Ayalon Canada Park - Biblical and Modern Israel

The Ayalon Road crosses the entire park, from the eastern entrance gate. It is 7 kilometers long and it ends in the meeting point the connects Mevo Horon and the Sha'ar HaGay gas station. The road is marked in green and it fits a private vehicle all the way to the Ayalon scenic lookout, close to the edge of the Springs Valley.

 

Most of the travelers go up on the road to the Ayalon Sceneic Lookout and returns to the Figs Lake and the park's gate through the Springs Valley Road (marked in blue). This track fits buses.

 

The following are the main sites along the road:

 

 

The Springs Valley is the main ravine in the park. It preserves aqueducts and evidence of springs that existed in the past. The Aqueducts Trail (marked in blue) runs through the valley. It is a trail for foot travelers, about 1.5 kilometers long, and it ends at the Tmarim (figs) spring. The trail runs between orchards and in certain sections runs along two aqueducts built during the late Roman period (3-4AD). The upper aqueduct starts at the foot of the Akad Ruins in a tunnel that penetrates water-carrying soil. This aqueduct is mostly built from stone links that are 0.5-2 meters long.

The lower aqueduct starts in a complex underground facility, which collects ground water to a small pool. From the pool, water flow in an aqueduct built from stone links. At some point in the past, the two aqueducts may have come together to a single aqueducts. At the heart of the trail is a large rock with a Roman-period burial chamber. Near the trail, KKL-JNF planted grapevines, along with almond and fig trees. The trail ends at the large pool near the Tmarim Stream.

 

 

The Akad Ruins are located at the top of a hill. This is the highest spot in the park (368 meters above the sea). The remains of a walled town from the Second Temple period were found in the area. This may have also been the site of the Emmaus Fortress built by the General Bacchides of the Seleucid dynasty, sent by the Seleucid ruler Demetrius the First to fight the Hasmonean rebels and conquer Jerusalem. During digs held in the 1970s and 1980s, few of the remains of the walled town were discovered, along with a cave containing the remains of building projects and ceramic findings from the Iron, Persian, Hellenistic and Roman periods. A hiding cave from the Bar Kochva rebellion (now filled with dirt).

The ruins are not fitted for travelers, and visiting them is forbidden.

 

 

The remains of a concrete bunker are located near the northern side of the road. The bunker marked the a-Zahar, known as the "Turrets Ridge" during Israel's War of Independence, since it was used for artillery fire by the Jordanians. During the seconds Ben-Nun Operation, held between the night of May 30 and 31 in 1948, a unit from the Harel division attempted to take the ridge as part of a large attack on the monastery and the Latrun police station. The Jordanians made their stand on the ridge. After artillery bombing, an attack was launched on the north-eastern part of the ridge. The force could not hold against the heavy Jordanian attacks, and retreated, losing 19 of its men.

 

 

This small recreation area contains a large basalt rock commemorating the Golani Engineering Corps Battalion. The battalion's soldiers took part in many battles, including the dangerous battle over Al Fahr during the Six-Day War, the Hermon Battle during the Yom Kippur War, the conquest of the Beaufort during the first Lebanon War, and the Shuja'iyya Battle in Gaza. In 2018, after 40 years of fighting, the IDF closed the battalion. The recreation area is located in the section that goes down to the Train Bridge.

The road, 6 kilometers long, goes down the northern part of the park. Its first site, the Ayalon scenic lookout, is reachable by private vehicle. The rest of the way to Tel Ayalon and the Arches House fits 4X4 vehicles or foot and cycling trips.

 

The following are the main sites along the road:

 

 

A splendid spot overlooking the Ayalon Valley, Modi'in Hills, the southern sloped of Samaria and the coastal plain.

 

 

The Fig Road follows the "Jordanian Burma Road". The Jordanians paved this road during Israel's War of Independence to connect their outposts to their bases in the nearby villages. With this road, the Jordanian Legion soldiers sought to bypass the stand that the IDF made in the al Borj hills (today's Modi'in), which disconnected the main road from Latrun to Ramallah.

 

 

Near a junction south of Tel Ayalon, shaded by a carob tree, is a well-like stone structure. It is the spring house of Ein Ayalon. The stream's water flow down the ravine underground, and in the past were collected in a square pool built down the slope.

 

 

The site is believed to be the biblical city of Ayalon, mentioned in the Book of Joshua (19:42). Ayalon was mention as Yelon in letters discovered at the Tel al-Amarna archive in Egypt (14th century BC) and in the list of cities destroyed by Egyptian King Shishak during his conquest of Israel (around 925 BC). Rehoboam, the King of Judea, fortified the city as part of his border fortifications (Book of Chronicles 2, 11:10). In the Roman and Byzantine periods, the site hosted a town called Alus or Yalo. Yalo is also the name of an Arab village built on the ruins of the ancient town.

 

The remains that can be seen in the site today belong to the crusaders' fortress known as Castellum Arnoldi. Crusader King Foulque V d'Anjou built the fortress during the 12th century to protect the main road from Jaffa to Jerusalem. In 1187, Salah al-Din conquered the fortress and destroyed it.

 

Visitors are not allowed in the site – which contains many pits and unstable structures.

 

 

This is an impressive stone structure built during the Roman period (3rd century AD). At its front are 3 complete arches. The arches support a ceiling made of heavy stone tablets. A fourth arch existed in the past but did not survive. During the Roman period, the structure had a second floor, which probably contained a pool. During the Byzantine period, the place became a water reservoir.

The structure is closed to visitors, due to the danger of collapse.

The Olives Recreation Area is located west of Road 3, near an olive grove. It is a large area, which enjoy extensive shading by pine and olive trees. Near the area are the park's offices. Between the recreation area and the offices are the remains of an olive press.

 

 

A dirt road of about half kilometer, marked in black, descends from the recreation area, turns left, passes near the cemetary of the abandoned village Amoes and reaches a large covered well. Near it is another well and water-collecting pool. Fig and strawberry trees grow near the well.

 

 

The remains of the ancient churches are at the "Beit Shalom" yard – a large white structure with a front yard, located west of the park's main entrance. The house was built at the early 1930s by priests of the Sacred Heart of Jesus of Bétharram. From 1948 to 1967, the structure housed the UN staff, who supervised the ceasefire in the demilitarized zone of the Ayalon Valley. Today, it houses the Community of the Beatitudes, founded in France in 1973. The community takes care of the yard and the ancient churches site.

 

The ancient site contains the remains of a large church from the Byzantine period, probably built during the 5th century. The church is built on the remains of a Roman villa from the 2nd century. On the Capella south of the church, a mosaic floor was discovered, and parts of it are presented in the small museum of Beit HaShalom.

 

The crusaders' church, whose remains can also be seen in the area, was smaller, but its walls are still standing above the byzantine remains. The central apsis in the eastern wall was used by both churches.

A visit to the site costs a small fee.