Apollonia National Park

Hi,
We used our vacation day due to 2021 election to have a short hike in Apollonia fortress.

The weather was pretty bad – it was dusty and hard to breathe. It also made it hard to see far and enjoy the view.

But we did manage enjoy a bit from the stories of the ruined crusaders’ fortress. It sits on a Kurkar cliff over the sea what gives a wonderful sight to the North and South along the shore.

More than that, it spring time, what makes everything blooms and green 🙂

Take Care
Gad

 Apollonia (Tel Arshaf) – entrance signs

A beautiful blooming field, even without the ruins of the city and fortress

The outer Moat

Crusader Residential Quarter – Apollonia

A Roman Villa

Crusader Residential Building

Hatzv Yakintoni, and other beautiful flower blooming which I could not identify

The crusader residential cisterns

Looking South (you can see Arena Hertzlia on the shore to the right)

Jannaeus was happy he could read the symbols on the sign, we stopped and read each one (They were all the same)

A lime Klin

A crusader structure on top of a Byzantine structure

The Crusader town wall

The Battle over the fortress

The fortress ruins

The fortress model that used to be here (Source: parks.org.il)The way to the fortress now days

Jannaeus running into the fortress

The fortress yard and a sign on Arsur, the Crusaders’ Town fortress

The Burnt room and the stone catapults thrown over by the Mamluk forces. There some 1,500 stones, the highest concentration found!

The outer fortification. On the left pic, you can see the foundation of the bridge led to the fortress.

The fortress yard. The fortress was called Arsour.

There is a podcast on the site But only in Hebrew

The Keep. It isn’t the Red Keep , but still..

The Fortress fortifications (a look from the Keep)

The artificial harbor, was ruined during the years by the force of the nature

The horses stables under the Keep

A shaft

The North hall

The kitchen

Grains storage

The grinding mill

The Dining room

Siege machines exhibition on the other side of the moat

The Siege machines: Trebuchet, Ballista, Catapult, Battering ram

Samaritan Synagogue – I must say it surprised me, I cannot see how the community living near Nablus having a synagogue here…