♪ (music) ♪
(Rhoda) In this episode,
we are visiting the Horns of Hattin,
or in Hebrew, Karnei Hittin.
It is a double hill resembling a pair of horns.
A 20-minute drive from the Sea of Galilee.
This place is famous for the Battle of Hattin.
This battle changed the course of world history.
It took place on the 4th of July, 1187,
between the Crusaders
and the forces of Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Yūsuf ibn Ayyūb,
or more famously known to you as Saladin.
If you have traveled to Tiberias,
then you most likely have driven by
this peculiar-looking hill peeking out of the valley.
Wait, wait, wait. What if that's not the road?
We'll discover that in one second.
(Sergio) Oh my goodness.
Evaldas is driving on the wrong side of the road.
(Rhoda) But what you most likely did not know
is that, once a year, a group of volunteers
that call themselves the Jerusalem Kingdom
choose the day which best fits
the original conditions of the hot day
when the Battle of Hattin took place
and do a full three-day reenactment
with marching, camping, and fighting.
If you want to learn more about the history of the Crusaders,
the Levant Forces, Saladin,
or the historic details of this battle,
then you'd be better off watching The History Channel.
There are mountains of information about this famous battle.
After all, we're talking about
the beginning of the fall of the Crusaders here.
This battle is so famous
that there is even a movie about it.
It's called "The Kingdom of Heaven,"
and it depicts this battle
using super awesome cinematography.
But, unfortunately, it was filmed in Morocco.
So what we are going to do
is take you to the real site right here in Israel.
We'll also discover how this place
is related to Biblical events.
We will interview Dr. Rafael Lewis,
an archaeologist who believes that this could be
the real Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus preached.
- (Dr. Lewis) This was-- - (Sergio) Yeah.
in 1890, this was Mount of Beatitudes.
- (Sergio) Wow.
this photograph was sold for pilgrims.
(Rhoda) And as a bonus,
we will visit an excavation site which Dr. Lewis discovered
thanks to a 130-year-old picture.
(Dr. Lewis) During my PhD, I did a landscape reconstruction
in order to understand the context of the battlefield.
I went after this photo.
I found this site, finished my PhD.
Then, we decided to go back.
And now, what we've found here is amazing.
♪ (music) ♪
(Rhoda) Okay. Today, we have our friends with us
joining our adventure.
Evaldas...
who, before I met him,
I didn't think there was anybody taller than Sergio,
at least not in our area.
And then I met Evaldas...
It's nice meeting you, again.
...and it really hurts to look up.
It's really healthy for your neck.
- It's not healthy at all. - Trust me. Trust me.
I get cramps in my neck every time I talk to you.
And then, Maria.
So, we're so happy
that both of them are with us today.
Welcome to "Sergio and Rhoda in Israel," guys.
- Thank you for having us. - Thank you.
Say "Hi" to our friends.
♪ (music) ♪
Evaldas and I practically grew up next to each other.
We're like brothers.
That's true.
Evaldas and I have a long history together.
We've started many businesses together.
We actually stayed in the same
Air Force military base for a while.
- Right? - That's right.
(Rhoda) I didn't know that.
(Sergio) We have a little problem.
We need to cross the road
to enter to the place,
but there is a big island in the middle.
Evaldas says he's got an idea.
You're gonna go to the...
Oh my goodness.
Evaldas is driving on the wrong side of the road.
Oh.
Oh. That wasn't that bad.
And now left. That's it.
(Evaldas) Moo.
(Sergio) Well, it sure will hit the car.
(cow moos)
- (Rhoda) Oh. - (Evaldas) That's nice.
(Sergio) Oh, come on! It's on my face!
(Rhoda) Eww!
(Evaldas) Tell me about excrements.
(Rhoda) Tell us what just happened.
(Evaldas) It looks like we were lucky.
(Rhoda) I can't believe it.
It's so unclean right now.
Oh, I'm gonna vomit!
(Rhoda) I want to vomit.
At the beginning, I said that I wanted to wash the car, but...
I think it was a horrible idea.
Wait, wait. The drone. Oh my gosh.
(cow mooing)
I was just opening the window to say "Hi" to the cow,
and it just...
it wasn't very gracious.
I mean, look at this.
(Rhoda) I think it was very gracious.
Very generous.
(Sergio) In the year 1099,
the Crusaders captured Jerusalem from the Islamic Caliphate
and laid the foundation for what they called
the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
After ruling the Holy Land for almost a hundred years,
the Crusaders were defeated by the Muslim armies
in the Battle of Hattin.
The battle took place in this valley.
In 1187, the Arabs, led by Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn,
came and attacked the Crusaders.
They shut down the water spring
that was the water supply for the Crusaders in this area.
They set on fire the hills and the Valley of Hattin.
And in the middle of the day, in the heat of the day,
the Crusaders, in their heavy armor,
were exhausted, thirsty.
And this was their end.
♪ (music) ♪
So, we saw a sign that says "Archaeological Dig,"
so we think there is a season of archaeology going on.
They may have found something here.
Maybe they continue to dig.
We're gonna go take a look
and see if we can film it.
As we were about to wrap up and leave,
Evaldas suggested to follow the little sign
that says "Archaeological Dig."
It took us through a little dirt road
to the adjacent hill facing the Horns of Hattin.
To our pleasant surprise,
we found an ongoing excavation
led by Dr. Rafael Lewis,
who was very kind to welcome us and share his findings.
(Dr. Lewis) People throughout the centuries,
and mostly in the 19th century,
they used to come to the Horns of Hattin,
and to show it as the Mount of Beatitudes.
And actually, I can show you
a very interesting piece of document
I was just showing the students.
This is a photograph
that was taken in 1890.
It's a photo from Zurich.
It's a colored photograph.
And look at what's written over here. You see?
This is from the Library of Congress,
and it's written here: "The Mount of Beatitudes,
Kfar Naḥūm, Israel."
- (Sergio) Wow. - (Dr. Lewis) Are we in Kfar Naḥūm?
- (Sergio) No. - (Dr. Lewis) No.
It's the other side of the canal. But where are we?
Look at the photograph. Come and have a look.
What are you seeing in the photograph?
(Sergio) What is that on the top?
- (Dr. Lewis) That's exactly of this. - (Sergio) Of that. Yeah.
(Dr. Lewis) So, this was...
in 1890, this was Mount of Beatitudes.
Even for pilgrimage...
this photograph was sold for pilgrims.
For people all over the world,
they wanted to know how Mount of Beatitudes looked like.
This is what they were sold. This is what they were shown.
So, until the 20th century, that was Mount of Beatitudes?
Yes. The Horns of Hattin and Mount of Beatitudes.
Fascinating.
(Sergio) But what happened that caused Mount of Beatitudes
to get up and move 8 miles northeast?
It appears that in the 20th century,
when Benito Mussolini
commissioned the building of the Church of Beatitudes,
the Italian architect, Antonio Barluzzi,
placed it on a hill in front of Capernaum,
which is quite a distance from what used to be considered
the site of the Beatitudes.
And after the construction of the church,
the pilgrimage, together with the Mount of Beatitudes,
moved from the traditional location to the new.
So, what is the catastrophe you were speaking about
for the Christianity?
Can you explain on that?
(Dr. Lewis) Well, on the 4th of July, 1187,
the Battle of Hattin ended.
The Frankish Crusader Army was lost.
And the greatest catastrophe that happened over here
was actually the capture of the True Cross
that was taken here.
It really shocked the Christian world.
And the result of the news that came from the Holy Land,
the Pope died.
The Pope died from grief.
What is this True Cross? What is this relic?
The relic of the True Cross was believed,
by the Crusaders or the Franks,
it was the cross that Christ was crucified on.
(Sergio) Really? Wow.
(Dr. Lewis) And they brought it to the battlefield as a token.
You know, when you bring something like this, so holy,
to march with your army,
you would never lose a battle.
But they did,
and it was taken by Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn and his men,
and it was a great shock for Christianity.
- Was it ever found? - No. It was never--
So, lost since then.
When Dr. Lewis looked for the spot
where this 130-year-old photograph was taken from,
he was surprised to find ruins of an ancient wall
that was not yet reported.
From this side,
it looked just like a tumble of stones.
Okay? And have a look from here.
There’s a little bit more.
(Sergio) Wow!
Oh, I see that.
Oh, that's definitely a wall.
You see?
(Sergio) These ruins intrigued him and his wife,
a Biblical archaeologist, to start a dig.
A dig which led to the discovery
of an ancient temple.
(Dr. Lewis) Because we've decided to go back
to the different sites that I found on this plain,
this plain of Hattin,
to go back specifically to this site because it's the one
which has the biggest question mark above it.
So this is what we're doing here.
We're with a group of students and participants,
and we're trying to explore these unknown Biblical sites,
and we've already found a temple.
Over there. What you see over there...
A temple? You found a temple here?
(Dr. Lewis) That's a temple.
- (Sergio) That's incredible. - (Dr. Lewis) We found a temple
with a standing stone and what might be an altar.
For now, it looks like it's dated
to the late Bronze Age period, maybe Iron Age.
One, I'm talking about 14th century BC
to 12th, maybe 11th century BC.
We're around that area...
which is amazing.
We have a temple.
We have a path which leads to it.
We have a wall which surrounds it,
used like a sacred place.
And we have very thick walls
which have surrounded this entire settlement,
which is an unknown settlement.
Now, we need to find its Biblical reference.
So, let me ask you a question.
If you guys had a choice and you were here,
knowing history,
would you join the army of the Crusaders
or the Ṣalāḥ al-Dīn Arab Army?
- Is that a trick question?
I'm not answering.
I always go with the winners.
♪ (music) ♪
This is an old Chinese spear from bamboo.
And when the Chinese came here
to occupy the Arab that was fighting the Crusaders,
they decided to take the land.
So, we're seeing if Evaldas can throw the Chinese stick
all the way to his car.
If it was smaller, they would need less water,
so it was easier for them
to hold for a longer period of time.
- Oh. Wow. - Yeah.
(Evaldas) Yeah. That's incredible.
When you speak with confidence,
anything can sound truthful.
I say he won't get even half way to it,
but Evaldas is certain that his ultra Kung Fu
is able to get the stick to the car.
- (Rhoda) Oh.