Samaria is called the central portion of the Holy Land. It comes from the name of the city Somron, built by king Omri in 880BC. The name Samaria was given during the time of the Persians and was used over the whole central Palestine. Samaria, as a geographical region is closer tied to the events in the Old Testament. The kings of Israel Omri, Ahaab and others, decorated and enriched her with beautiful buildings and magnificent palaces. In these palaces lived the legendary Jezabel, wife of king Ahaab, who brought from Phoenicia the worship of Baal which enraged the Prophet Elijah. In 30BC the city passed to the hands of King Herod, who fortified her, beautified her with luxurious buildings and renamed her Sebastia in honour of Sebastian Augustus.

1.   The ruins of the Church of Saint John the Forerunner where is also his tomb, at the         archeological area of Sebastia. 2.   The well of Jacob where Christ met the Samaritan woman