March 2017 - Southern Galilee

Just south of the Sea of Galilee are two great national parks. First is Beit She'an, which has the ruins of the Decapolis city of Scythopolis. The second is Belvoir Castle, it best-preserved crusader castle in Israel.

The hills of Galilee covered in wildflowers	Scythopolis! a.k.a. Beit She'an	Entrance to the theatre
The hills of Galilee covered in wildflowers	Scythopolis! a.k.a. Beit She'an	Entrance to the theatre
The theatre		The decorative columns near the entrance to the theatre
The theatre		The decorative columns near the entrance to the theatre
The baths	Supports for heated floors	Centuries as a Byzantine city
The baths	Supports for heated floors	Centuries as a Byzantine city
Mosaic floor	The Cardo	Part of the expansive city
Mosaic floor	The Cardo	Part of the expansive city
An oasis of standing columns
An oasis of standing columns
Enormous columns toppled by an earthquake
Enormous columns toppled by an earthquake
	More toppled columns
	More toppled columns
A row of ancient toilets		A formerly grand staircase
A row of ancient toilets		A formerly grand staircase
		Belvoir Castle moat
		Belvoir Castle moat
The entrance to Belvoir Castle	Arrowslits defending the entrance
The entrance to Belvoir Castle	Arrowslits defending the entrance
Walking in the front gate	Inside the cistern, whose arched stone ceiling is still holding up after all those centuries	The view over to the mountains of Gilead, over in Jordan
Walking in the front gate	Inside the cistern, whose arched stone ceiling is still holding up after all those centuries	The view over to the mountains of Gilead, over in Jordan
The gate to the keep		A great hall, whose arched stone roof is still holding up, even with a chimney hole
The gate to the keep		A great hall, whose arched stone roof is still holding up, even with a chimney hole
	A courtyard	Ovens in the kitchen
	A courtyard	Ovens in the kitchen
The base section of what used to be a tower	A piece of stone that had been taken from the ruins of a nearby synagogue. We spent a while looking for it in the wrong place and were thrilled to finally find it.
The base section of what used to be a tower	A piece of stone that had been taken from the ruins of a nearby synagogue. We spent a while looking for it in the wrong place and were thrilled to finally find it.
A secret door hidden at the bottom of the moat	The stairway leading down to the secret door	The secret door leads to a staircase that goes up inside the outer wall
A secret door hidden at the bottom of the moat	The stairway leading down to the secret door	The secret door leads to a staircase that goes up inside the outer wall