Minnim (Khirbet Minya)
Remains of an ancient palace on the shore of Lake Kinneret between Ginnosar and Tabgha. Built by the 8th-century Umayyad Caliph el-Walid, but not completed. It was probably destroyed by an earthquake.
Umayyad fortress: Architectural and decorative detail indicates Greek Christians may have been employed as artisans. Like all provincial Umayyad fortresses, it has an austere exterior which masks a magnificent interior. Some walls and towers rise to 33 feet. This is one of the best examples in the country of early Moslem architecture.
Finds from the site include a mosaic floor and remains of a bathhouse from the 8th century; also remnants of a fortified palace from the Roman and Byzantine Periods.
Nearby are remains of a ruined caravanserai, Hanot Minnim (Arabic: Khan Minya or Khirbet el-Khan). Lake Kinneret is known as Bahr el Minya by the Arabs, after the name of this site.
The khan (caravanserai) is mentioned in the writings of the 17th-century Karaite, Samuel ben David.
Ruins of the khan were covered over when a pumping station (Eshed Kinnarot) was built here.
