Old Gesher, Heritage site in Northern District, Israel
Old Gesher is a heritage site in the Jordan Valley in northern Israel, near the border with Jordan, featuring three bridges from different periods, an ancient caravanserai, and a British-era police building. The site sits directly on the Jordan River and shows how this crossing point was used across centuries.
A kibbutz was established here in the 1920s and grew into a key foothold for Jewish communities in the Jordan Valley. In April 1948, its residents repelled an attack by the Arab Legion, making it one of the first communities to do so during the War of Independence.
The name Gesher means 'bridge' in Hebrew, which reflects the site's role as a crossing point for traders and travelers over many centuries. Today visitors can walk between the three different bridges and see how each one was built to serve the needs of its time.
The site is accessible from Route 90 between Tiberias and Beit Shean, and parking is available on the grounds. Guided tours in several languages are on offer and help make sense of the buildings and their stories.
Near the site once stood the Naharayim power station, one of the earliest electricity plants in the region, which in the 1930s supplied power across borders to both Mandatory Palestine and Transjordan. It was a privately run project that connected two territories at a time when such cooperation was far from common.
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