Yehi'am Fortress National Park is an
Israeli national park in western
Upper Galilee
The Upper Galilee (, ''HaGalil Ha'Elyon''; , ''Al Jaleel Al A'alaa'') is a geographical region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon. Part of the larger Galilee region, it is characterized by its higher elevations and mountainous terra ...
on the grounds of
Kibbutz Yehi'am, whose main attractions are the ruins of a hilltop castle in Jiddin. The castle, ruined in the early 14th century, became a small town known as
Khirbat Jiddin
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 ...
; the town was depopulated in 1948.
History
The structure is based on the
Crusader
Crusader or Crusaders may refer to:
Military
* Crusader, a participant in one of the Crusades
* Convair NB-36H Crusader, an experimental nuclear-powered bomber
* Crusader tank, a British cruiser tank of World War II
* Crusaders (guerrilla), a C ...
-time Iudyn Castle built by the
Teutonic Order
The Teutonic Order is a religious order (Catholic), Catholic religious institution founded as a military order (religious society), military society in Acre, Israel, Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Sa ...
after 1220, destroyed by the
Mamluk sultan Baibars
Al-Malik al-Zahir Rukn al-Din Baybars al-Bunduqdari (; 1223/1228 – 1 July 1277), commonly known as Baibars or Baybars () and nicknamed Abu al-Futuh (, ), was the fourth Mamluk sultan of Egypt and Syria, of Turkic Kipchak origin, in the Ba ...
sometime between 1268 and 1271, rebuilt and expanded by
as Qal'at Jiddin (Jiddin Castle) in the 1760s and destroyed again by
Ahmed Jezzar Pasha around 1775. The ruined fortress, known as
Khirbat Jiddin
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 ...
(lit. "ruins of Jiddin"), was later inhabited by Bedouin tribes. The establishment of a kibbutz in 1946 is described on the
Kibbutz Yehi'am page.
Today the buildings include a watch tower with a lookout platform, mosque, and large vaulted hall. 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.
See also
*
Tourism in Israel
Tourism in Israel is a major economic sector and a significant source of national income. Israel offers a plethora of historical and religious sites, beach resorts, natural sites, archaeological tourism, heritage tourism, adventure tourism, and ...
*
Khirbat Jiddin
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 ...
References
External links
Yehi'am Fortress National Park
{{authority control
National parks of Israel
Protected areas of Northern District (Israel)
Buildings and structures in Northern District (Israel)
13th-century establishments in the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Disestablishments in the Kingdom of Jerusalem