powered by FreeFind	Yehiam 117 pictures     3.15 minutes HQ video Yehiam Castle: Where a Crusader castle and an Ottoman castle are found, built on a Roman and Byzantian site. The castle is located inside Kibbutz Yehiam, in the Western Galilee. The route branching out of Naharia-Ma'alot road, east of Kibbutz Kabri, leads to the castle. The fortress That impressive castle, whose was named Judin by the Crusaders, is located 10 km (16 miles) south of a famous Crusader site- Monfort Castle. Judin (also known as "Kala'at Judin", in Arabic), was in fact a fortified farm, serving a farming Crusader settlement. In 1208, the king of the Crusaders disclosed the place to the German order of the Tebaton Knights, who improved the fortifications in the site. In 1265, the Mamluk sultan Bybars conquered the castle and destroyed it. The outlines of the castle- broken walls, pieces of the towers, and roofless rooms, are the only traces remained. About 500 years later, the place became the castle of the local ruler, Shaikh Mahed Al Hussein, who rebuilt part of the castle. In 1738, the site was conquered by the Bedouin Shaikh Daher Al Omar, who gained control over the whole Galilee at the time. In November, 1946, Kibbutz Yehiam was established, and the founders settled in the destroyed castle. The Kibbutz was named after Yehiam Weitz, one of the Palmach fighters, who was killed during the Jewish struggle of independence against the British, in the bombing of Akhziv Bridge. At the beginning of the War of Independence, the Kibbutz was besieged. One of the convoys, coming there from Nahariya, was attacked on March 27, 1948, near Kabri. Half of its escorts were killed. The Kibbutz strongly withstood all enemy attacks, until the Western Galilee was liberated in mid-May, 1948. The main structures of the castle that remained are from the days of Daher Al Omar. In the middle of the area, one may found traces of a tower which looks different from the others, that is the eastern Crusader tower. The other Crusader parts of the castle are an elongated (?) dome, west of the eastern tower, and a wall made of rocks, which is the northern wall of the dome, a three story structure with two pointed domes, a set of domes, and a wall with shooting slits. Researchers assume that the gate of the castle is built on Crusader foundations as well. The castle has not yet been fully studied. Southeast of the main structure, one may find traces, which were probably a Roman stronghold, and remnants of a Byzantian farm , or monastery. The main gate View from the tower Posts from the independence war Crusader walls Mosque baths The main reception hall Back to Israel Index