There’s nothing quite like a good castle. So this week our virtual trip will take us to the most complete Crusader fortress in Israel: Belvoir (Kochav HaYarden) in the Jordan Valley.
With a ‘belvoir’ – fine view – of the Jordan Valley from the Sea of Galilee right down to Beit Shean on one side and to Mount Tabour and Nazareth on the other, the fortress was of great strategic importance.
But in 1189, after an 18 month siege and knowing that the rest of the Crusader kingdom had already fallen, the knights of Belvoir surrendered and the fortress was abandoned. Next to the castle there is a sculpture park featuring works by the Israeli artist Yigal Tumarkin.
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