From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   (Redirected from
Saffuriyya) Jump to: navigation, search "Mona Lisa of the
Galilee". Part of a mosaic floor in Tzippori.  Tzippori (Hebrew:
צִפּוֹרִי), also known as Sepphoris, Diocesaraea (Ancient Greek
Διοκαισάρεια) and Saffuriya (Arabic: صفورية‎, also
transliterated Safurriya and Suffurriye) is located in the
central Galilee region, 6 kilometers (3.7 mi) north-northwest of
Nazareth, in Israel.[1] It lies 286 m above sea level and
overlooks the Beth Netofah valley. The site holds a rich and
diverse historical and architectural legacy that includes
Assyrian, Hellenistic, Judean, Babylonian, Roman, Byzantine,
Islamic, Crusader, Arabic and Ottoman influences.  In later
Christian traditions it is believed that the parents of the
Virgin Mary, Anna and Joachim, were natives of Tzippori.[2]
Notable structures at the site include a Roman theater, two
early Christian churches, a Crusader fortress that was renovated
by Daher el-Omar in the 18th century, and upwards of forty di