As-Sura to Adh-Dhahiriya

The stage reveals impressive ruins of ancient monasteries, shrines, presses, and cisterns.

After passing through the rural areas surrounding As-Sura, the path to Adh-Dhahriya leads through evergreen pine forests. It continues towards Khirbet Rabud, the only major Late Bronze Age archaeological site in the mountains around Hebron. At the end of the 19th century, the area was inhabited again. The inhabitants made use of the caves for protection, at first temporary and then permanent residences. However, the Ottoman village of Rabud has been left to decay since the 1970s. Yet the ruins are some of the best-preserved examples of vernacular architecture in the mountains around Hebron. The new village of Rabud is built nearby.

Later, a long portion of the trail passes through the picturesque Wadi Nar to reach Adh-Dhahriya. According to local tradition, Ad-Dhaheriya was founded in the thirteenth century by the Mamluk ruler Al-Malik al-Dhahir Baibars, after whom the village was named. However, archaeological findings confirm that the site was inhabited before this time.  A well-conserved fortress from the Hellenistic or early Roman period can also be found in the village. Nevertheless, Adh-Dhahriya’s historic core, with its narrow streets and small domed stone houses, is a well-preserved example of an architectural complex that dates to Ottoman times in Palestine. The houses were constructed probably during the sixteenth or seventeenth century when the villagers used to live in caves that currently can be found beneath the old town.