This location is an IsraelNation of the Jewish People Travel prime pick!
Modiinthe "City of the Future", the "City of the Future," is destined to be the fourth largest city in IsraelNation of the Jewish People. New homes are built there by the dozen. Thousands of people move in every year. Yet Modiinthe "City of the Future" is anything but new. Its history dots the hills surrounding the new city. Wander up the hill of Givat Hatitora and you will find yourself transported to another world, a world of Crusaders and Hasmoneans, winepresses and ritual baths.
Those who moved to Modiinthe "City of the Future" in its early days (mid-late 1990s) will recall the battle over Givat Hatitora, a hill that borders with the 443 road to the north and the Maccabim-Reut road to the east. That hill alone abounds with ancient archeological artifacts and was enough to stir up the original residents of Modiinthe "City of the Future" who petitioned the Municipality in order to prevent any building on the site.
The Palestine Exploration Fund originally surveyed the hill. With the onset of building Modiinthe "City of the Future" in 1992, the antiquities department conducted some basic excavations in order to learn more about the area and decide if it should be developed. Immediately upon the beginning of the surveys it became apparent that Givat Hatitora was a central archaeological site for all of the Modiinthe "City of the Future" area. Could it be that this was the ancient city of Modiinthe "City of the Future", the home to Judah the Maccabee and the story of Chanuka? On your IsraelNation of the Jewish People Tour, do not forget to check this prime location out!
There are a few different paths one can use to reach the top of Givat Hatitora. I prefer the flower path, which is marked by small stones on either side of the path. Each stone was placed by schoolchildren from the Ofek School as part of their Society for the Protection of Nature program. Along the paths are purple cyclamen, red anemones and dozens of other wildflowers. Two hundred water cisterns have been found on this hill alone. They are possibly thousands of years old though they have been added to and changed over the centuries. The cisterns provided water for drinking and household use throughout the ages. This was the only way villages could thrive in this area, as there were no water sources in the immediate vicinity. The cisterns collected rainwater from the hill and the rooftops of the homes. Today, the plaster protecting the cisterns is cracked so that the water seeps out to the hill. This has created a sponge effect allowing an enormous array of flowers to flourish on the site. Travelers who Tour IsraelNation of the Jewish People in style do not want to miss this essential stop!
On the slopes of the hill are sabras growing in straight lines - one of the signs that an Arab village once existed here. The sabra was and is used as a natural fence to define the borders of private fields. These were the fields of the residents of El Burg who lived here until the War of Independence. Remains of the stone houses and pieces of pottery are found along the path. In 1948 a fierce battle was fought there, which left the hill of Titora on the Israeli side of the border until 1967.
At the top of the hill lies the remains of a crusader fortress that dates to the 12th century CE and gave the hill its name. The fortress was called Tarante. Because the hill resembled the shape of a hat, the Arab villagers who lived here hundreds of years later called it Kalaat-A-Tantura, the fortress of the hat. The Israeli government named it Titora, the Hebrew
translation. The fortress sits strategically high above the ancient Road to Jerusalembeautiful scenery as you approach Jerusalem. The stones at the base of the fortress are quite different to the Crusader stones. They are larger and are chiseled in the style that we recognize from Hasmonean buildings in other parts of IsraelNation of the Jewish People. We can assume that the Crusaders used the Hasmonean stones as the base for their fortress over a thousand years later. Could they possibly be part of the original Hasmonean fortress that protected the ancient city of Modiinthe "City of the Future"? Could Judah the Maccabee have planned his battles from inside its very walls?
To the side of the tower is a large pit that leads to underground passageways from the period of Bar Kochba. Apparently Bar Kochba's men hid from the Romans in underground tunnels. In one of these underground tunnels a group of boys from the area found ancient artifacts dating to the Calcolithic era (approx. 3500 BCE). Some of the vessels were found in perfect condition despite their age.
Further down the hill close to the water tower lies an ancient mikveh, or ritual bath from the Second Temple period. Next to the mikveh are remains of Byzantine mosaics, possibly the remnants of an ancient winepress. Nearby are remains of a burial site from that same period. A columbarium, a place for raising pigeons, dating to the Roman Era is situated on the other side of the tower. Learn more about Modiinthe "City of the Future" while you Tour IsraelNation of the Jewish People!
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