Tomb of Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon

Lonely Planet review

The tomb of Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon is the final resting place of the Spanish physician, also known as Maimonides or Rambam, who worked in the court of the Muslim ruler Saladin. This revered rabbi, who died in 1204, was one of 12th-century Egypt's most highly regarded sages. Legend has it that before his death in Cairo, he instructed followers to load his remains onto a camel and bury him wherever the camel expired. The camel was apparently drawn to Tiberias.

Next to Rabbi Moshe Ben Maimon's tomb lies Rabbi Yohanan Ben Zakkai, the Holy Land's most eminent sage at the time of the Roman destruction of Jerusalem. Ben Zakkai is said to have faked his own death, escaping the city in a coffin and jumping out of the casket in front of the Roman general Vespasian who he prophesied would become the new Caesar. When the prophecy came true, Ben Zakkai was granted one wish by the new leader; a Jewish learning centre for him and students.

Rabbi Eliezer the Great, a prominent 2nd-century scholar; Rav Ammi and Rav Assii, who lived in the 3rd century; and Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz, who died around 1630, are also buried in the complex.