Hamat Tiberias National Park:

Hamat is mentioned in the Book of Joshua as being the southernmost fortified city of the tribe of Naphtali and there was probably a Biblical city here called Hammath (Joshua 19:35). In the Roman period, the Jewish village of Hamat Teverya was located to the south of Tiberias. A wall was built around Tiberias in the Byzantine period and incorporated Hamat Teverya.  

 

The springs in Hamat Teverya were well-known in antiquity for their healing properties. (Hamat means a hot spring in Hebrew and Teverya is Hebrew for Tiberias). Seventeen hot saline springs deep below the surface emerge in Hamat Teverya National Park. Steam can be seen escaping from the round chimneys above the springs. Water from the springs emerges at 60 degrees C and nowadays is channeled to the nearby baths across the road and then into the River Jordan. There are very 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 synagogue first 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, it was destroyed during an earthquake in the 5th century and a larger synagogue was built on its ruins. This functioned until the 8th century.

 

Do watch the movie which incorporates the mosaic floor into the presentation. This 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 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 Jewish symbols – a seven branched candelabra, a shofar and lulav.

 

Other features of the park are the remains of a Roman bathhouse, the 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 with findings from Hamat.

 

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. Sunday to Thursday and Saturday, and 8.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on Friday. The site closes 1 hour earlier in the winter. Their phone number is 04 672 5287. This is their website.