Susya | Ancient Jewish Town.

Video tour with David Hyman, professional tour guide. Susya is located on the South East side of the Hebron Mountains, right on the edge of the desert. This region has always acted as a transition buffer zone between the settled land of farmers and permanent homes, to the marginal areas of shepherds, nomadic tribes, and wilderness. Settling here has its risks and advantages. After the destruction of the 2nd Temple in Jerusalem, the Judeans of Jerusalem were forced to abandon the capital and relocate to other parts of the country. The majority moved north to the Galilee region, but a few communities moved, south, to the Hebron Mountains. Susya is one of a handful of towns that were founded in the region. The communities economy was based on farming, growing wheat, olives, grapes, and hearing folks of sheep and goats. Water was scarce and relied only on rainwater collected into cisterns. However, the community was tightnit and wealthy enough to build one of the most impressive synagogues in all of Israel. The size of the building, the floor mosaics, the marble balustrade around the Bima and the beautiful facade all prove that the people of Susya were dedicated Judeans with strong ties to Jerusalem and the priesthood. Our tour takes us through the highlights of this ancient town, We will see the underground caves used as homes, many of them with a private Mikveh. We will see the Oliveil press factory, then we'll check out how water was collected and used. Our visit to the synagogue will show amazing Hebrew inscriptions. we will end by crawling through the escape tunnel that was carved under the synagogue and was used during times of emergency.

To visit Susya site, check the information on the website:
www.atarsusya.co.il
Phone 1-599-5000-37
email: [email protected]

Thanks so much to my dear friends and guests
Beth Berman - Wechsler and her son Benjamin Wechsler joined me on this tour and demonstrated and operated all the different installations.

My Instagram -   / dtalesisrael  
My website - https://davidhymanisrael.com/
Recorded by David Hyman with GoPro 9 Hero Black
Edited by David Hyman with Apple Imovie Mini Ipad

Music track for this video:
Alyssa - The Mini Vandals
Allabout - Lauren Duski
From the Fall - Dan Lebowitz