khirbat Jiddin, was later inhabited by the al-Suwaytat Bedouin tribe.
Safed is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to 937 m (3,074 ft), Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. It is known as the "capital" of the Galilee.
Belvoir Castle is a Crusader castle in northern Israel, on a hill on the eastern edge of the Issachar Plateau, on the edge of Lower Galilee 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Sea of Galilee. Gilbert of Assailly, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller, began construction of the castle in 1168. The restored castle is located in Belvoir National Park. It is the best-preserved Crusader castle in Israel.
Kabri is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the Western Galilee about 4 kilometres (2 mi) east of the Mediterranean seaside town of Nahariya, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,120.
Yehi'am is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located at the western Upper Galilee, eight miles east of the coastal town of Nahariya and 14 miles south-east of the border with Lebanon it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 778. It is located around 365 meters above sea level
Hunin was a Palestinian Arab village in the Galilee Panhandle part of Mandatory Palestine close to the Lebanese border. It was the second largest village in the district of Safed, but was depopulated in 1948. The inhabitants of this village were, similar to the inhabitants of Southern Lebanon, Shia Muslims.
Montfort is a ruined Crusader castle in the Upper Galilee region in northern Israel, about 22 miles (35 km) northeast of the city of Haifa and 10 miles (16 km) south of the border with Lebanon.
Le Destroit is a ruined medieval fortified road station, built by the Templars of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the early 12th century CE, located on the Mediterranean shore near a site where they later built the Chateau Pelerin castle, today close to the modern town of Atlit, Israel.
Ga'aton is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located in the western Galilee, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Asher Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 725.
Merhavia is a kibbutz in northern Israel. Located to the east of Afula, it falls under the jurisdiction of Jezreel Valley Regional Council. In 2022 it had a population of 1,331.
Majdal Yaba was a Palestinian Arab village in the Ramle Subdistrict, located 18.5 kilometres (11.5 mi) northeast of Ramla and 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) east of Jaffa. A walled Jewish settlement name Migdal Aphek stood at the same site as early as the second century BCE, and it was later destroyed by the Romans during the First Jewish–Roman War in 67 CE. In the Crusader period, a fort named Mirabel was built at the site. During the Islamic period it became known as Majdal Yaba. For a short time under Ottoman rule, its name was changed from Majdal Yaba to Majdal Sadiq and then back again.
Ein Hemed is a national park and nature reserve in the hills seven kilometres west of modern Jerusalem and some 12 kilometres west of the Old City. It is also known by the Latin name it received from the Crusaders, Aqua Bella, and as Khirbat Iqbalā in Arabic. The park is located on the path of an old Roman road, also used in later periods. The road connected the coastal plain with Jerusalem, passing through Bab al-Wad. A fortified Hospitaller building from the Crusader period, relatively well preserved, is arguably the main attraction beside the streams and lush vegetation.
Khirbat Al-Burj was a former Palestinian village, depopulated in 1948. Presently, Khirbat Al-Burj or Burj Binyamina is a ruined stone-built structure in the Sharon Plain 1 km south of Binyamina from the Ottoman period, situated at a crossroads and believed to be either a mansion connected to an estate, a fortified farmhouse, or a khan (caravanserai).
Khirbat Umm Burj was a Palestinian Arab village in the Hebron Subdistrict, sometimes designated in modern maps as Burgin. Its ruins are today located within the borders of Israel. It occupied an extensive site, stretching about 30 dunams on the crest of a hill, rising some 430 metres (1,410 ft) above sea level, and commanding a good prospect of the surrounding region. It was depopulated during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War on October 28, 1948, during the third stage of Operation Yo'av under the command of Yigal Allon. The site is located 17 km northwest of Hebron.
Al-Samra was a Palestinian Arab village in the Tiberias Subdistrict. It was depopulated on April 21, 1948, during the 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine. It was located 10 km southeast of Tiberias.
The Castle of Saint Louis, also known as Qalaat al Muizz or the Land Castle, is a ruined castle in Sidon, Lebanon. It was built in 1254 by French crusaders on the site of an earlier Fatimid fortress, and was altered a number of times until the 17th century.
The Citadel of Safed is a now-defunct fortress castle situated on the peak of the mountain housing the modern city of Safed. Furthermore, fortifications existed during the late period of the Second Temple as well as the Roman Empire. However most of the remains left in the place are from the Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods. The citadel was an important administrative center of the crusaders. The citadel was severely damaged in the strong earthquake that struck Safed in 1837. During the last few decades, extensive archaeological excavations have been carried out at the site, revealing remains and ancient findings from all periods of the citadel's existence. Today, the citadel is visited by tourists for its historical value as well as the view, since due to its high location you can see from it the surroundings of Safed, from the Meron mountain massif in the west, the Sea of Galilee in the east, the lower Galilee in the south, and the Naftali and Hermon mountains to the north. The citadel garden was established in 1950, designed by landscape architect Shlomo Oren Weinberg. A memorial monument was erected to the Safed residents who lost their lives in the 1948 Palestine War.
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