Megiddo

Megiddo, 12km/7.5mi west of Afula and 32km/20mi southeast of Haifa, was an important stronghold in ancient times and, thanks to its strategic situation, retained its military importance into the 20th century. The old road from Egypt to Syria avoided Cape Carmel, leaving the coast near Caesarea and bearing northeast to run through the Iron valley into the Jezreel plain. Megiddo, situated at the mouth of the valley, where the road divides into a western branch heading for Tyre and Sidon and an eastern branch making for Damascus and Mesopotamia, controlled these important trade and military routes.