Prison and Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Prison

   Acre's citadel has been a prison for much of its life, and the word on the label points to it. The great vaulted fortress in the north-west corner of the old city was built by the Ottomans on the foundations of the Hospitaller halls, and in the nineteenth century it became a feared jail for political prisoners. Bahá'u'lláh was held here in the late 1860s with his family and followers, in crowded and miserable conditions, before being moved to a house in the town. Later, under the British Mandate, the same building held Jewish underground fighters, and a dramatic break-out in 1947 became one of the best-known episodes of that period. Part of the complex is now a museum, and the rooms are open to the public on set hours.

   Read the complete Prison write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Prison is where the day begins. Next is Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of.

2. 2. Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of

   In the second century AD, after the failed revolts against Rome, the centre of Jewish life moved to Galilee, and the Sanhedrin, the supreme rabbinical council, settled for a time at Bet She'arim, on a hill at the western edge of the Jezreel valley. Rabbi Judah ha-Nasi, the patriarch who compiled the Mishnah, the first great codification of Jewish law, lived here, and when he was buried in the necropolis, Jews from all over the diaspora wanted to be buried near him. The result is a vast network of catacombs carved into the soft limestone, listed by UNESCO in 2015.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of comes up about 35 km into the recorded legs. Next is Persian Quarter.

3. 3. Persian Quarter

   Haifa climbs the northern slope of Mount Carmel in tiers, and halfway up, a golden dome catches the light above a staircase of gardens that tumbles all the way down to the old German Colony and the port. This is the Bahá'í World Centre, and the dome crowns the Shrine of the Báb, the founder figure of the Bahá'í faith, whose remains were brought here from Persia and interred on the mountainside. The nineteen terraces around it, with clipped lawns, gravel paths, cypresses and fountains, are among the most meticulously kept gardens anywhere, and together with the shrine of Bahá'u'lláh near Acre across the bay they form a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Persian connection runs through everything here, from the faith's origins in nineteenth-century Iran to the formal geometry of the planting.

   Read the complete Persian Quarter write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   about 57 km into the recorded legs you reach Persian Quarter.

4. 4. Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of, about halfway. Next is back through Persian Quarter.

5. 5. back through Persian Quarter

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Persian Quarter write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Persian Quarter sits at 111 km, about halfway. Next is back through Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of.

6. 6. back through Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   back through Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of comes up about 125 km into the recorded legs. Next is Prison.

7. 7. Prison

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Prison write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Prison closes the day.