North
Northern Israel covers the Galilee hills, the Hula bird-migration corridor, Mount Carmel, the Golan Heights, and the slopes of Mount Hermon. The posts here include hiking days (the Zavitan Stream, Nachal Amud) alongside the region’s settlement history and older sites: Crusader fortresses, Roman ruins, biblical narrative places.
29 articles
29 articles
Campus Golan Day 1: Central Golan Heights
Day 1 of the Golan Heights campus: a hike down Nachal Jilabun, wine tasting at the Golan Heights Winery, the Talmudic Village of Katzrin, and memorials at Mitzpe Gadot and Tel Faher.
Belvoir Fortress and Beit Shean
A north-bound field trip south of the Sea of Galilee, taking in the Crusader fortress of Belvoir above the Jordan Valley and the vast Roman and Byzantine ruins of Scythopolis at Beit Shean.
Christianity Around the Sea of Galilee
Day two of our Christian odyssey takes us around the shores of the Kinneret: the Jesus Boat at Ginosar, the Mount of Beatitudes, the two churches at Tabgha, Capernaum, Kursi and Yardenit. With a quick lunch of St Peter's Fish in the middle.
Christianity in the Galilee
My first Christianity-focused field trip in the Galilee: the Church of the Transfiguration on Mt Tabor, the wedding-miracle churches at Kfar Kana, four churches in Nazareth, and the views from Mount Precipice.
The Ancient Sea Road (Via Maris)
A storm-soaked field trip along the ancient Sea Road: El Ahwat, the Katzir viewpoint, Tel Megiddo and Tel Jezreel, the Beit Alfa synagogue mosaic, and a hail-pelted finale on the Gilboa ridge.
The Lower Galil
A first overview of the Lower Galil: the ancient mound of Tel Chanaton, the Muslim Arab villages of Kaukab Abu al-Hija and Deir Hanna, the ruined city of Yodfat, the meditative village of Hararit and the communal settlement of Avtaliyon.
Hula Valley
A day in the Hula Valley: Rosh Pina's restored First Aliyah old town, the Mitzpe Nimrod lookout, the Crusader Castle of Chastellet, the Mishmar Hayarden memorial and the Hula and Agamon reserves at dusk when half a billion migrating birds land.
Nachal Kziv and Montfort Crusader Castle
A day off the course in the western Galilee: hummus at Abu Adham in Kfar Yasif, a wooded hike down Nachal Kziv past springs and an old flour mill, and a steep climb up to the ruins of Montfort Crusader castle.
Mount Carmel
A day on Mount Carmel, from the panoramic Mishmar HaCarmel viewpoint and the burn scars of the 2010 fire to Little Switzerland, the Chai Bar wildlife reserve, the Druze town of Daliyat-al-Carmel and the Muchraka monastery linked to the prophet Elijah.
If you are going to Israel, you would be mad not to give him a call.
Amol Rajan, BBC presenter and broadcaster
Having been on trips in Israel with seven different tour guides, Samuel stood above all the rest.
Seasoned Israel traveller
Samuel is one part walking encyclopedia, one part storyteller, one part stand-up comedian.
Berkeley Haas Business School student