Safed’s Citadel is the highest point of Israel’s highest city, Safed, some near 1,000 meters (3,000+ feet) above sea level, and a historically important site. Overseeing the Sea of Galilee, the mountains of the Upper Galilee including Mt. Meron, and portions of the Golan, the Citadel commands an amazing vantage point for military purposes. But in peacetime it served an important use as well – the early Jewish kingdoms used the mountaintop as a place to signal other far-reaching villages and cities updates on the announcing of the new month. Today it hosts a early war memorial and a park.
Throughout the ages, Safed has been conquered and re-conquered by the early Canaanite Kingdoms, the early Jewish Kingdoms, the Romans, the Crusaders, the Mamlukes and in recent history, the British. In 1948 the fledgling Jewish army captured the Citadel from the local Arab forces as they used it, in its towering location, to bomb the Jewish Quarter down below. The battle that won the Citadel was a miraculous one fought in mud and thorns and so Israel established it as a national memorial and dedication, building a spire monument and a park around it in 1951.
Lately, excavations have been done and sections of the ancient Crusader fortress are now uncovered. The uncovered parts are available for exploration and picnics can be held as well both within the ruins and throughout the wooded park. The view from the Citadel, and the monument in particular, is astounding in beauty and clarity. The layout of the land can be seen from the mountaintop and when looking down, one can see the Safed Artists’ Quarter, famed for its art exhibits and galleries.
References:The Walls of Constantinople are a series of defensive stone walls that have surrounded and protected the city of Constantinople (today Istanbul) since its founding as the new capital of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great. With numerous additions and modifications during their history, they were the last great fortification system of antiquity, and one of the most complex and elaborate systems ever built. They were also the largest and strongest fortification in both the ancient and medieval world.
Initially built by Constantine the Great, the walls surrounded the new city on all sides, protecting it against attack from both sea and land. As the city grew, the famous double line of the Theodosian Walls was built in the 5th century. Although the other sections of the walls were less elaborate, they were, when well-manned, almost impregnable for any medieval besieger.