Sebastia and Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of starting at Sīlat az̧ Z̧ahr
Plan this ride
Recorded distance
139 km
Riding-time estimate
2 h 39
Journey
Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
Ordered leg totals agree within rounding. Stop distances are approximate sums of rounded legs. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
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Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
From Sīlat az̧ Z̧ahr it runs 139 km to Sīlat az̧ Z̧ahr; allow about 2 h 39 of riding. It goes by way of Tel Megiddo, Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of and back through Tel Megiddo. It crosses from Palestinian Territories into Israel - carry ID and check the toll rules.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Sebastia
Sebastia, Sabastiya in Arabic, is a Palestinian village on a hill north-west of Nablus, in the northern West Bank, surrounded by olive groves and terraced hillsides. It stands on the site of Samaria, the capital of the northern Kingdom of Israel in the ninth and eighth centuries BC, later rebuilt by Herod the Great, who named it Sebaste in honour of the Emperor Augustus. The ruins on the hilltop above the village span a thousand years of history.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sebastia is where the day begins. Next is Tel Megiddo.
2. Tel Megiddo
From the top of Tel Megiddo, the whole of the Jezreel Valley spreads out below you, a green and gold checkerboard of fields stretching towards Mount Tabor and the hills of Galilee. You can see at once why so many armies fought here. The mound guarded the narrow pass where the ancient coastal road, the Via Maris, crossed from the Mediterranean plain into the valley, and anyone who held it controlled one of the great trade and military routes of the ancient world.
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Tel Megiddo comes up about 51 km into the recorded legs. Next is Necropolis of Bet She’arim: A Landmark of.
3. 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.