The ancient city of Sussita (also known by it's Greek name,
Hippos, meaning "horse") is located on a mountain that is 350
meters above the Kinneret. The Sussita Nature Reserve offers a
fantastic view and intriguing landscape. The city dates back to
the Hellenistic period, was destroyed by an earthquake in 749,
only to flourish once again in the Roman and Byzantine periods.
It was one of the ten cities in the region that combined Greek
and Roman culture. Sussita and Bet Shean are the only cities in
Israel that were part of these ten cities (also known as the
Decapolis); the remaining eight are located in present-day
Jordan and Syria. In the early 1950s the mountaintop served as a
frontline IDF fortress and excavations of the site began in
2000. Findings include a temple dated to the second or third
century, a Byzantine church and sanctuary. Many artifacts from
the site are astonishingly well-preserved due to the city never
being resettled after the earthquake of 749. The mountain can be
climbed via the snake p