Tell Mar Elias

Associated with the Prophet Elijah, Tell Mar Elias is very close to the ruins of a village known as Listib. It is believed that this place was formerly Tishbi, the home of Elijah, a native of Gilias in Tranjordan (2 Kings 17: I). The fact that this is a religious site is substantiated by the two churches that were built on the Tall (hilltop) at the end of the Byzantine period. Elijah is known as the prophet Elias in Arabic. The Koran calls him ‘an honourable man’ and a ‘Messenger of God’. It also says ‘we left mention of him among later men’, which refers to Elijah’s association with Moses, John the Baptist and Jesus. The site at Tell Mar Elias includes extensive architectural remains that are scattered across the summit of the hill that rises above Listib, from the southeast.