Hamat Tiberias National Park:

 

Hamat is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as being a fortified border city of the tribe of Naphtali (Joshua 19:35). In the Roman period, the Jewish village of Hamat Teverya was located to the south of Tiberias. Tiberias expanded in the Byzantine period and a wall built around the city now incorporated Hamat Teverya (Hamat means a hot spring in Hebrew and Teverya is Hebrew for Tiberias).  

 

The springs in Hamat Teverya were well-known in antiquity for their healing properties. Seventeen hot saline springs emerge in the Hamat Tiberias National Park from deep below the surface. You will see steam escaping from the round chimneys above the springs. Water from the springs surfaces at 60 degrees C and nowadays is channeled to the nearby baths across the road and then into the River Jordan. There are also some small pools that can be used for bathing.

 

Within the park are the ruins of an ancient synagogue. Three synagogues were built in this location during different historic periods. The first synagogue was built in about 230 CE on the remains of a public building, and the second in the 3rd or 4th centuries. The mosaic floor you see in the enclosed building is from the second synagogue. However, this building was destroyed during an earthquake in the 5th century and a larger synagogue was built on its ruins. This was in use until the 8th century.

 

Do watch the movie which incorporates the mosaic floor into the presentation. The mosaic has three panels. The northern-most panel shows two lions and dedications to donors. In the central panel is the wheel of the Zodiac surrounding Helios, the sun god. (The issues associated with this pagan symbol in synagogues are discussed in the essay “You call this a synagogue!” in the webpage “The ancient Beit Alpha Synagogue and its puzzling mosaic floor”). The southern panel contains the Holy Ark with the Jewish Temple symbols a seven branched candelabra, shofar and lulav.

 

Also within the park are the remains of a Roman bathhouse, a city gate of the southern wall of Byzantine Tiberias, and Hamam Suleiman. The latter is a reconstructed Turkish bathhouse built initially in 1780 that continued to function until the 1940s. It is also a small museum containing findings from Hamat.

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Directions: Enter “Hamat Tiberias National Park” into Waze. There is parking on the other side of Route 90. The park is open from 8.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. on Sunday to Thursday and Saturday, and from 8.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Friday. The site closes 1 hour earlier in the winter. There is an admission charge. The phone number is 04 672 5287. This is their website.