Nearest city Yehiam Phone +972 4-827-6600 | Address Yehiam, Israel | |
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Location Northern District, Israel Hours Closing soon · 8AM–4PMFirst day of Passover might affect these hoursMonday(First day of Passover)8AM–4PMHours might differTuesday(First day of Passover)8AM–4PMHours might differWednesday8AM–4PMThursday8AM–4PMFriday8AM–3PMSaturday8AM–4PMSunday(Seventh day of Passover)8AM–4PMHours might differSuggest an edit Management Israel Nature and Parks Authority Similar Bar'am National Park, Ashkelon National Park, Ein Hemed National Park, Hamat Tiberias, Well of Harod | ||
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. The structure is based on the Crusader-time Iudyn Castle built by the Teutonic Order after 1220, destroyed by the Mamluk sultan Baibars sometime between 1268 and 1271, rebuilt and expanded by the Bedouin ruler Zahir al-Umar 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 (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.
The buildings include a watch tower with a lookout platform, mosque, and large vaulted hall.
The 1948 trenches laid around the castle can also be visited.
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.