Tag: Archaeology

Benjamin and Samaria

Our trips to the West Bank are always particularly interesting. It is an area that is really right next to where I live (about 10 miles) but I hardly ever go there. For my previous job I would occasionally go to Ramallah or Nablus; I will sometimes cut through its edge to get to Jerusalem or the Dead Sea, but given the widely reported tension in the area, it is not a place which I would visit on my own initiative.

This is a great shame as the scenery is stunning and there are numerous sites of huge archaeological and historical importance; the West Bank is ironically the area first inhabited by the Israelites in the Bible and so much of the biblical narrative takes place there. For our guides and coordinator, this seems to override the political situation. It seems almost that it is irrelevant where the sites are located – they could be under Israeli control, Palestinian control, Jordanian control – what matters is the excavations themselves. I could almost imagine them wandering into Syria (if they could) despite the current troubles, even oblivious to them, in the pursuit of antiquity. It is as if archaeology is such a pure calling that it renders you invincible.

Having said that, they do remain sensitive to the political situation, but in order not to appear politicised they refrain largely from discussing it, merely pointing out the different Jewish and Arab towns as we go past and telling us a little about their history. Starting to get into politics would no doubt cause a riot in the class as there are a broad spectrum of views in the group and plenty of people not afraid to express them. So for the sake of peace we focus as much as we can on historical and geographical facts.

The day before our trip there was a terrorist incident at Tapuach junction, an important interchange in the West Bank near Nablus/Shechem which we knew we would have to cross three times the next day. We wondered if the trip might be cancelled on security grounds. Our coordinator reassured us that lightning was unlikely to strike the same place twice in 24 hours. Our fingers were firmly crossed!

View from Shiloh
View from Shiloh

Our day began at the archaeological site at Shiloh. It is actually one of a very small number of biblical locations of whose identification we are certain – an inscription was found on a mosaic in a Byzantine church at the site referring to this being the place of the community of Shiloh.

Shiloh was a very important city in ancient times; it was the religious capital of the Israelites for around 300 years from shortly after they entered the land. It housed the mishkan or tabernacle which was the non-permanent structure that pre-dated the Temple. It was also the birthplace of my namesake, the prophet Samuel, according to the biblical narrative. Having studied some of the Book of Samuel as a set text at university, it was quite exciting to be in the place where these stories unfolded, to imagine them in their setting.

There have been various finds of note at Shiloh. At the bottom of the Tel (an archaeological mound) are the remains of three Byzantine churches, one of which contains the inscription mentioned above. Going further up the hill are many more remains including a wall going back to the 16th century BCE (it seems there was a Canaanite settlement here before the Israelites arrived). Various clay jars were found containing what appear to be remnants from sacrifices and in fact remains of raisins from over 3000 years ago. These jars are now in the Israel museum.

Model of the Altar of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) at Shiloh
Model of the Altar of the Mishkan (Tabernacle) at Shiloh

No evidence has been found of the mishkan, which is not surprising given that it was not a permanent structure. However we did visit the site where it is believed to have been situated – a wide flat space fitting the measurements described in the Bible.

Unfortunately we arrived at the site a little too early, next month they plan to open a brand new visitor centre with a very impressive audio visual presentation (we saw the trailer). From the site you can see modern day Shiloh further up the hill and its synagogue built in the style of the mishkan (at least based on the biblical description – we don’t really know what it would have looked like exactly). As we looked out on the beautiful scenery everything felt so quiet and peaceful, it was strange to think that in fact there is a lot of tension in the area.

We drove north to our next stop: Mt Kabir. On the way we looked out into the fields where we could see farmers harvesting the wheat crop. I reflected on the fact that we are in the lead up to Shavuot (Pentecost), which was considered the festival of the wheat harvest (two loaves of bread would be offered as sacrifice in the Temple). Having grown up in England where the Jewish festivals do not really match the seasonal calendar, there is something special in seeing that here in Israel they do actually make sense.

Sheikh Bilal at Mt Kabir
Sheikh Bilal at Mt Kabir

We reached the peak of Mt Kabir and looked out below into Nachal Tirtza (also known as Wadi Farah). Sadly, it was largely covered in fog; a great pity as it was clearly a potentially spectacular viewpoint. We heard about the theory that this valley was the entry route for the Israelites into the area after the Exodus, and the archaeological evidence supporting the view. Although many still hold that they entered further south crossing the Jordan near Jericho. We gazed out on Mt Ebal which is in the Palestinian Authority control, so we can’t visit it, but contains archaeological remains of what was almost certainly a resting point of the mishkan (prior to Shiloh). At the peak of the mountain is Sheikh Bilal, considered the resting place of Mohammed’s companion.

Our final stop was at Mt Gerizim, the holy site for the Samaritans. We used the visit to the site to learn about the Samaritan religion, one of the smallest in the world (there are around 2000 worldwide). Mt Gerizim is their holy site and is believed to be the site of their temple which was around at the same time as the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. They only follow the first five books of the Bible and consider themselves the true adherents of Jewish tradition.

Everlasting Hill at Mt Gerizim
Everlasting Hill at Mt Gerizim

The site was vast and fascinating although most of the excavations are off limits to visitors – the slopes are steep and the Parks Authority is concerned about people falling. It is also still in use as a holy site by the community, 400 of whom live nearby after moving up the mountain from Nablus after the first Intifada. Among the holy sites there is the location of the Binding of Isaac and also the Everlasting Hill, considered to be the foundation stone of the world.

Byzantine Church at Mt Gerizim
Byzantine Church at Mt Gerizim

We continued through the ruins, most of which come from a very large settlement in the Hellenist period, probably Samaritans escaping the conquering Alexander the Great to live near their holy site. We arrived at the site identified as being the location of the temple, and wandered around the ruins of the impressive Byzantine period church which is now on the site. It seems that because of the frequent Samaritan rebellions against Christian Roman rule, their temple was razed and a church built in its stead.

View over Nablus / Shechem from Mt Gerizim
View over Nablus / Shechem from Mt Gerizim

We headed away from the site back into the town whence we enjoyed a viewpoint over Nablus/Shechem, which was slightly better than at Mt Kabir as the mist had cleared a little. Our guide pointed out the location of ancient Shechem, which is one of the oldest settlements in the area because of its strategic position at the mouth of three fertile valleys and next to one of the main ancient roads known as the Way of the Patriarchs (as it is the route Abraham would have travelled from Dan down to Beer Sheva). He then pointed out Joseph’s Tomb which is also in the heart of the city and the location of the famous Casbah (where I had some wonderful knafeh when on a work visit a year ago!).

Sadly it was not feasible to pop into Nablus for some knafeh on this occasion so it was time to draw things to a close and return to Tel Aviv. Until next time!

Jerusalem: First Temple and Second Temple Periods

We have a whole day dedicated to Jerusalem in the First Temple period, and a whole day dedicated to Jerusalem in the Second Temple Period, but it’s still not enough time to cover the vast amount of material, so this week’s trip was about filling in some of the gaps.

Roman Kiln at the Jerusalem ICC
Roman Kiln at the Jerusalem ICC

We began in Binyanei Hauma, also known as Jerusalem International Conventions Center. This venue more normally hosts concerts and conferences than tour groups; I was somewhat surprised then when we entered and stopped in front of a display case showing artefacts from the Roman period, which I had never noticed previously. It turns out there was a big camp here for the 10th Legion of the Roman Army, we then headed downstairs and saw the remains of a kiln; it seems that it was quite a big centre for the manufacture of clay pots, roof tiles, bricks etc, all with the 10th Legion’s imprint. There was even an imprint of a sandal in one of the cases, a reminder of a sloppy soldier around 2000 years ago. I will be back in the Convention Center next month for the President’s Conference and will look forward to sharing my knowledge with the other delegates!

King David's Tomb
King David’s Tomb

We continued to David’s Tomb on Mount Zion. Here we discussed the history of the site and why it is considered to be the location of the tomb of King David (and also why some argue it is elsewhere). The site also houses the room which is considered to be the location of the Last Supper, but we shall return to visit that on our trip to Christian Jerusalem later in the course.

We moved on by foot into the Old City to the Western Wall Tunnels. The famous image of the Western Wall that is exposed above ground is actually only a small section of the wall’s full length and height. Through the tunnels it is possible to walk much further along the wall, to get a greater idea of the grandeur of the building that was – the Western Wall of today is only an outer foundation wall for the podium on which the temple was built.

Inside the Western Wall Tunnels
Inside the Western Wall Tunnels

It was an incredible feat of engineering exemplified by the quite frankly massive stones that were involved in its construction. The largest that has been found is 14m long and the experts at the Technion have calculated its weight at 570 tonnes. And it is about half way up the wall, so they would have had to have lifted it there. There was a short and very illuminating film illustrating how they would have put these stones into place.

The Western Wall (the Kotel)
The Western Wall (the Kotel)

We continued down the tunnels, past the closest point to the Holy of Holies, walking along an original 2nd Temple period street and into a Hasmonean period water channel, before exiting into the Muslim Quarter. We returned to the Western Wall, known as the Kotel, where our guide told us about some of the legends associated with it explaining why it was not entirely destroyed like the rest of the temple.

Excavations in the Western Wall Plaza
Excavations in the Western Wall Plaza

Afterwards, a small treat. Facing the Kotel are some archaeological excavations which are complete and ready for the public but for some reason not yet open to them. But somehow our guide had obtained a key and we went down to see what was the Eastern Cardo (a shopping street) in the 2nd Temple period and also the remains of a First Temple home. It was nice to get this advance preview (although the excavations are visible from above, you can see more up close).

Mausoleum in Nachal Kidron (Valley of the King)
Mausoleum in Nachal Kidron (Valley of the King)

We then exited the Old City and walked down into Nachal Kidron, also known as the King’s Valley. Here are three ancient and imposing mausolea, two of which are often attributed to Avshalom (King David’s son) and Zechariah respectively, but in fact they are from the Second Temple period, i.e. a very long time after these personages would have lived. The architecture is interesting due to the unusual mishmash of Doric and Ionic columns together in the same structure; you can tell we’ve been learning about classical architecture in class!

Our next stop was at the Menachem Begin Center, located on Ketef Hinnom. I was wondering what Menachem Begin had to do with the ancient temples as we breezed through the centre, exiting out of the back, going up some stairs, and being confronted with a First Temple period burial site. As with the morning, it was fascinating to find this juxtaposition of ancient and modern at a venue which I had visited several times previously for various events, completely unaware of what lay just a few meters away.

First Temple Period Tomb at Ketef Hinnom
First Temple Period Tomb at Ketef Hinnom

It was interesting to look at the excavated tombs and learn about the burial methods; even more fascinating was to learn that in one of the tombs excavators had unearthed some tiny rolls of silver. Written on them was the priestly blessing of the Cohanim, the oldest existing example of biblical text found outside the bible. The scrolls are now in the Israel Museum.

We exited the Begin Center and walked down the nearby valley, referred to as Gei Ben Hinnom. Here we heard about the Judaean King Achaz’s worship of the god Moloch; part of the ritual involved sacrifice of first born baby sons and would have happened in this valley. Somewhat unsavoury stuff.

View into Gei Ben Hinnom
View into Gei Ben Hinnom

We then branched off a bit from the ancient period, looking at the cable going from across our heads over to Mount Zion opposite us. In the 1948 war this was a secret way of getting supplies over to troops isolated in the mountain – a replica cable car was above our heads. As we wondered down further into the valley more surprises were in store – a Karaite cemetery where we paused to briefly learn about this religious group who only keep the laws of the first five books of the Bible without the later exegesis. We enjoyed the view down the valley leading to Nachal Kidron (whence we had come) and returned to our bus for the return home.

Nabatean Cities in the Negev

Today’s trip was dedicated to the Nabateans, an ancient people of the Middle East. We don’t know a huge amount about them as they did not record their own history (or if they did, we have not found it), so their story is told through their encounters with others and archaeological evidence.

They were however clearly a very impressive people who built a massive trading network from modern day Yemen to the port in Gaza, navigating the desert wilderness and building ingenious cisterns that would collect the limited rainwater from the area and prevent it from evaporating so that they could be relied upon by the camel trains. Their capital was in Petra, now in Jordan (and famously featuring in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) whence they would set out across the Negev desert to the Gaza port and their spices and later wines would ship across the western world (their wine jugs were even found in the UK).

They originally constructed small waystations in the Negev but eventually these grew into larger settlements. As the Nabatean community in the Negev grew, new towns were constructed in the wilderness. The remains we have are from these larger, later settlements, dating from the Byzantine or late Roman period and have been designated a world heritage site by UNESCO.

View over Mamshit
View over Mamshit

Our trip was based around two of these settlements, Mamshit and Avdat. We began with the former, situated not far from the town of Dimona. Mamshit was in fact a later settlement (from around the 1st Century), in Greek called Mamphis; indeed the epicentre of American rock and roll was named after Mamshit, although having been there a year or so ago I can testify that the surroundings of Tennessee are quite different! As we wondered the ruins our guide taught us about the Nabatean culture, how to identify their architecture and to marvel at the way they managed to live in the desert. We also learned about their assimilation into Roman culture and indeed it seems that Roman soldiers were garrisoned in this city as evidenced by the baths complex and the large stash of coins that were unearthed; probably present to pay the soldiers. We noted an ancient fresco of the story of Cupid and Pysche as further evidence of the absorption into Roman culture; indeed our guide argued that these later Nabateans should be called ‘Descendants of Nabateans’ in order to maintain a distinction between those who maintained the original way of life and those who did not.

Mamshit: 'Nilus' Church
Mamshit: ‘Nilus’ Church

We also marvelled at two ancient churches in the complex, both with beautiful mosaic floors. These Nabatean communities adopted Christianity when it became widespread in the Roman Empire, and the baptisterium which they would have used in their proselytising of the surrounding nomads.

View from Avdat - note the greenery to the left coming from revival of ancient irrigation techniques
View from Avdat – note the greenery to the left coming from revival of ancient irrigation techniques

We headed further south to the jewel in the crown of the Nabatean cities in Israel, Avdat (also known as Ovdat). Named after its founder Oboda, this large city sits atop a hill a little south of Kibbutz Sde Boker. Its inhabitants were early proponents of Ben Gurion’s dream to make the desert bloom; we witnessed the remains of their networks of small channels and aqueducts to make the most of the 80ml of rain a year and to irrigate their terrace farms. In the 50s a small group returned to the area and restored these ancient structures, proving they worked, you can see the small patch of green in the middle of the desert.

At the base of the hill is a visitors centre with a good explanatory film and samples of all the spices and incense that the Nabateans used to transport. Ever wanted to smell myrrh? Now’s your chance!

Avdat: Church of St Theodore
Avdat: Church of St Theodore

We explored the complex, including a burial cave only for women (possibly priests in a temple to Aphrodite) a former camp site for Roman soldiers, a watch tower and more magnificent early churches. In one, marble inscriptions on the floor marked the final resting places for those who had served the church 1500 years ago. The site is a place of pilgrimage for Christians of today and we witness a group of French Catholics performing a mass inside one of the ancient church structures. It was quite moving.

Once Christianity became widespread in the Roman Empire the Land of Israel grew in importance as the birthplace of the religion – there was a great desire for wine from the Holy Land for religious ceremonies. We saw the remains of an ancient wine press and learned how it would function, also visiting wine cellars at the base of the hill.

Sadly our trip was cut short due to our driver (probably the most important person on the trip) suffering from awful toothache and we missed out on the bathhouse and nearby vast and impressive cistern, but it’s good to save something for the return visit!

South Mount Hebron

It’s good to be back! Sadly I had an extended enforced absence due to a bout of glandular fever (that’s mono for any American readers) which kept me away from both work and studies for about 6 weeks. Thankfully things are now returning to normal and it was a great feeling to be back on the bus again with my coursemates even if it was 6.30 in the morning!

And what a return. This was one of the trips I had been really looking forward to since I signed up for the course. Hebron is one of the most ancient continually inhabited towns in the area, one of the four holy cities of the Land of Israel and site of the Cave of Machpela (also called the Cave of the Patriarchs), a place holy for Jews, Muslims and Christians as the final resting place of Abraham & Sarah; Isaac and Rebecca; Jacob and Leah. In more recent times, Hebron is sadly also a place of tension between Jews and Arabs. The reasons are too complex to go into in this blog and I’m wary of getting too much into the area of politics. Our guide did a good job of sharing viewpoints of all the involved parties without pushing any particular agenda, but this was over the course of a whole day; I think it would take me several blogs to come close to doing it justice!

Machpela Cave (Cave of the Patriarchs)
Machpela Cave (Cave of the Patriarchs)

Modern day politics aside, it was exciting to visit the Machpela Cave for the first time; the second holiest site in Judaism, a place I had heard so much about but had never been due to nervousness about the tensions in the area. In fact, the building one enters is over the caves themselves, a later construction almost certainly by Herod. It is very grand from the outside but one feels that the later changes by Byzantine and Mamluk rulers have somewhat detracted from its interior.

Once it was possible to descend close to or even into the caves themselves but the Muslim authorities who are in charge of the complex do not let anyone do so and have not let anyone do so for hundreds of years (indeed until 1967 Jews were not allowed inside at all for around 600 years). Despite this, there was someone who did make his way into the underground tunnels in 1981. Our guide related this Indiana Jones-esque story to our amazement and showed us photos from inside; imagine our excitement when he then spotted the perpetrator wandering past; we then had the pleasure of hearing this incredible tale from a the man himself.

Sadly another sign of the tensions is that Jews and Muslims are separated inside the complex with each group getting the whole thing to themselves for 10 days a year each. Christians are allowed in both sides. This meant that we did not get to see the sepulchres marking the resting places of Isaac and Rebecca; it also meant that it was impossible to escape from the fact that this was a complicated place and I felt it was a great shame that for most of the year neither Muslims nor Jews are able to visit the whole site because of the previous actions of extremists.

Ancient ruins at Tel Rumeida
Ancient ruins at Tel Rumeida

We left the cave and went up to Tel Rumeida, the site of the biblical city of Hebron. We explored some ancient remains and then went to a viewpoint over the city whence our guide explained to us the historical importance of Hebron as a local economic centre; its strong local culture and the realities of life there post-Israeli control in 1967 and since the cities partition as per the Oslo peace process.

View over Hebron from Tel Rumeida
View over Hebron from Tel Rumeida

We left Hebron and headed south, still within the range of mountains known as Mt Hebron. Today’s theme was the desert frontier and to see how ancient communities coped and adapted to the trickier agricultural and security conditions associated with being so close to desert both in the east (the Judean desert) and in the south (the Negev).

Byzantine era synagogue at Susya
Byzantine era synagogue at Susya

Our next stop was Susya, the remains of a large Byzantine era Jewish settlement. It is something of anomaly; no one can identify a Byzantine era town or city that would fit with this location and size. Susya is the Arabic name of the area, and that is what is used for now. There is a large synagogue with a beautiful mosaic floor together with various other excavated ruins and a somewhat dated but nonetheless interesting film imagining life here.

Byzantine era synagogue at Susya
Byzantine era synagogue at Susya

However, on the way to the archaeological park we passed tents of people who had historically lived in the area, and indeed some were moved out of the area that is now the site. They are in constant tension with the Jewish inhabitants of modern day Susya which is in the hill facing them. While our previous trips in the West Bank had been around the edge and had pretty much avoided these tensions, here it was right in our face to see.

Byzantine era synagogue at Anim
Byzantine era synagogue at Anim

We travelled further south and just out of the West Bank to another ruined synagogue, this time at Anim, in the Yatir Forest. We used this and also Susya to learn more about the lifestyle on the desert frontier and here specifically about the rich agricultural pickings in the area; near Anim were many vineyards for manufacture of wine and also grape sugar, also in the Byzantine period.

View over the Hebron hills from Avigail
View over the Hebron hills from Avigail

We returned whence we came, stopping off on the way in Avigail, an illegal settlement outpost consisting of a few caravans containing about twenty families. Our guide explained how it was possible for this place to exist, and why they had so far been allowed to stay despite the fact that it was illegal under Israeli law. We tried to temporarily forget about this to enjoy the view out over the desert frontier landscape and heard the story of Abigail and David, which would have taken place in this area (hence the settlement’s name). With this, it was time to return home.

This trip was particularly interesting as it was areas that I had never seen before and, barring a tourist’s request, I think it is unlikely I will come back in the near future. On the one hand it was fascinating to see and learn about Hebron in person; to see the ancient ruins and landscape of the area. On the other hand the political situation was unavoidable and pulled me alternatively from right to left on the political spectrum. I ended the day thoroughly confused, which I actually think is appropriate – the situation in the West Bank really is confusing; absolutist and clear cut solutions to the tensions there are not readily available. Nonetheless, I still hope that peace will come to us soon.

Jerusalem in the First Temple Period

If I forget thee, o Jerusalem…

So reads the famous psalm, but you might think that we had forgotten Jerusalem, given that here we were over three months into the course and yet to visit the country’s capital; holy city for three of the world’s largest religions; a place which apparently 3.5 billion people (I imagine the figure has been extrapolated from a statistically appropriate sample) would like to visit at least once in their lifetime.

Finally, however, the day was here, and it was with a certain amount of excitement that we ascended route 1 into the Judean mountains and entered the city limits. This is a city with so much historical and religious significance that I think around 13 of our 80 field trips will be spent here. It is certainly a place which we will have to become very familiar with in our future lives as tour guides. And here it all begins.

View north over Jerusalem from the Haas Promenade
View north over Jerusalem from the Haas Promenade

This excitement was supplemented by a certain amount of nostalgia as we began the day looking over the city from the Haas Promenade viewpoint in East Talpiot. Many years ago, I spent four months living next to this promenade in a place called Kiriat Moriah (I was excited to note that our guide even pointed it out!) while a participant on the Jewish Agency’s leadership training programme for youth leaders from the Diaspora. I have many fond memories of philosophical conversations shared on this promenade while gazing over the tranquil landscape of Jerusalem. Indeed, from this vantage point, the city is extremely calm, belying the many religious, political and economic tensions that are ever-present here.

With our guide’s assistance we surveyed the view before us and identified key points of interest; some we would visit today, many we would visit in the future.

View from the top of the City of David over South and East Jerusalem
View from the top of the City of David over South and East Jerusalem

From the promenade we journeyed to the limits of the Old City and circled the walls before descending into the City of David. This site (Ir David, in Hebrew) showcases the archaeological remains of the city of Jerusalem at the time of the First Temple, which mostly was outside what are now the Old City walls. The ruins are on a slope running down from the Temple Mount which was the ritual and probably also governmental centre.

Our guide had assured us that this would be the most complex field trip of the course and he fulfilled his promise by taking us through the historiography of the many archaeological digs on the site; with each new dig more was uncovered, shattering previous theories and establishing new ones.

After a short break with a rather cheesy but cute and certainly informative 3D film about the site we continued down past various sites of significance (and their historiography). We noted signs of the Babylonian destruction and heard the story of the discovery of around 50 bullae in one of the digs. These bullae are clay seals for documents; two of them contained names of senior officials mentioned in the book of Jeremiah. It was one of the most significant finds in the whole of the country; corroborating some of the biblical narrative.

Inside the water tunnels in the City of David
Inside the water tunnels in the City of David

We continued into a tunnel in the rock leading to an ancient reservoir watched over by a large guard tower. The current thinking is that these structures are from the pre-Judean rule over Jerusalem and were used to channel water from a nearby spring closer to the city where it could be protected and used for its inhabitants. We wandered through a further tunnel which was probably used to take the water to irrigate crops before heading out of the site. As this field trip was focused only on the First Temple period, we left some of the site for a return visit.

"The Broad Wall": remains of Hezekiah's 7 meter wide northern defensive wall in Jerusalem
“The Broad Wall”: remains of Hezekiah’s 7 meter wide northern defensive wall in Jerusalem

After a lunch stop in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City we continued our exploration of the First Temple period, stopping to see part of the large 7 metre wide ‘broad wall‘ that was built (according to the bible, by the King Hezekiah) to fortify the city against eastern imperial advances. It was at this time that the city walls expanded to include areas which are now the Jewish and Armenian quarters; prior to this archaeologists believe this area was inhabited by refugees from the northern Kingdom of Israel which had been laid waste by the Babylonians and indeed one can see remains of buildings which lie outside the wall.

Remains of the gate tower from Hezekiah's wall around Jerusalem
Remains of the gate tower from Hezekiah’s wall around Jerusalem

We continued, entering a building which contains in its basement the unearthed remains of a gate tower from this northern wall; this was the cities most vulnerable point and indeed it seems that it may have been where the Babylonian’s made their eventual breach as Babylonian arrow heads were found in the excavations.

Model of Jerusalem in First Temple times at the Ariel Center
Model of Jerusalem in First Temple times at the Ariel Center

From this Israelite gate tower we popped across the street to the Ariel Centre which has a few small exhibits related to the First Temple period together with an engaging film giving an overall summary and a model envisaging what the city looked like in this early time. The visit to the centre takes about an hour, is guided by its in house team and I think provides a very good overview of the period, for those interested.

With the First Temple era now witnessed in the flesh (or rather, the stone), and delightfully summarised, we returned home, with many more visits to Jerusalem to look forward to in the future.

The Biblical Judean Lowlands (Shfela)

After exploring the biblical Negev region on our previous field trip, this week we were staying in the biblical period but moving our focus to the area of the Judean Lowlands (the Shfela, in Hebrew). This is an area of hills and valleys that runs roughly from Mt Hebron westwards until meeting the flat coastal plain. Its main city is Beit Shemesh. In biblical times it was a border area between the tribe of Judah and the Philistines, hence it witnessed quite a lot of tension.

We began our day with a drive through the Tzora forest along the so called ‘Sculpture Trail’. This was a project run by the JNF and encouraged mostly local residents (many new immigrants) to make sculptures in the forest. I don’t think I would particularly go out of my way to see these sculptures in the future, but we did also go up the Tel Tzora (you may recall by now that a Tel is an archaeological mound), where we had a commanding view of the area from which to take our bearings, and where we were able to visit the site traditionally associated with the grave of Samson and his father Manoah.

Samson's Tomb on Tel Tzora
Samson’s Tomb on Tel Tzora

Our guide took this opportunity to regale us with the story of Samson from the bible, which took place in the area of the Judean lowlands, pointing out key sites from the viewpoint. And then some members of the group took the opportunity to visit the tomb which is considered a place to pray for strength.

Sculpture Garden in Beit Shemesh
Sculpture Garden in Beit Shemesh

Continuing our artistic opening to the day, we made a brief stop in the Gan Golan sculpture garden in the historical centre of Beit Shemesh. Golan Peli sadly was killed during the first intifada; his parents were artists and used this space next to their house to create sculptures and place them there in his memory. The sculptures all represent traditional ancient life or stories from the bible. It is a small garden, but if one is in Beit Shemesh anyway, it is a nice place to visit.

Inside the ancient cistern at Tel Beit Shemesh
Inside the ancient cistern at Tel Beit Shemesh

We pulled out of the modern town of Beit Shemesh and returned to biblical times, visiting Tel Beit Shemesh, the site considered to be the location of the biblical city of the same name. Here we read from the book of Samuel, hearing the story of the Philistine capture of the Ark of the Covenant and its return to the Israelites at Beit Shemesh. Our guide pointed out the route it would have taken as it was brought up to the city on a wagon from the Philistine territory. As part of the excavations they have discovered an ancient cistern and we brought out our torches to have a quick wander inside, which brought a small sense of adventure to our enterprise.

The Israelite fortress from the period of King David at Khirbet Qeiyafa
The Israelite fortress from the period of King David at Khirbet Qeiyafa

A short journey down route 38 took us to Khirbet Qeiyafa, another archaeological mound. As recently as 2007 excavators here discovered a fortress in the Israelite style. The site has become important as carbon dating of olive pits unearthed here date the site to the period associated with the rule of King David (although as with most archaeology in Israel, this is majority but not consensus opinion). Various other evidence corroborates that it was a Jewish settlement. This would therefore be an extremely important site; the only site we have from this time period. But it remains fairly unknown to the public; excavations are still taking place and it is not signposted at all from the road. To visit, I recommend finding an appropriate tour guide!

View over the Judean Lowlands (Shfela) from Tel Azeka
View over the Judean Lowlands (Shfela) from Tel Azeka

Close by we visited another archaeological mound: Tel Azeka, which is in the midst of the Britannia Park, a JNF forest funded by donations from the UK (hurrah for the UK!). We ascended the tel and enjoyed a commanding view of the region. Our guide read to us from the story of David and Goliath and pointed out where various elements of the story took place. There is something very powerful in hearing these stories one grew up with in one’s childhood in situ. One begins to envision the tale taking place before one’s eyes; it becomes much more real.

View over the Judean Lowlands (Shfela) from Tel Lachish
View over the Judean Lowlands (Shfela) from Tel Lachish

Our final visit was our most southern, Tel Lachish. This site is mentioned a huge amount in biblical and non biblical sources from the time, and was host to a large complex of temples in the Canaanite period and the second most important Judean city in the Israelite period. The Assyrian king Sennacherib laid waste to it on his war campaign in 701 BCE and a relief of his battle is exhibited in the British museum in London. We made do with a copy and our guide explained the details of the battle; we were able to see the ramp that Sennacherib’s troops built in order to go up to and rout the Tel. It was a major victory but Sennacherib did not make it to Jerusalem; the bible says that his troops were struck by a plague; his memoirs say that he returned to defend a Babylonian invasion.

The Israelites did return to Lachish eventually but the city was attacked and destroyed again during Nebuchadnezzar’s invasion in the 6th century BCE. A somewhat unfortunate bunch, it seems. The ruins are extensive and the site also commands an outstanding view of the Judean Lowlands over to the coastal plain. It was with this view in our minds that we returned home to Tel Aviv.

Archaeology of the Biblical Negev

After various introductory field trips we are now at a stage where our weekly excursions are broadly supposed to tie in with what we are studying class. Therefore, as we began our lessons on archaeology we spent last week exploring some of the tels (archeological mounds) in the north, and this week we were doing the same but in the south, in the biblical Negev.

However, our first stop was unconnected. En route on the border of the Judean lowlands and the Negev is the Joe Alon Centre for Regional Studies (focused on the Negev region).

Learning about Bedouin culture at the Joe Alon Centre
Learning about Bedouin culture at the Joe Alon Centre

The main part of the centre (and, in my opinion, the most interesting) is the museum about Bedouin culture. The Bedouin are a nomadic people who in Israel are mostly located in the Galil and desert regions. They are moving away from their traditional life and now the majority live in fixed accommodation; however on travels through the desert it is still possible to see their tents. Although the displays are a little tired and don’t look like they have been touched since the museum opened in the 80s, there is still a lot of interesting information and we were accompanied by a Bedouin guide who went into more details. There was also a short film about the Bedouin in the Negev which was a very good and concise introduction to their lifestyle and the challenges they face in the modern world.

After being led around the museum we were taken into a traditional tent structure where we were served sweet tea and learned about the important culture of hospitality. A most pleasant experience.

From there we quickly looked at the replicas of various cave dwellings in the Negev, from the late stone age to the Bar Kochba revolt, and enjoyed the view over the area from the elevated viewpoint. The tours and videos are available in English (although you probably need to call ahead) and it is a nice stop if one is heading southwards.

Descending into the vast water system at Tel Beer Sheva
Descending into the vast water system at Tel Beer Sheva

We continued south to the region of the biblical Negev. Unlike the Negev of today, this was located only in the area of the valleys of Arad and Beer Sheva, and was a border region between the desert and the rest of the country. Our first destination here was the UNESCO world heritage site of Tel Beer Sheva. Located near modern Beer Sheva, it is considered by some to be the site of the biblical city where Abraham dug his well. The remains on the mound are later, from the post-Exodus period of the Israelite kingdom. They are very impressive (hence the UNESCO recognition). Our guide took us around, explaining the function of different structures and our theories on their uses and purpose. Most incredible was the underground water system, constructed in case of a siege. Huge caverns had been hewn out of the rock and covered with plaster; water was then secretly diverted from the nearby Hebron stream (when it was flowing) into this underground reservoir. We walked out through this water system (for extra fun, we were required to wear hard hats!) and saw the replica of the altar they found at the site; an impressive cube structure with horns on each corner; the original is now in the Israel museum.

Remains of a late Canaanite period 'Arad House' at Tel Arad
Remains of a late Canaanite period ‘Arad House’ at Tel Arad

Our final destination was at Tel Arad, located just outside the city of the same name, where we were honoured to be guided by one of the site’s main excavators. This tel is important as it contains the remains of a vast city from the early Canaanite period, with no further layers above it. This means that archaeologists can use it to really understand what life was like in this period, without the confusion of having other later constructions intermixed. We learned about the typical building construction, now found in other places but still called the ‘Arad House’ as it was here that it was discovered for the first time, and in such large quantities. Our guide also explained to us his theory that the Israelites came into Israel about 1000 years earlier than the current received opinion. Sadly (for him) he seems to be rather alone in this point of view, although he argued his case well. Given that it would mean reorganising the entire chronology of the ancient world, I can see why there might be some resistance.

The original altar in the temple at the Israelite fortress in Tel Arad
The original altar in the temple at the Israelite fortress in Tel Arad

We then went up the hill to visit the Israelite period fortress. Although there was no inhabited settlement here since the early Canaanite period, there were fortresses along the border with the unruly desert nomads. The fortress was a large impressive structure, and contains the remains of a temple; evidence that there were other temples outside of the main one in Jerusalem. It seems to have been destroyed at some point, perhaps as part of the concentration of ritual Judaism into the capital city.

We enjoyed the stunning desert sunset over the ancient ruins and then began the long journey home.

Sunset over the ruins of the Israelite fortress at Tel Arad
Sunset over the ruins of the Israelite fortress at Tel Arad

The Ancient Sea Road (Via Maris)

It is the day before our weekly field trip and Israel is in the midst of its worst storms for ten years. The main motorway in Tel Aviv is flooded and closed. The trains aren’t running. Snow is forecast in the Golan and in Jerusalem. Amongst these fierce winds and torrential rain, some of the course members contact our coordinator. Surely tomorrow’s field trip is cancelled? It seems that it is not. Disbelief. And the beginnings of a mutiny. But in our night class, our coordinator makes it clear: “the tour guide course goes out into the field, even through fire and through water” (I think it sounds better in Hebrew). He was almost seeming to relish it. The rebellion was quashed.

So it was that we assembled, as usual, at 6.30am at Arlozorov bus station. Except this time we were all looking somewhat larger due to the multiple layers of clothing and waterproofs. Spirits were surprisingly high. We were in this together, “through fire and through water”. And off we set.

Our trip was to be connected to the Via Maris, the ancient Sea Road connecting the two great regional empires of Egypt and Mesopotamia. In the end, only some of the sites were connected to this road, but the majority of the day dealt with those that were. Remarkably, as we headed north the skies began to clear. A miracle?

El Ahwat
El Ahwat

Nonetheless, the ground was extremely muddy at our first stop at El Ahwat. An archeological site dating from the Bronze age, some believe that this is the home town of the biblical character Sisera who famously met his end when Yael bashed a tent peg into his head. There seems to be a connection in the architecture with the Nuragic culture of Sardinia, and a theory is that the people who lived here came across the sea bringing their culture with them. Unfortunately the site was rather inaccessible as it was effectively a very large bog. But we got a bit of an idea. Sadly the bus driver was not so appreciative of the mud adorning our boots.

Katzir Viewpoint
Katzir Viewpoint

We carried on a short drive to the small town of Katzir where we enjoyed a viewpoint over to the Carmel. Our guide pointed out key sites including the route of the Via Maris and the topographical features of the area. With this overview we moved on to the site that was to form the largest part of the day’s itinerary, Tel Megiddo.

A Tel is an archaeological mound. At some point in ancient history a group decided that point x was a good point to settle. Perhaps it was close to water, had good fields for agriculture, was easy to defend etc. Over the years the settlement might be destroyed, or deserted, and then later rebuilt, each time over the previous ruins, rising up and up to form a Tel. Israel is full of these Tels, each of which is an archaeological treasure trove of different periods of history. And one of the richest is Tel Meggido.

Model of the Israelite city at Tel Meggido
Model of the Israelite city at Tel Meggido

The site was made a UNESCO world heritage site in 2005 and has been under excavation since the beginning of the 19th century. And they’re still finding more and more. It had a prime location at a key junction on the Via Maris, close to arable land and a constant water supply, leading to many battles for its control. Eventually the Israelites wrestled control of it from the resident Canaanites and most of what is visible in the excavations is a mixture of the Canaanite and Israelite periods. Most impressive are the series of Canaanite temples on the east side of the Tel (facing the sun).

Sadly our excursion on the Tel was somewhat hampered by the darkening skies followed by hail. Yes, hail. Despite this, we gallantly continued around the site through bouts of being pelted by ice pellets. And our brave guide managed to impart to us a great deal of useful information. I think though, it will be worth a return visit in better weather.

View from the east side of Tel Meggido
View from the east side of Tel Meggido

Also of note is that Tel Meggido has been identified with the end of days vision of John at Armageddon. Har is Hebrew for mountain/hill; Har + Megiddo and the connection makes sense. Furthermore, a few hundred metres away has been unearthed a mosaic floor containing an inscription with the earliest known reference to the Christian religion. Hence there were a few groups of Christian tourists also braving the weather with us, and they have my full respect for doing so!

View from Tel Jezreel
View from Tel Jezreel

From Meggido we moved on to Tel Jezreel, another archaeological mound along the Via Maris. Our guide took us through the generations of occupancy of the mound from the Israelite period through to the Romans, Crusaders (the ruins of a church have been uncovered here) and the Arab village that was here for 100 years prior to 1948. We learned about the battle that took place here between the Israelites and the Philistines as recounted in the Book of Samuel, and then the later battles that took place here in the Israeli War of Independence. On the way out of the Tel we passed the monument for the soldiers who died in the battles to control the mound in the modern era.

Ancient Beit Alfa Synagogue
Ancient Beit Alfa Synagogue

It was time to leave the Via Maris and our next port of call was at the ancient synagogue at Beit Alfa (somewhat confusingly located not in Kibbutz Beit Alfa, but in Kibbutz Heftziba, next door). The ruins of this ancient synagogue from the time of the Second Temple have been loving restored including a stunningly impressive floor mosaic. Interestingly, the mosaic includes the signs of the zodiac and an image of a foreign god. I doubt they would be allowed in synagogues today but it seems that in these ancient times they were just perceived as decoration (and indeed something that the people who made the mosaics knew how to do). Inside the synagogue you can watch a rather cute film which acts out the hypothetical story of the mosaic’s creation. It is a cute and creative way to explain what is before you and makes the site much more engaging, certainly for children but for adults alike.

View from Mt Barkan on the Gilboa
View from Mt Barkan on the Gilboa

We concluded the day by driving up to the Mt Gilboa ridge at the edge of the Samarian hills. As we went up the steep ascent we were treated to stunning views of the valleys below bathed in sun with the streams running full of water (many of the streams in Israel are dry most of the year) and the fields rich colours of green and brown. We arrived at our first lookout point at Mt Barkan, the highest point on the ridge, but sadly the explanation of what we were seeing was curtailed by another hailstorm, this time the hail was around half a centimetre in diameter and it really hurt! Our guide bravely struggled on but eventually had to concede that our exposed position on the mountain top was not perhaps so wise in the current conditions. Still, we briefly enjoyed the view.

View from Mt Shaul on the Gilboa
View from Mt Shaul on the Gilboa

We carried on a little further along the Gilboa scenic road to Mt Shaul. The hail had turned to light rain so we alighted and enjoyed the stunning views while our guide read to us the sad story of the first Israelite king, Saul. He is said to have fallen on his sword at this point. It is also apparently a very good spot for paragliding. The clouds parted so we took advantage to walk a short trail around the peak before returning to the bus, homeward bound.

The Jordan Valley

As we move into the winter months the Jordan Valley was a welcome itinerary as it is well known for having somewhat warmer climes. We left Tel Aviv and ascended up to the Judean Hills into a dense fog, we were enveloped in an ambiance of mystique and perhaps slight foreboding as we crossed over the Green Line and headed to the town of Maale Adumim, and the Martyrius Monastery.

Dining room at Martyrius Monastery
Dining room at Martyrius Monastery

The Monastery dates from the 5th Century (the Byzantine period). Today we would learn about the movement of monks in the Judean desert which is said to have begun with the arrival of Chariton in the year 337. This was an extremely significant movement numbering 20 000 monks spread across 60 monasteries by the middle of the 6th Century. The first monasteries were called laura and consisted of a central cave for the head monk with smaller caves around it. They then evolved (often on the same site) into built structures for communal living known as a coenobium.

This monastery, named for the monk who was at one time Patriarch of Jerusalem, was a large structure housing around 250 monks and also offering lodgings to pilgrims on the Jericho-Jerusalem trail. As we wondered around the ruins our guide explained about how the monks would live in the desert conditions.

We then drove down the hill to the St Euthymius Monastery which has been excavated in the heart of the Maale Adumim industrial zone. St Euthymius inherited Chariton’s mantle as the major monk in the area of the Judean desert having come here from Armenia. He moved around several times but died and was buried in the site upon which the monastery was built. Much of the structure is original although some was restored at the time of the crusaders. In order to prevent his bones being removed by pilgrims St Euthymius left special instructions about a final to be placed above his tomb for them to anoint themselves on. We found the funnel, but sadly his bones were removed at some point in history and are now somewhere among the relics held by churches in Europe.

Inside a vast cistern at St Euthymius Monastery
Inside a vast cistern at St Euthymius Monastery

Particularly impressive was the vast cistern (one of two of this size) used to capture as much rain water as possible to survive the desert heat. We climbed down to the bottom and gazed up at this incredible structure hewn into the chalk rock. An extremely impressive feat of engineering, it even used techniques to protect it from earthquakes (which evidently worked).

To add to the ambiance, our guide played the song “El Borot Hamayim” (to the water cisterns) and handed out sheets with the lyrics. A nice sing along was had.

Inside the church at the Monastery of St Gerassimos
Inside the church at the Monastery of St Gerassimos

We moved on past Jericho and headed North up route 90 to our final monastery of the day, that of St. Gerassimos. He, like Martyrius, was a disciple of St Euthymius and was credited with pioneering the establishment of monasteries in the area of Jericho. The site was restored over the past 30 years by the Greek Orthodox church and there are now lodgings there for pilgrims together with small mosaic and candle making factories. The church has been refurbished and there are beautiful paintings of various saints and scenes from the bible, together with a brand new home made mosaic floor. The surroundings are very peaceful and shady in the desert sun although sadly they offer no respite from the desert flies.

From this monastery it was a short trip to Qasr el Yahud, an old deserted crusader period monastery on the site of a church dedicated to John the Baptist and built on the orders of Helena (mother of the Roman emperor Constantine, who also ordered the building of various churches in Jerusalem including the Church of the Holy Sepulchre). Just a few meters further and we found ourselves at the bank of the Jordan River at the site where John the Baptist baptized Jesus, effectively founding a new religious movement. There were many groups of pilgrims from around the world quietly praying or singing hymns together; it was a very special ambience.

A pilgrim collects water from the Jordan River at the site of Jesus's Baptism
A pilgrim collects water from the Jordan River at the site of Jesus’s Baptism

The site is also important in Jewish history. It is here that the Israelites entered the Land of Israel for the first time, and where they spent their first Pesach as a free people. It was also the site where the prophet Elijah passed on his leadership position to Elisha before being whisked away to heaven in a chariot of fire. It is a site associated with new beginnings.

Jordan Valley Monument
Jordan Valley Monument

After a spot of lunch our trip took a more sombre turn as we visited the Jordan Valley monument. Designed by the artist Yigal Turmakin and constructed from old parts of armoured vehicles, tanks and guns, it serves as a memorial to the Israeli soldiers who died in the area, particularly as a result of the period known as the period of pursuits. Once Israel took control of the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War, Palestinians began to infiltrate from Jordan and carry out attacks. Many soldiers lost their lives to this guerrilla warfare and they are commemorated here.

The site also commands an impressive view over the Jordan valley and into Jordan itself. Our guide pointed out the sites of former strongholds of the Jewish Hasmonean kings in the area together with modern agricultural settlements.

View over the Jordan Valley at the Jordan Valley Monument
View over the Jordan Valley at the Jordan Valley Monument

From the monument we took the winding road known as the Alon Road (after Yigal Alon, a former army commander and politician) deep into the Samarian hills. The scenery was stunning although it was also a little eerie; much of the area was deserted. Occasionally we would pass small villages or other signs of human life such as olive tree groves and a herd of goats with their shepherd. As we went through our guide pointed out sites mentioned in the bible or of significant excavations. There is a great deal of history in these hills.

Eventually we reached our destination at the Mabua spring in Nachal Perat. The spring is unusual as due to its unpredictable flow. There is an underground cave which fills with rainwater seeping down through the rock. When the water reaches a certain level in the cave, due to a sort of U-bend eroded in the work, the water bursts out into the spring.

Remnants of Hasmonean Aqueducts at Ein Mabua
Remnants of Hasmonean Aqueducts at Ein Mabua

As dusk fell we walked into the Nachal noting the remnants of what used to be a vast system of aqueducts across the desert, carrying water from the various springs to the Hasmonean fortresses. Now they are in ruins and merely serve as a playground for rock squirrels. We concluded with a little more of group sing song by the spring and with the sound of music in our ears it was time to return home.

The Lower Galil

The green and hilly region of the Galil in the North of Israel is divided into two, largely based on topography. The Lower Galil is lower in two senses of the word; it is both further to the South and has lower hills (affectionately referred to as mountains in Hebrew).

The Galil is a beautiful place to visit. The rolling green hills make a beautiful backdrop; they are filled with hiking trails. It is also an area of great historical significance. The Galil contains the city of Nazareth, the childhood home of Jesus, and a lot of the miracles he performed took place here. From a Jewish perspective, it became one of the main Jewish centres after the second temple was destroyed; there were several towns here which hosted the Sanhedrin, the Jewish parliament, and indeed the Mishna (Oral Law) was codified in one of these towns, Tzippori.

But neither Tzippori nor Nazareth were the focus of today’s trip. Rather, we were to get an overview of the region. This overview began at Tel Chanaton. A tel is an archaeological mound. This means that it was a dwelling place for man over several centuries, and was destroyed and rebuilt several times. Each time it was rebuilt, the new settlement was constructed on top of the remains of the old one, and the mound grew.

Tel Chanaton was a dwelling place of man from the Bronze age up until the end of the Persian rule in Israel, roughly a period of 3000 years, and then intermittently afterwards. It is mentioned in ancient sources including letters between Canaanite kings and indeed the bible. From our lookout on the tel we learned about the topography and geology of the Galil in addition to the importance of its situation close to several ancient trade routes. It was a place for people to stop off while travelling and restock food and water. In later times it was also used to collect taxes from travellers.

Remains of Crusader Fortress at Tel Hanaton
Remains of Crusader Fortress at Tel Hanaton

Israel is full of these mounds and many have been extensively excavated, but Tel Chanaton has not yet. Some excavation has taken place though and you can squeeze into a small tunnel that takes you into the remains of a Crusader fortress that was based here. There is something quite remarkable about being inside it, knowing that it was not originally buried in the earth. It helps understand the other mounds you see, knowing that all the remains were originally like this.

We moved on from the tel to the Muslim Arab village of Kaukab Abu al Hija. This village is named after the great Husam ad-Din Abu al-Hija, a lieutenant of Saladin. He was known as a righteous man, a man of the people, who encouraged good relationships between Jews and Muslims. We heard a couple of the legends of his time in charge of the area.

In more modern times, this village stood out in the area by embracing the arrival of new Jewish villages. While other Arab villages protested, the mayor of Kaukab Abu al Hija argued in favour of the new arrivals saying that they brought with them better infrastructure and services to the area. He participated in cultural festivals that they organised and tried to develop his village for tourism. To this end, it was the first Arab village in Israel to have a ‘tzimmer’ (a sort of boutique BnB retreat) and they also developed a sculpture garden in the 1990s using work from Jewish and Arab artists in Israel.

Sculpture Garden at Kaukab Abu al-Hija
Sculpture Garden at Kaukab Abu al-Hija

There were many interesting sculptures in the garden, many connected with thoughts and hopes of peace. I found particularly striking the sculpture pictured of flowers of the symbols of the three major faiths against a stunning backdrop. Sadly our guide told us the flower with the Star of David was frequently broken (you could see where it had been restored); and the flower with the cross was torn down after the Pope made a speech a couple of years ago which was understood to have slandered Mohammed. Although this is sad, the encouraging thing is that the village council has consistently restored the sculpture. And hopefully it will endure.

View over Ancient Yodfat
View over Ancient Yodfat

We moved on to a viewpoint over a small hill (not a tel, we were told) which used to house the ancient city of Yodfat, where we heard the story of its demise. When the Jews rebelled against the Romans in 66 AD, the military commander Vespasian was dispatched with his son Titus (of the arch’s fame) to subdue them. He set out into the Galil to destroy Yodfat which was a key centre for the rebels, under the command of man called Yosef ben Mattityahu. The Romans broke the city walls after 47 days; most of the town had committed mass suicide but Yosef ben Mattityahu survived. He returned to Rome with Vespasian and latinised his name, taking on the surname of his new mentor. The new Josephus Flavius became the official historian for the Roman empire in this region and his accounts are vital for us today in understanding what took place here under the Romans and indeed in locating important archaeological sites.

Chapel at Lavra Netofa
Chapel at Lavra Netofa

Our next stop was at the communal village of Hararit, where the inhabitants are followers of Transcendental Meditation and meditate together as a community. We passed through the village though to the fields behind it and to the Lavra Netofa. We heard the story of two Christian monks who came here to live an acetic lifestyle in isolation, with a few followers. They found a Byzantine period cistern which they converted into a small chapel which was beautifully decorated for Christmas. It was incredibly peaceful and calm, and an appropriate setting for the story of the monks. The last of them passed away in 2005 but the chapel and community is now maintained by a group of nuns who moved here on their request for this purpose.

We left Hararit and travelled a short distance to the communal village of Avtaliyon. Here we heard the story of the programme to encourage more Jews to move to the area of the Lower Galil in the 1970s and 1980s. At the time, the traditional founders of new communities, the kibbutz, moshav and youth movements, were waning in their strength and influence. So a new concept, that of the communal village, was created. The idea was that people would form a group based on shared interests; perhaps it would be Transcendental Meditation, as in Hararit. There were other new communities created by graduates of the Technion, or employees of Rafael. These communities have remained small but now exist in the Galil and all over the country. Our guide argued that they had helped transform the Galil into an area not known for a good standard of living to an area with a good lifestyle, good education and good employment.

Oil Press at Avtaliyon
Oil Press at Avtaliyon

Here, we also learned about the manufacture of olive oil. 90% of olive oil in Israel comes from the Lower Galil. It is all made in the Arab villages except for in Avtaliyon, were they have their own press. Sadly, there was no time for tastings; a return visit is probably warranted.

Our final destination was the Muslim Arab village of Deir Hanna. The Arabic name translates as Monastery of John the Baptist, as a tradition says that he was born there. It is a large Muslim village with the ruins of an 18th century fortress at its centre. The visited the fortress and heard the story of its ruler, a local Sheikh called Daher el Omar who stood up against the Ottoman rulers, making himself an intermediary in their tax collection, and while doing so transformed the Galil region. There was barely a place around here that he did not influence, for example he built the city walls in Tiberias, in Akko, and even took a small village called Haifa, fortified and enlarged it.

Sadly for Daher el Omar, the Ottomans had enough of him after around 50 years and having grown in strength they sent a military force to wipe him out. No one replaced him and the Ottomans remained in full control until WWI.

Traditional Arab Home in Deir Hanna
Traditional Arab Home in Deir Hanna

While in the village we visited a local home where the family hosts tourists and explains to them about traditional Arab culture, accompanied by traditional Arab cuisine (not to be sniffed at!). We learned about the traditional way of living and enjoyed some homemade olives (our course fees did not stretch to baklava and coffee, sadly). As the sun set, the call to prayer sounded around the village, and it was time for us to head home.