Apollonia

Apollonia

Cliffs, Crusaders, and Phoenician roots

Apollonia-Arsuf, on a sandstone cliff north of Herzliya, was a harbor in the Phoenician and Persian periods before the Greeks named it for Apollo. The Arabs called it Arsuf, a name the Crusaders kept. In 1191 Richard the Lionheart defeated Saladin in the Battle of Arsuf nearby. The Crusaders fortified the town, but the Mamluk sultan Baybars destroyed it in 1265. The national park preserves the castle and moat, a Roman villa, and sweeping views of the sea.

Glossary: Apollonia (Arsuf)