page_title: Beitin
section_title: Tower ruins ("al-Burj")
hierarchical_section_title: Beitin / Landmarks / Tower ruins ("al-Burj")
caption_attribution_description: English: The ruins of al-Burj (the Tower) in Beitin. Permission This image was taken in the British Mandate of Palestine in 1935 and has been in the public domain since 1985, because its 50-year expiration term has expired.
context_page_description: Beitin is a Palestinian town in the Ramallah and al-Bireh Governorate in the central West Bank, located 5 kilometers northeast of Ramallah along the Ramallah-Nablus road. The Palestinian towns of Dura al-Qar' and Ein Yabrud lie to the north, Rammun to the east, Deir Dibwan to the southeast and al-Bireh to the southwest. The Israeli settlement of Beit El is northwest of Beitin.
context_section_description: Another ruin, called "al-Burj Beitin" ("the Tower of Beitin") or simply al-Burj is located  in the western part of the town. They were also drawn in the 1880s. The ruins of the Burj are about 1 meter tall, and apparently built  on the older  ruins of a Byzantine monastery. Some have believed that it was   constructed on the site where Abraham built an altar. According to biblical scholar Edward Robinson who visited Palestine in the 19th century, al-Burj Beitin consisted of dilapidated stones that used to form part of a fortress and a Greek church. Al-Burj was used as a watch tower by the Crusaders.
caption: Ruins of al-Burj, 1935
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