Jotapata (Yodfat) Photos

View northwest: Jotapata sits atop the brown hill in the upper center of the photo. The valley leads southeast to Khirbet Qana, or Cana of Galilee, where Jesus turned water into wine (see John 2).

View west: This photo looks back at the valley leading from Jotapata to Khirbet Qana (see the photo above). I took it standing atop Khirbet Qana after hiking the trail from Jotapata.

View south: Tel Yodfat (upper right). The dirt road leads to a trail that winds to the top of the tel and the excavations. From there you have a wonderful view of the valley that runs to Cana of Galilee.

View north: Josephus and some of his followers escaped the Romans by hiding in caves like this one on the southern side of Jotapata.

View north: This is the entrance to a two-story, three-room hiding place under a home at Jotapata. See the drawing and explanation below.

The "Hiding Place" goes with the photo above.

View north: This photo gives you a good idea of the size of Tel Yodfat. This is the southern side of the tel with excavations.

View north: the western wall protected Jotapata against invasion. To construct the wall, the builders had to destroy a kiln that produced cooking pots, storage jars, and bowls (see inset drawing in the book copy of this photo).

One of the On-site maps on Tel Yodfat denoting the available hikes. If you start in the morning, you can explore all the hikes and still walk the 2.5-mile (4-kilometer) trail through the canyon to Cana of Galilee (see the photos on page 98).