A Crusader Herzliya

April 5, 2010 - 9:45 PM by David

It’s not something you’d expect to see near the pricey community of Herzliya Pituach with its leafy avenues and gated palatial homes. And it’s certainly not something you’d look for.

But there it is, nonetheless, as you drive past the swimming pools and landscaped gardens. Just follow the signs for the Apollonia National Park, and just a couple hundred yards away from the modern splendor is a bona fide cliff-top national park surrounding a ruined Crusader city which features its on fortress.

The Crusader fortress was built between 1241 and 1265, and is impressive testimony to the strength of the city in its day. Phoenicians established the first settlement in the sixth century and people settled in this area 2,500 years ago.

The Phoenicians were considered to be knowledgeable in maritime technology and astronomy, which enabled them to trade various commodities from far away places. Like at Dor (further up the coast), the local inhabitants used the sea to make Tyrian purple, a precious dye used by royalty. It was extracted from mollusks, which were abundant along the coast.

The Phoenicians named the settlement along the coastal plain Arshof, (for Resheph, their War and Thunder god). In the Hellenistic period the city was re-named Apollonia, as the Greeks identified Resheph with Apollo. During the Roman era (First – Third centuries BC) the settlement developed into a real city and reached its height during the Byzantine era. In the Fifth and Sixth centuries the city was named Sozousa and served as the Episcopal See of Palaestina prima.

In 640 CE the Muslims gained control of the city and erected an outer wall around a portion of the city. The city’s size decreased significantly, from 70acres/280 dunam to 22.5 acres/90 dunam. By 1099, the Crusaders had conquered Jerusalem and deployed to Arsuf, but failed to capture it.

Baldwin I succeeded in conquering the city, in the spring of 1101 – with the Genoese fleet. Once again the city’s name was changed, this time Arsour and a large castle was built in the northern section of the city. In 1265 the Mamluk sultan Baybars, conquered the city and made the Crusaders raze the city and the fort, which lay in ruins until the excavations began in 1996.

According to the Park web site, in 2003, World Monuments Watch declared Apollonia endangered by development, one of 100 such sites around the world so-named in that year, including the Great Wall of China and the city of Batsra in Syria.

The easy walk around the park (suitable for wheelchairs and strollers) contains breathtaking clifftop views of the Mediterranean, with the Herzliya Marina to the south and the port town of Caesarea to the north.

Another highlight is the Roman villa, visible from the lookout point, where a sign reveals a three-dimensional plan of the building. But the heart of the visit is the fortress, which contains a number of rooms, a collection of authentic ballistae balls, and is surrounded by a wide moat.

While not a full day activity, a visit to the Apollonia National Park is a riveting diversion on the way to the beach, and a sharp reminder to the close by neighbors of how fleeting property and posessions can be.

Share with others