Sidna Ali Mosque in Herzliya, the Shrine on the Cliff Above the Beach Next to Apollonia

On the clifftop at the northern edge of Herzliya, a short walk from Apollonia National Park, stands a mosque with a white minaret that most visitors to the beaches below never notice. This is Sidna Ali, the shrine of a local Muslim holy man. It's also one of the few traces left of the Arab village that stood here before 1948.

The shrine is named after Ali ibn Alim, a scholar and fighter remembered in local tradition for his part in the struggle against the Crusaders at Arsuf, the fortress whose ruins now form Apollonia National Park. A shrine over his tomb was built after the Mamluk conquest of the coast in the 13th century, and it became a place of pilgrimage for Muslims along this stretch of the coast for centuries afterwards.

The village that grew around it

A small village, al-Haram, grew up around the shrine. Its name refers to the sacred precinct of the tomb. The villagers farmed the land behind the cliffs and hosted the pilgrims who came for the annual celebrations at the shrine.

During the 1948 war the village was emptied, and its inhabitants did not return. The land became part of the growing Jewish town of Herzliya, and most of the village buildings have gone. The shrine itself survived. After decades of neglect it was restored and reopened as a mosque, and it's still used for prayer today. It's one of the reminders, rare along this built-up coast, that the area had a long life before the modern city.

Visiting the shrine and the cliff

The mosque sits on the coastal cliff above the beach, near the road that runs north from Herzliya Pituach toward Apollonia. It's an active place of worship, so visit respectfully: modest dress with shoulders and knees covered, shoes off if you go inside, and avoid prayer times, especially Friday midday. Ask before photographing people.

The best way to see it in context is on foot along the cliff. Start at Apollonia, where the Crusader fortress and the remains of the Roman villa look out over the sea, then walk south along the clifftop path. The mosque comes into view with the minaret against the sky and the sea below. In the late afternoon the light on the sandstone cliff is at its warmest.

Take care near the edge. The kurkar sandstone cliffs along this coast erode and collapse, and stretches are fenced off for safety. Keep to the marked paths and don't climb down the cliff face to the beach.

Why it matters to the city

Herzliya presents itself as a young city, founded in 1924 as a farming village and named after Theodor Herzl. The city's history is usually told from that date. Sidna Ali is a reminder that the place has a much longer and more complicated story, from Crusader battles to Mamluk shrines to the villages of the Ottoman centuries.

For the beaches below the cliff, see the Herzliya beaches and marina guide, and for more to do away from the sand, things to do in Herzliya beyond the beach.