Inn of the Good Samaritan
The Good Samaritan Museum entrance | |
| Established | 4 June 2009 (opening date) |
|---|---|
| Location | West Bank, Israeli-administered disputed area |
| Type | Archaeology museum, biblical site |
| Collection size | Mosaics from ancient churches and synagogues |
| Curator | Yitzhak Magen |
| Website | The Good Samaritan Museum |
The Inn of the Good Samaritan is a national park, museum, ancient archaeological site and former inn administered by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority located near Ma'ale Adumim, halfway between Jerusalem and Jericho, at an elevation of 298 metres above sea level.
The Inn is named after the New Testament's Parable of the Good Samaritan, and houses a museum of ancient mosaics and other archaeological findings mostly dating from the 4th-7th centuries that were collected from churches and Jewish and Samaritan synagogues from the West Bank and from the ancient Gaza synagogue.
Beginning in biblical times, Israelite and later Jewish pilgrims from Galilee took the Jericho-Jerusalem road passing by the site to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem. In later times, Christian pilgrims used the road to reach the baptismal site of Jesus on the Jordan River near Jericho (see here and here). The area of the Inn of the Good Samaritan was repeatedly fortified, and traveller inns were built a little below the hilltop. This is reflected in the presence of two distinct, if related, archaeological sites in close proximity to each other, the other site being the ruins of a Templar castle probably built on top of a Byzantine monastery, although today they are separated by the modern Jerusalem–Jericho highway.
Today, the Inn of the Good Samaritan is a mosaic museum, and serves as a tourist attraction visited especially by international tourists, particularly Christians. The museum features a guided audio tour, and is accessible to persons with disabilities.