Mizra‘: Hotels and Archaeology in the Northern District

When looking for a hotel in Mizra‘, cultural interests can also help shape your travel plans. In the wider Northern District destination, Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo represent archaeological themes with biblical connections. Tel Hazor is a biblical tell with significant remains of a city with biblical connections. Tel Megiddo is one of three tells that preserve significant remains of cities with biblical connections and are closely associated with events in the Bible. Their focuses differ: Hazor is concerned, among other things, with water engineering, fortifications, and palace history, while Megiddo focuses on temple worship and urban planning. This lets you shape your interests around specific historical themes.

Tel Hazor: Upper City, Gate, and Palace History

A visit to Tel Hazor focuses on the Upper City. One of the site’s features is Solomon’s Gate, dating to the 10th century BCE. The gate has six chambers and two towers. The palace history also takes visitors to other periods: the Canaanite palace at Tel Hazor was used by the kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The Late Bronze Age palace is described as the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most significant in the Levant. The fortifications at Tel Hazor are considered the finest example of their kind in the area stretching from southern Turkey to the northern Negev. Hazor thus brings together architectural forms, historical use, and a wide-ranging classification of its fortifications.

Water Storage and Shaft at Tel Hazor

Tel Hazor preserves significant remains of an underground water collection system. It represents a sophisticated engineering achievement for water storage, adapted to the geography. The excavated shaft is 45 meters deep. Three-meter-wide steps are cut into the walls of the vertical shaft. While the gate, palace, and fortifications illustrate other aspects of construction, the water collection system focuses attention on storage and geographical adaptation. This distinguishes the site’s engineering focus from its fortification and palace themes.

Tel Megiddo: Temple Complex and City Plan

The Early Bronze Age temple complex at Tel Megiddo is exceptional in terms of the number of its temples, the continuity of cult activity, and the documented ritual activities. Another focus is the orthogonal city plan from the Iron Age, which has few parallels in the Levant. Orthogonal refers to the plan’s right-angled layout. While the temple complex draws attention to the number of temples, cult activity, and ritual activities, the city plan concerns the spatial organization of the city. The two themes belong to different periods: the Early Bronze Age and the Iron Age.

Getting to Tel Hazor National Park

Tel Hazor National Park can be reached from the north and south via Route 90 toward Ayelet Hashahar. Check your navigation before setting out.

Comparing Historical Periods

If chronology is your main interest, Megiddo’s Early Bronze Age temple complex can be compared with its Iron Age city plan. Tel Hazor adds Solomon’s Gate from the 10th century BCE and the use of the Canaanite palace in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE to this comparison. These periods provide a concrete framework for understanding the different archaeological themes of the wider Northern District.

Discover more destinations: Kefar Aharon, Ramat Gan, Shefer, Shivta, Nov, Bruchim Qela' Alon, Kabri, Hashmona'im

For the overview of the wider destination: Israel.