Yehiam Fortress National Park

Points of interest

• Fortress from the Crusader and Ottoman periods
• Fighting positions from the War of Independence
• Film on the history of the fortress

details:

• The Fortress Gate – the fortress is entered through a gate from the time of Zahir al-Umar (most of the ruins that can be seen today at the fortress are from this period). The gate is protected by a strong, semicircular tower. The stones of the threshold were taken from Byzantine period buildings at the site. The gate was apparently closed by two wooden doors plated with strips of metal.
• The Crusader Tower – steps lead up to the top of the tower, one of two that existed in the Crusader fortress. This is a tower with very thick walls, whose strength made it possible to build a three-story tower, today rising to a height of 15 m. A staircase leads up to a lookout balcony on the roof.
• Defense positions – around Tower A the path continues to the eastern part of the fortress, passing between the communication trenches and defense positions of Kibbutz Yehi’am from the time of the War of Independence.
• The Round Tower – in the north-eastern corner of the fortress is a tower from the time of Zahir al-Umar. This is a round tower, left almost complete, with eight crenellations. The crenellations are rectangular (and not elongated as they were in the Crusader period) because they are intended for firing rifles. The floor of the tower covers a cistern.
• The mosque – from the defense positions, the path goes on to a room used as a mosque. In the southern wall, as expected, is the niche of the mihrab, indicating the direction of Mecca for prayer. The niche is made of sandstone, by contrast with the limestone in which the fortress is built.
• Western observation terrace and bathhouse – a spacious, open roof that served in the past as the floor of many rooms that no longer exist. From this terrace there is a breathtaking view. On the southern side are the remains of a small bathhouse, apparently used by the commander of the fortress. Water was brought up in jars from the cistern in the fortress, and poured into a channel that carried it to the bathhouse.
• Reception hall – a large, pillared hall with 15 piers, intended as the base for the fortress complex above it. It can be assumed that during the Ottoman period it was used as a storeroom. The first members of Kibbutz Yehi’am lived in this hall before moving to the permanent settlement.
• The “Mushroom Hall” – this hall was used by the members of Kibbutz Yehi’am for growing mushrooms in the 1950s, and today is used for screening a film about the kibbutz during the War of Independence.