Tag: Byzantine

December 19, 2013

Beit Shearim and Zippori

Today’s tour was another catch-up from when I was taken ill back in February, as we headed north to explore the national parks at Beit Shearim and Zippori.

Although the majority of the day was to be focused on the late Roman period, we took advantage of our location near the Beit Shearim park to hear the story of the Israeli hero Alexander Zaid.

Zaid was born in Siberia, as his family had been exiled there by the Russian government. On making aliyah in the early 19th century he identified the fact that many of the new Jewish villages that were being established had security problems, particularly in the north of the country.

He founded the Bar Giora Jewish self-defence organisation, which later evolved into the Shomer [guard] organisation. The Shomer itself later evolved into the Haganah [defence] which was the precursor to the Israeli Defence Forces. So it could be said that Zaid was one of the founders of the modern Israeli army.

Grave of Alexander Zaid

He spent the end of his life in the area close to Beit Shearim where he helped manage the protection of Jewish villages in the Jezreel Valley and was on good terms with the local Arabs. In 1938, during the Arab Revolt, he rode out to answer a call for help from a nearby settlement and never returned – he was ambushed on route and shot dead. We visited the site where his body was discovered, and then his grave in the Shomrim [guards] cemetery – the shomrim being a sub-group he founded of the Shomer, to operate in this area.

At the top of the nearby hill stands a memorial statue of Alexander Zaid riding his horse, his eyes gazing out over the landscape that he used to patrol.

Heading down the hill, we visited the first part of the Beit Shearim site, the living area of the town. This area is actually free to visit and it is possible to see the remains of a synagogue, homes, ritual baths and a grand basilica structure.

According to the Talmud, Beit Shearim was one of the seats of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leadership body, and indeed at one point the seat of one of the greatest leaders of the Jewish people, Rabbi Yehuda (or Judah) HaNasi, also known just as Rabbi, such was the extent of his greatness. Perhaps the Sanhedrin met in one of these structures? Perhaps Rabbi sat here?

Decorated sarcophagus at Beit Shearim

We continued down to the area of the Beit Shearim national park, which is outside of the ancient city. It is however much more interesting, as this is the area of the huge necropolis. It is recorded in Jewish sources that Rabbi requested to be buried in Beit Shearim, even after moving away from the city to Zippori for his final years. As many people wanted to be buried near such a great sage, a vast necropolis developed here, with Jews being brought from around the world to be interred at the site.

Tomb of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (Judah the Prince), Beit Shearim

We visited the tomb considered to be the final resting place of Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi and then explored other tombs, dug in vast catacombs in the soft chalk rock, filled with beautifully decorated sarcophagi. It was a bit eerie, but a remarkable site nonetheless.

Leaving Beit Shearim, we journeyed a short distance in the footsteps of Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi, and the Sanhedrin, to Zippori. I think Zippori is a fantastic site; a great mixture of antiquity, lovely views and ancient art.

Scholars believe that around 20 000 – 30 000 people, the vast majority Jews, lived in Zippori at its peak in the late Roman and Byzantine periods. We discussed here the migration of the Jewish community from the region of Judea to the Galil following the destruction of the temple and the failure of the Bar Kochba revolt. Sitting in the 5th century synagogue with its stunning mosaic floor, we learned about the development of Judaism around the synagogue as an institution in the absence of the temple.

View from the top of the Zippori Fortress

Ascending the hill, we explored the ruins of an ancient Jewish neighbourhood and then climbed up to the top of the ruined fortress, an amazing structure in that it is made up of stones and construction from the Iron Age to the Ottoman period with almost everything in between – the view at the top was the reward and you can understand why it was of strategic interest throughout history to have a lookout up here.

Mosaic at the grand villa at Zippori. At the bottom, note the highlighted ‘Mona Lisa of the Galilee’

After visiting the remains of a grand Roman villa (containing a floor mosaic with the famous ‘Mona Lisa of the Galilee’ image, we descended to the lower town, and strolled along the Roman cardo. The most interesting building on this street contains a huge amount of different mosaics, including a grand depiction of the Festival of the Nile. Our guide suggested that it may have been a mosaic showroom.

Roman reservoir at Zippori

On our way out, we popped into the ancient reservoir of the city. We learned how the Roman engineers ingeniously managed to bring large amounts of water to the city from nearby springs. In order to prevent waste, a certain amount of the water was diverted from the city into this huge reservoir for times of greater need (for example, in the summer).

This acts as a nice precursor for my (final!) catch-up trip next week – the grand Roman capital of Caesarea. Looking forward!

December 1, 2013

Roman and Byzantine Jerusalem

Today was another catch-up trip, this time focusing on Jerusalem in the Roman and Byzantine periods, i.e. from the 1st to 7th centuries CE.

Zedekiah’s Cave, Jerusalem

However, because of its location, we actually began the day at the site known as Zedekiah’s Cave (also known as King Solomon’s Quarry), just next to the Damascus Gate. It is a site I have passed several times but never visited; it looks singularly unimpressive from the street. On entering, however, you realise that the small opening widens out into a jaw-droppingly huge cavernous interior that was a quarry for the famous Jerusalem limestone from either the 1st or 2nd temple periods.

If it was indeed from the first temple period (this is disputed), then maybe King Solomon used these quarries to construct his temple, hence the site was named King Solomon’s quarry and became a popular site with Freemasons who identify their origins in the builders of his temple. A Jewish tradition also developed that this was the escape route of King Zedekiah from the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem.

Damascus Gate, Jerusalem

Exiting the cave, we proceeded to the Damascus Gate (in Hebrew the Shechem, or Nablus Gate). This grand structure was constructed by Suleiman the Magnificent, but below, to the left, it is possible to see an arch belonging to a Roman gate from the 2nd century. There are also remains here of the Crusader gate.

Roman or Byzantine arch in the Alexander Nevsky Church, Jerusalem

Heading into the Old City, we arrived at the Church of Alexander Nevsky. Owned by the Russian Orthodox church and named for a major Russian hero, this site is also important as archaeological excavations prior to construction unearthed remains of an arch, steps and grand columns. Although the dating of these structures is disputed (Roman, Byzantine, or perhaps running through both periods) it seems that here was the grand entrance first to the pagan temple to Aphrodite, constructed by Hadrian, which was later replaced by the Church of the Holy Sepulchre by the Byzantine emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Helena, in the 4th century.

Arches of Monomachos together with later crusader arches in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

It was therefore only appropriate to continue to the modern day Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is no longer accessible through its original Byzantine entrance. We focused on the areas of the church that were constructed during the Byzantine period, visiting the Chapel of Joseph of Arimathea, located behind the burial tomb of Jesus; noting the arches built by the Byzantine emperor Monomachos as part of his reconstruction of the church following destruction by the Muslim rulers in the 11th century. We also descended to the chapel of St Helena, into the foundations of the original basilica structure, noting the foundation walls and hearing the story of pilgrim graffiti which is hidden behind the Armenian altar.

The upper Byzantine cardo, Jerusalem

Exiting the church, we visited the cardo in the Jewish Quarter of the city. The remains here are from the Byzantine period; we used an enlarged version of the Madaba Map to learn about the main streets in Jerusalem during Roman-Byzantine rule (there were two cardo streets running north-south in the city) including different theories about where the city gates where in the different periods.

Apse of the Nea Church

We concluded our day at the ruins of the grand Nea Church, constructed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and in fact the largest church to have ever been constructed in the Byzantine period, anywhere in the world. Today it is only possible to see remains of the apse, but the tale of the search for the remains of this church over the decades and its eventual discovery was quite the adventure.

So concluded our day with the Romans and the Byzantines!

October 27, 2013

Shivta and Nitzana

Another catch-up trip as I travelled south with the English-speaking course from Jerusalem to visit some of the Byzantine period settlements in the Negev: Shivta & Nitzana. I always love going south and watching the landscape gradually become more barren, desolate, wild and beautiful. There is something enchanting about the desert, its peace and calm. Understandably, most tourists in Israel focus their trips around Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, but I really think that more should come down to this wilderness for a completely different Israel experience.

Memorial for the French Commandos

We began our day at a memorial that was en route to our first major stop, dedicated to the French Commandos. In 1948, with the removal of British immigration restrictions, thousands of Jews moved to Israel or came to volunteer in the War of Independence. However, most had no military experience and could not speak Hebrew. A Christian French officer from the French Legion also arrived as a volunteer and offered to put together a unit of French-speakers; he trained them and led them as they played an important role in battles in the south of the country against the Egyptian forces.

We then journeyed south to Shivta, a UNESCO World Heritage site and a very impressive city. It’s a bit of a trek to get there but entry is free and the site is fascinating. It’s one of the most complete cities we have from the Byzantine period in the world and also is the only site in the world where a mosque and church form part of the same building – you can really see the beginnings of Islam taking root, although clearly it was not in a militant fashion.

Byzantine Church at Shivta

Our guide told us about the Nabbateans who would have been the first people to settle this area and about how their culture evolved from being a nomadic one to a settled one; how they adopted the new religions of Christianity and Islam, in the end assimilating into the regular Byzantine population.

We learned how they managed to harness the flash floods of the desert for extensive agricultural activities, and also hosted pilgrims heading south to St Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, hence the three churches at the site.

We were the only visitors at the site and I really enjoyed the visit. It’s true that it is somewhat off the beaten track but it is worth the journey in my opinion.

Byzantine settlement at Nitzana

From Shivta we continued further south to the border crossing with Egypt at Nitzana, and to the nearby site of Tel Nitzana. From the same period as Shivta, with similar structures, this is much less impressive, largely because the Ottomans used the stones in many of its structures to build a nearby railway station and homes in a village.

Still, it is the site of a very important discovery, that of the Nitzana Papyri. Over 200 papyrus documents were discovered here dating from the 7th century onwards, detailing official matters but also aspects of regular life – marriage, letters, even a request for a tour guide! Also located on the pilgrim route to Sinai, this town would likely have been an important stopping point for those on the journey.

Memorial for the 8th Bridge at Nitzana

As we reached the base of the tel, travelling down a staircase from the Hellenist period in the 2nd century BCE, we paused at a memorial to the 8th brigade and all the soldiers who died here in the battle for Auja in Operation Horev in 1948.

As a bit of treat at the end of the day, we were taken to the Khan Beerotayim near the small settlement of Ezuz. We relaxed by the fire with some tea and coffee, watching the sun set over the beautifully barren landscape, before heading back north with only dreams of the desert to take with us.

August 13, 2013

Tiberias

Another trip northwards, but this time to the east of the country, by the shores of the Kinneret, or the Sea of Galilee, to the city of Tiberias. This was a catch up trip with a course from the Jerusalem branch; my course sensibly visited Tiberias in February – visiting it in the last week of July when the heat and humidity are at their peak is not particularly wise, but still it is good practise for the future!

Our day actually began north of Tiberias, at the Sapir Station of the national water carrier. It is an extremely secure site (Israel is worried about possible attacks on the water supply) so I’m afraid there are no pictures to show you. The visit was actually extremely interesting – water is a big issue in Israel and through the presentation we received we were able to understand how the country has historically dealt, and continues to deal, with a shortage of rain fall and natural water sources.

We also learned about the construction of the national water carrier back in the 1960s, a daring and pioneering engineering project to bring water from the Kinneret to the centre and south of the country to help the farming industry. I have to be honest, I wasn’t expecting too much from the visit but was pleasantly surprised by how interesting it was (perhaps it was also because our guide there was particularly animated!). To visit, you need to be in a group, but they will let you join existing bookings if you are too few in number – contact them to arrange.

Ottoman period fortress, Tiberias

It was now time to head to Tiberias, together with Jerusalem, Hebron and Safed (Tzefat), one of the four holy cities of Israel. We began in the centre of the modern city, learning about its second lease of life, under the Bedouin ruler Daher el-Omar. Our guide regaled us with the story of this powerful man who gradually conquered huge chunks of Israel in the 18th century, making himself very popular with the locals but unfortunately less popular with the Ottomans. He made the deserted Tiberias his capital but eventually relocated in the face of numerous attacks from the nearby ruler of Damascus.

Al-Amari Mosque, Tiberias

We explored some of the ruins from the Ottoman period, a fortress; government buildings, a beautiful mosque sadly in disrepair – built by Daher el Omar, this was once the main mosque of the city. We also learned about the Jewish community brought here from Turkey by Daher el-Omar under the leadership of Rabbi Haim Abulafia. Relations were good between the Jews and the Muslims during this period; the Jews of Tiberias were even able to help warn about an impending attack because of letters from Jews based in Damascus.

Roman city gate, Tiberias

We continued south to the area of Roman & Byzantine Tiberias. This was really the city at its most grand. Most scholars agree that it was founded in the 1st century by Herod Antipas (son of Herod the Great) as his capital (he ruled the area of the Galilee). Although much has been excavated and prepared for visitors, for some reason the area of the digs is not yet open for tourists. Still, as students on the tour guide course there are certain perks afforded, so the gates were opened for us to explore the city gate, the theatre and bathhouse; even the possible site of the famous Jasmin mosque built many centuries later by the Ummayid rulers of Israel.

Slightly further south and we arrived at Hammat Tiberias. The town of Hammat is actually mentioned in the bible and after Tiberias was founded the Jews in the area continued to live there; Tiberias was built on their burial site and so was impure. Fortunately, in the 2nd century the famous mystic, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, passed through, and purified Tiberias (we’re not sure how). So the Jews began to move in and eventually the two towns effectively joined.

Mosaic at Hammat Tiberias Synagogue

At Hammat Tiberias are the hot springs which give it its name (ham is Hebrew for ‘hot’), and in the national park it is possible to cautiously dip a finger into the water (it is rather too hot for submersion!). More importantly, the site contains an ancient synagogue, or rather three ancient synagogues built on top of each other following the destruction of the previous building from earthquakes. Thus, it is possible to stand in one place and see remnants of a synagogue from the 3rd, 5th and 6th centuries!

As with many synagogues from the period there are beautiful mosaics on the floor. Our guide explained the imagery and also regaled us with the tale of Tiberias as a centre of Judaism; indeed the centre of Judaism for 750 years. Here was written the Tosefta, the Jerusalem Talmud (confusingly); here the Masoretes finalised the punctuation and vowels of the Torah which we still use today. As we gazed into the synagogue we imagined that perhaps here came some of the great scholars whose names we still recall and whose opinions we still cite in matters of Jewish law. A remarkable thought with which to conclude the day.

July 12, 2013

The Shfela (Judean Lowlands) in the Roman & Byzantine Periods

After the previous week’s adventures in the north of the country, it was time to travel south into the area known as the Shfela (or the Judean Lowlands), an area of hills that lies between Jerusalem and the coastal plain.

Today’s focus was on three sites: Tel Maresha (also known as Marissa), Beit Guvrin and Horvat Midras, spanning from the Hellenist period (2nd/3rd century BCE) until the Bar Kochba Revolt in the 2nd Century CE.

Our day began at Beit Guvrin National Park, at the upper part of the site, which is actually the ancient remains of Tel Maresha. This was originally a Jewish town in the First Temple Period, and it is still possible to see part of its original wall. Later, in the 2nd/3rd centuries CE, it was settled by Edomites who hailed originally from the area south of the Dead Sea (hence the Edom mountains in Jordan) but over the years they were joined by Phoenicians from Sidon (now in Lebanon) and retired Greek soldiers from the army of Alexander the Great, once he had conquered the region. The dominant culture seems to have been Hellenist, based on architecture that has been found.

Underground columbarium at Tel Maresha

The vast majority of the city does not remain, however there are a huge amount of underground caves to explore. These originally functioned as quarries but over the years were converted to form columbaria (pigeon coops), olive oil presses, cisterns, storerooms, even hideaways and living quarters. The attention to aesthetic detail is quite remarkable and the caves are extremely impressive. It was also pleasant to be hidden away from the searing summer heat. Our guide had helped excavate the site and it was nice to hear his anecdotes.

There is a still a lot of the site to excavate and for those who are interested in helping out, there is the Dig for a Day programme. We paid a visit to the sites they are currently excavating; I have participated myself on a couple of occasions and it is good fun, particularly as you always find something. Even if it is just a shard of 2000 year old pottery, it is still quite exciting to have discovered it yourself!

Sidonite Burial Cave at Maresha

One of the more impressive caves is the Phoenician burial cave. Discovered last century, the beautiful painted scenes and inscriptions have faded away since being exposed to light, so 20 years ago they were restored.

With this we left the Hellenist period of Maresha and moved forward to the Roman settlement in the area. There was a Jewish town from the 2nd temple period called Beit Guvrin which the Romans took over and developed into a major city named Eleutheropolis (City of the Free). We visited the bell caves which were large quarries in the Roman period, and then popped over the motorway to the other section of the national park.

Roman oval amphitheatre at Beit Guvrin

In this second section it is possible to see an oval amphitheatre; until recently considered unique in Israel (the others were circular; converted hippodromes) although they have just discovered one also in Caesarea and are busy excavating it. We wandered through the ruins and also part of what was once a huge bathhouse covering 4000m2.

To conclude our time at the site we visited the Crusader church which was later converted into a Mamluk fortress; the quality of the soil and water sources in the area meant that it was a popular place for continued settlement.

Squeezing through the tunnels used during the Bar Kochba Revolt

From Beit Guvrin, we travelled north to Horvat Midras. Here we learned about the guerrilla warfare developed by the Jews involved in the Bar Kochba Revolt against the Romans in the 2nd century. They adapted or dug tunnel systems under towns to hide within; every now and again bursting out to surprise and attack the enemy. The Romans were unused to this and for a time had no way of dealing with it; however they eventually adapted and the Revolt was quashed. There are little remains of the town of Midras, but it is possible to crawl through the tunnels used by those involved in the rebellion; to see their hiding places and to experience a little what it must have been like to hide down there. A warning: not for the claustrophobic; not a good place to take your best new clothes either!

With this experience our day was over; next week we turn to the impact of the Crusaders on Jerusalem.

June 9, 2013

Belvoir Fortress and Beit Shean

Today we headed north to visit two significant sites just south of the Sea of Galilee; Belvoir Fortress and Beit Shean (also known as Scythopolis). This trip was a catch up; there are a certain number of trips which you need to complete to finish the course and to take the exam. I missed quite a lot when I was sick and over the next few months need (and also want!) to go through them all; fortunately the place where I am studying has several courses running in parallel in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa so it is not too complicated to join a trip with another course. Today was a bit of a treat – there is an English speaking course in Jerusalem and I was joining them. Although I enjoy the challenge of studying in Hebrew it certainly made my life a lot easier to spend the day in English!

View over the Jordan Valley from Belvoir Crusader Fortress

Our first site was the old crusader fortress of Belvoir, dating to the 12th century. It was clearly an extremely impressive fortification, commanding a fantastic view (hence its name) over the Jordan Valley to the Gilead mountains in modern day Jordan. The fortifications were necessary when Saladin attacked; in fact it took him two attempts to take the castle and respected the knights so much that he gave them free passage to Tyre. The fortress was only destroyed around 50 years later, and its bottom floor has survived largely intact.

Crusader pointed arches at Belvoir Fortress

It was extremely impressive to see such a complete crusader fortress and our guide painted a very good picture of how it would have been to live in and defend it, bringing the story of the site very much to life.

Our secondsite of the day was the ruins of Scythopolis, or Beit Shean. We entered in the back late, ascending to the ancient tel. The earliest settlement on the site seems to have been from the 5th millennium BCE; on the top of the tel you can see some remains dating to the Egyptian conquest of the area in the 15th century BCE; this was the centre of the administration for the region and there are column bases in what would have been the governor’s house dating to this period.

View over the ruins of Beit Shean (Scythopolis)

As we came over the top of the tel, the excavations of the Byzantine city were laid out before us. It was quite simply breathtaking (the 44C heat may have also had something to do with that, but still the site really is quite awesome). The excavations cover a significant part of what was believed to be the city centre, although based on archaeological surveys they estimate that they have only unearthed around 2-3% of the Roman city of Scythopolis.

The ancient shopping street (cardo) of Beit Shean (Scythopolis)

Scythopolis was the Roman capital for the northern part of the country, known as Palestina Secunda. It was a flourishing city, although most of what is visible today is from the slightly later Byzantine period. It is possible to wander through two of its bathhouses (including enjoying one of the best preserved Byzantine toilets in the world, its main shopping street (cardo), and perhaps most impressively, its theatre, which is nearly entirely original and is still used for concerts today.

View into a theatre at Beit Shean (Scythopolis)

It is also quite remarkable to see the results of the huge earthquake that hit the area in 749. Whole facades have collapsed into the earth; huge columns have smashed into paving stones. It’s almost feels as if the earthquake just happened and you are wondering through its wreckage.

As a side note, I mentioned that it was an extremely hot day. We were suffering in the heatwave, but as we have been told before, the tour guide course goes out into the field, even through fire and water (or, as we experienced in December, hail). Our guide made the point to us that if a tourist comes to Israel for a short trip and that is the only time they have, then that is when we will need to guide them. So part of our studies is getting used to dealing with the heat, and thinking about where and how to deal with the hottest parts of the day. This course is as physically demanding as it is mentally!

All in all, a really fascinating trip, and both sites are definitely well worth a visit for anyone heading to the north.

May 6, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

April 21, 2013

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

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

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

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

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!