Abu Ghosh - Crusader Church

Abu Ghosh is dominated by the Crusader church, whose builder took over from the Muslim caravanserai the idea of the pointed arch - a feature that was to become characteristic of Gothic architecture. For many years the church was used as a stable; then in 1899 the French government purchased the building and handed it over to the Benedictine order. Since 1956 it has belonged to the Lazarists. Built on to the church is a mosque. In the wall of the church near the entrance is a stone with the inscription "Vexillatio Leg(ionis) Fret(ensis)" - a reminder that the site was occupied more than a thousand years earlier by a Roman fort. Like the rather older church of Notre Dame in Tartus (Syria) and the contemporary church of St Anne in Jerusalem, this is a fine example of the monumental church architecture of the Crusaders in the 12th century. With its 4m/13ft thick walls the church (three-aisled; 20m/66ft long, 15m/49ft across) has a fortress-like character. The interior of the church is plain but full of atmosphere. In the crypt is the spring which has been an important feature of the site since its earliest days.