Those visiting Qarawat Bani Hassan a village located to west of Salfit with a population of three thousand people think it has a heritage of several hundred years. Yet the truth is the historical monuments in the town are dating back to previous eras mostly the Byzantine and Roman eras and the subsequent eras not to mention the Canaanite monuments.
The mayor of Qarawat Bani Hassan Dr. Tamer Rayan is proud of the arrival of dozens of media and tourist delegations to the town to learn about its landmarks. He says that this contributes to raising the status of the town which has done progress in the economic sector in addition to its contribution to the national level.
Limitations and effects
Rayan points out that the town embraces many old palaces of the Canaanite Era in its scattered agricultural lands which were used as guardhouses to guard the vineyards and the olive pressing facilities. They were also used for the fermentation of the grapes after pressing it he said also pointing to the presence of Greek monuments similar to the famous buildings of Petra which is a masterpiece of Greek art with columns engravings decorations and stairs. There are also the castle and ruins of al-Firdous castle and hamlet he added.
The village hosts Roman ruins including the tower which is an old Roman building with walls as wide as 3 to 4 meters. It also hosts a pool that is located next to the Umari Mosque. The Nawamees small graves are scattered everywhere and bodies are placed there. The Islamic shrines there include the shrine of Amr ibn al-Aas who conquered the town in 16 AH.
Caves and stories
In addition to the archaeological and heritage sites there are caves the most famous of which is the cave of devils and like many caves myths and stories about it emerge and people think a wild porcupine sought refuge there from a Palestinian farmer after he followed him inside to find the cave.
Another narration indicates that it was a refuge for hunted Palestinians and then after finding about it its antiquities were stolen by thieves. Following this anyone who attempted to enter it would hear strange noises and voices. The people of the town decided to protect it naming it the cave of devils to scare the thieves away.
Tourist attraction
According to Ma’in Rayyan a resident of the town the town is located on a 400- meter hill above the sea level surrounded by hills and mountains from all sides. It is surrounded by Deir Istiya and Kafel Hares from the east Bidia and Mesha from the west and Sarta from the south.
He pointed out that media delegations students and foreign tourists visit the town to learn about its landmarks. He asserted that there is a need to renovate and take care of these places and to protect them from thieves and illegal excavations.
