Gladiators, wild animals, and a fortress, oh my!

Like I said last week, Bet Guvrin is HUGE. There's so much to it! I think you could spend all day in this park and still not see everything. from the caves running under the lush (in winter) Judean hills to what we're going to explore this week: the Roman, Byzantine, and Crusader era ruins!

WOW!

So, let's start with the Roman amphitheater. 

This elipitcal amphitheater is amazing to explore. You can walk through the stands (complete with cut-outs of 'audience members'), stroll through the area, and then walk through the gladiator sections. It's actually the only Roman amphitheater in Israel that is completely open to the public, and walking through it gives you a good idea what it was actually like. 

Built in the 2nd century, during the Bar Kochba revolt, its purpose was to keep the bloodthirsty Roman garrison happy and entertained, holding up to 3,500 people. There are even places next to the walls with openings for the wild animals to emerge from their cages (below).

Get this, it wasn't uncovered until the mid-1990s! I was maybe 10-11 years old. That's how long it laid under the surface! Incredible!

Close to the amphitheater is the Crusader Fortress. This area fascinating as well!

Like its BC story, Bet Guvrin's AD story is fascinating as well. The city was granted 'free status' by Emperor Septimus Severus in 200 AD, and it controlled the area between the coastal plain and the Dead Sea in that region. It became an important junction, and the city build up despite the lack of springs there, as the city benefited from Roman-era aqueducts.

The Jewish population in the area grew, and then in the Byzantine era, Bet Guvrin became an important Christian center. Then it was conquered by the Mamluks in the 6th century, then the Crusaders came and built a church (as well as the fortress), and then it was conquered by the Ottomans, who turned the church into a mosque.

Because of that, you can see the mix of materials everywhere in this fortress- and it cracked me up! You can even see it in the photo above: see how the rocks change? But I'm going to take you on a closer tour so you can see it all:

Can you see the random columns stuck in the walls? And closed entrances/arches?

There's another one! The arch below is intentional- to fortify the wall. 

But see how stones, column bases, etc. don't match each other as far as time period?

Below, right, is the church-turned-mosque:

The view from above!

Now, down into the fortress.... Only a few pictures here because we ran through it quickly.

The mix of materials cracks me up. It's like the builders were like, "Hey, this fits!" Which, honestly, is what I would do. And it matches the history of using found materials and building on former foundations.

There's such a wide mix that throughout the park are stations with flip books where you can find what you are seeing and see what era it was from, what kind of stone, etc. My friend, who was in the middle of furnishing her apartment was looking through it, and I teased her that she was looking for ideas. I mean, it was basically a giant HGTV warehouse, haha.

Can you see the base of the arch starting to curve out from the wall on the left?

That's it for this portion of Bet Guvrin. Next week is my favorite part: Maresha!

Oh yeah, one final photo. This is a simulation of a dig as you walk onto this part of Bet Guvrin, and it was awesome! One of my friend said that 'models' were the same from our Hebrew textbook, haha.

What is the Tower of David?

I’ve wanted to visit the Tower of David ever since I confused it with the City of David, haha.

It did not disappoint!

It was a Friday afternoon in July, and I was allowed in for free, and basically told to run through it because they were setting up for an event and would close soon. SO, I didn't see everything. And, I couldn't, because I hear one of the most spectacular things about this place is its night shows. Definitely have to go back!

Anywho, the Tower of David is actually a citadel in Jerusalem that is so famous it has been used as a symbol for Jerusalem for centuries. The current ruins date back to Mamluk and Ottoman times, about 500 years ago, which is why there is a minaret there.

But, it stands on a foundation of fortifications from Hasmonean (400-100 BC), Herodian, Byzantine, and Early Muslim periods. It's been destroyed and rebuilt a lot! There are archaeological remains in the quarry that date as far back as 2,500 years! So when you're walking through it, you see architecture and remains from many different periods all around, on top of, and beside each other. So cool!

It's called the Tower of David because tradition holds that in that same location, 3,000 years ago, was a massive tower built by David. The Byzantine Christians started calling it that in the 5th century AD.

Today, it's a popular place for shows, concerts, and big events. Messianic artist Joshua Aaron even recorded a live album here a few years ago. How cool is that?

My favorite parts, however, were the 360 view on top of the Phasael Tower and walking around in the moat.

Ready for the tour?

There are remains in this section from both Hasmonean and Herodian periods:

Hasmonean Era ballista stones (around 200 BC):

There's a cistern here dating back to the Byzantine period:

Statue of David:

Medieval Statues:

There are also 3-D maps of Jerusalem during different periods, and also some of the citadel, but I don't have any good pictures of them.

As you can see, the minaret was under construction while I was there:

I wish I had a better description for everything inside; there aren't that many signs and the brochure I was given doesn't have much information. I wasn't able to listen to the audio tour because they were closing in less than an hour. But you can walk all through here on protected paths, as well as go up the walls and walk around the top (and up the towers. It's amazing!

But the view is what made me want to linger. It was gorgeous!

This is looking outward from the Old City:

The King David Hotel! You can't see it in the picture, but I could see both American and Israeli flags flying on top. That's because the American President was visiting that week.

Looking inward:

A very hot, sweaty me:

But that's not all, because you can walk around outside the citadel as well, around the moat and through Herodian Pools (dry in summer) and see the construction from the outside. It's incredible! And, a lot more shade available, making it a great place to sit and eat an apple.

That's it for this tour. Until next time... when I have more time and can listen to all the audios, or go to a night show. The Tower of David was actually closed for a good part of this year for renovations, so it will be cool to see what is 'new'.

What a cool place!