Zippori National Park

Time to revisit some more places

 from this year's trip to Israel. 

Sepphoris - from Galilean Town to Roman Polis

Lies on a hill in the heart of the lower Galilee.

Called Zippori because it is perched

 on top of the mountain like a bird.

 It is 5 km west of Nazareth. It's long history can be traced back to the Persian period  (539-332 BCE) and by the second century BCE it seems to have been populated by Jews. Herod the Great built a royal palace in the city, and after his death in 4 BCE, his son Herod Antipas made Sepphoris his capital. Sepphoris did not participate in the Great Revolt against Rome, 

and after the revolt it became a Roman polis.

 A visit there today shows the remains

 of many amazing mosaics.

 There is also the remains of colonnaded streets.

 The House of Orpheus was built in the second half

 of the third century CE, damaged in the mid-fourth 

and then renovated right after and in use till early fifth century CE.

 The mosaics are really beautiful.

 This is the what the carts probably looked like---

 you can actually find the ruts

 from these carts in the paved cardo streets.

 The Nile Festival Building

 holds many of the beautiful mosaics.

 Simple houses are exposed on the western part of the hill. 

The swellings had courtyards, silos, 

underground storerooms, cisterns and many ritual baths.

This movie was in the educational building

 and we just liked it.

 Here we learned a bit about

 the redaction of the Mishnah.

 Part of the theater is reconstructed.

 It would have seated about 4,500 spectators.

 A part of the fortress.

 There are no Biblical accounts that Jesus 

was here, even though it is a neighboring city to Nazareth.

 But, we can surmise that Joseph and perhaps Jesus too,

 found work here in this large city.

We know there were multiple synagogues here,

 but the only one on this site was found in 1994.

The city's population included pagans 

and Christians living alongside the Jewish population.

It sustained damage in the earthquake of 363 CE and was rebuilt and used until it plummeted in the Early Arab period.

Sepphoris is not usually on the tour agenda,

 but if you get an extra day it is worth a stop in.