Gan HaShlosha (Sahne) National Park

Points of interest

• Warm water swimming pools, surrounded by spacious lawns
• Tower and Stockade site
• Museum of Regional and Mediterranean Archaeology
• Reconstructed flour mill
• Settlement Bell Garden
• Israeli orchard

detail

Bathing pools: Wonderful pools, whose waters come from springs and cascades along the Amal stream bed. The temperature of the spring water is a constant 28°C, all year round, and this is the source of the park’s Arabic name Sakhne, meaning “hot”. The pools have been enlarged and improved, and made suitable for bathing and swimming.

Tower and Stockade site: The site is a reconstruction of Tel Amal, the first of the tower and stockade settlements. It was established on December 10, 1936. 3 living quarters, the dining room and kitchen have been reconstructed, as well as the watchtower and double wooden stockade, filled with gravel. The huts containing the pioneers’ rooms illustrate the way of life of the settlers, and contain iron bedsteads and mosquito nets, work clothes, and the books that the settlers read. Visitors are offered seven self-activated stations demonstrating the activities of those days, such as washing clothes in the stream, keeping watch from the tower, and filling baskets with gravel.

In the dining room hut there are excerpts from the newspapers of the time, certificates, and a 15 minute video can be screened for groups. The film, which is in several languages, documents the Arab Revolt of 1936 – 1939. Activities such as guided tours, lectures, and activities with actors can be arranged.

Museum of Regional and Mediterranean Archaeology: The museum was founded in 1963 with a donation from Dan Lifschitz, a Jewish collector from Switzerland, who gave Kibbutz Nir David a collection of artefacts and vessels from the Greek and Roman periods, and collections from Persian and ancient Egyptian culture. On display in the museum are also antiquities from ancient times found in Bet She’an Valley, from the Neolithic period until the periods of the Mishna and Talmud, including items from the days of the revolts against the Romans, and from the ancient synagogues that flourished in the area. A large photograph shows a mosaic from the ancient synagogue of Rehov. An inscription in the mosaic mentions many settlements in the land of Israel, as well as fruits and vegetables grown in the Bet She’an Valley at that time, such as zucchini, watermelon, cucumber, mint, fava beans, mustard, rice, peas, and sesame.

Ancient flour mill: The flour mill was operated by the water power of the Amal Stream. It has been reconstructed, and today it can be operated at its original site. Groups can arrange a guided tour showing how the flour mill worked, and what life was like in the days when it was in use. In the past, there were at least three flour mills in operation in the area of Gan Hashlosha, and the remains of one have been found on the north bank of the stream, close to the tower and stockade site.

Remains of a naumachia: On the southern bank of the stream, the remains of 10 rows of seats were found, carved in rock. There may have been a “water theatre” here in Roman times – a gathering place for audiences to come and see recreations of often bloody historic battles and events that originally took place at sea. Researchers estimate that the theatre would have had 500 seats. If this was indeed the purpose of the structure, this is the only naumachia found in Israel to date.

Settlement Bell Garden: Display of restored bells, with examples of bells found at pioneer settlements around the country. The bells were rung in the event of attack or fire, as well as to call the laborers for meals. In the religious settlements, the bells were also used as a call to prayer.

Israeli orchard: An orchard containing species of trees mentioned in the Bible, such as fig, vine and pomegranate, and the fruit trees and bushes that were typical of the early days of settlement. There is also a vine covered pavilion in which visitors can enjoy a few moments of tranquility.