Ayalon Valley

Sha'ar Hagai: The road leading to Jerusalem is lined with burnt-out skeletons of trucks and armored vehicles used in attempts to reach the city and break the siege. Although many trucks managed to get through, some failed, and their remains are left today as a war memorial. The Tel-Aviv Jerusalem road passes through Latrun, which was the site of a major battle during  Israel's War of Independence, as Latrun was essentially the "gateway" to the Jerusalem hills.

The Biblical city of Gezer is located halfway between Jerusalem and Jaffa. Pictured here is the Solomonic gate at Tel Gezer. There is a wide entrance facing the valley and three guard rooms for added gate security. This gate is almost an exact copy to the gates situated at Hazor and Megiddo. The city of Gezer was destroyed by Assyria at the end of the 8th Century CE.

A map of Roman roads: Three roads link Jaffa to Jerusalem. In Biblical times the Philistines were a major threat to Jerusalem and the valley protected the Jerusalem hills from attack. The scene with the most famous femme fatale in the Bible, Delilah, Samson, and the Philistines is also set in the nearby valley of Sorek (Judges 16:4). The Valley of Ayalon is also famous for one of Joshua's battles in which he calls upon the sun to stop its progression in the sky until the battle is over: "O sun, stand still upon Gibeon, and you, O moon, in the Valley of Ayalon" (Joshua 10:12).