The skyline farther north of Jerusalem, on the Nablus road, is dominated by a beautiful mosque on the top of the hill of Nabi Samuel, with its high minaret. This is the traditional tomb of the prophet Samuel. The Crusaders called the spot ‘Mount Joy.’ From there their armies, in 1099, got a first glimpse of the Holy City. A church was built there in 1157 by the Premonstratensians but it was abandoned when the Crusaders retreated to Akko after the battle of Hittin in 1187. Richard the Lionheart spent a few hours there in 1192. It was his only glimpse of the city he had come so far to conquer; he was forced to abandon his plan to attack Jerusalem when expected support did not arrive.
The site was a place of pilgrimage for Jews until the 16th century AD, when a mosque replaced the church. The mosque follows the lines of the medieval church. The place was badly damaged by Turkish shells in 1917, but the edifice was restored during the British Mandate. From the annex along the northern side, steps lead down to a crypt, which is a rock-cut tomb. This tomb may have been at the origin of the tradition of Samuel’s burial, a cenotaph of the Old Testament’s most famous judge.
