We construct and analyze a holographic model of the thermal phases of QCD. It is based on Sakai-Sugimoto model, which is a holographic dual of a theory which spontaneously breaks a $U(N_f)_Ltimes U(N_f)_R$ chiral flavor symmetry at zero temperature. The theory involved is a $4+1$ dimensional supersymmetric $SU(N_c)$ gauge theory compactified on a circle of radius $R$ with anti-periodic boundary conditions for fermions, coupled to $N_f$ left-handed quarks and $N_f$ right-handed quarks which are localized at different points on the compact circle (separated by a distance $L$). In the supergravity limit which we analyze, the theory undergoes a deconfinement phase transition at a temperature $T_d = 1 / 2pi R$. For quark separations obeying $L > L_c simeq 0.97*R$ the chiral symmetry is restored at this temperature, but for $L

Tel Aviv University