After a great lunch with the major at the beach of Herzliya we took a short but impressing trip to the archeological excavation site of the medieval crusader town and fortress of Appolonia in the north of Tel Aviv. The tour was guided by Lisa, an archeologist from Gera, Germany. She expected a group dressed in red baywatch-like clothes and we didn’t disappoint her.
It was an hour of warming sunshine, cooling seabreeze and a lot of interesting information. The town Appolonia was founded in the 6th or 5th century BC and became a christian center of trade during the crusades. Even Richard Lionheart has been there. It was under control of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem until the sultan of the mamluks finally conquered and destroyed the town in 1265 AD. Since then the town slowly disappeared because it hasn’t been rebuilt again.
We want to thank Lisa and her team for doing a great job and sharing her knowledge with us.