Tag: Christianity

May 14, 2013

Christianity in the Galilee

Today’s trip came with a fair amount of nostalgia. A large proportion of the many tourists who visit Israel every year are Christian pilgrims, so a significant chunk of our studies are dedicated to learning about Christianity and Christian sites in order to be able to help them to make the most of their visit. I went to a Church of England primary school for seven years and as a result am relatively familiar with many of the key moments in the life of Jesus, so it was quite fascinating to begin to visit the locations attributed to these events in the bible and remember the stories from when I was a child.

View from Mount Tabor

Our first stop was at Mt Tabor and the Franciscan Church of the Transfiguration on its peak. It was the first of what was to be several churches and with each one our guide used the same structure. First, we would learn about the event the church commemorated and would hear the story from the bible. Second, she would tell us about the reasons for identifying the event with the location. Third, we would learn about the history of the building on the site and its architecture. This structure helped us organise the large amount of information we received throughout the day.

Church of the Transfiguration, Mt Tabor

The Transfiguration was a significant event when before three of his disciples Jesus begins to shine brightly with a heavenly light and he speaks with Moses & Elijah. The impressive church was constructed in the 1920s under the design of Antonio Barluzzi, an Italian architect who designed many of the churches in Israel. Our guide explained to us how he always tried to incorporate the event commemorated at the site into his design, together with any archaeological remains – in this case historical churches on the site from the Crusader period and as far back as the Byzantine period in the 4th century. We entered the church and enjoyed the atmosphere. Near the altar it was possible to look through a glass window in the floor down to the bed rock upon which the miracle would have taken place.

Catholic Church of the Wedding, Kana

We travelled north to Kfar Kana, identified with the site of Kana in the Galil as referred to in the Bible. Here is the place of Jesus’ first miracle, narrated in the Gospel of John, where he turns water into wine at a wedding feast. We visited both the Catholic and Orthodox churches at the site which both contain ancient stone water pots and both claim to be on the site of the wedding. Underneath the Catholic church archaeologists found remains of a synagogue; it makes sense that this would have been the location of a wedding in the town. However the churches are close to each other and it is also entirely feasible that the festivities would have spread over a large area, so it is plausible that both could be on the site of the wedding.

Orthodox Church of the Wedding, Kana

Also in Kana we passed the Church of St Bartholomew, locked all year except on his saint day, as according to the Bible he came from the town of Kana. In Kana and throughout the rest of the day we witnessed many groups of pilgrims – we were travelling shortly after Orthodox Easter and also Catholics consider May a holy month for Mary, Jesus’ mother. It was quite fascinating to see all the groups, to hear the variety of languages from Russian, Polish and Czech to Spanish, Italian, Tigri and of course English.

Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth

We continued south west to Nazareth. In the time of Jesus, Kana was the large city of which Nazareth was a small satellite village. Now, because of the fact that Nazareth has become a holy site, it is Kana which is part of the Nazareth municipality. Our first site was the colossal Basilica of the Annunciation, one of the most important churches in the world. This church marks the site of the Annunciation – when the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that she would give birth to the son of God.

Mary’s Home: inside the crypt at the Basilica of the Annunciation, Nazareth

The church is modern, having been constructed in 1969, but like most of the churches in the area is built over ruins from a crusader and Byzantine church. In fact, there is even evidence of pre-church Christian ritual in excavations in the crypt. The crypt contains the cave which is considered the home of Mary and has been dated as a dwelling cave to the right time period. It is a quiet, dark and sombre space; after visiting we went up the stairs to the main basilica where we witnessed part of a mass for a visiting group of pilgrims.

Home of the Holy Family: Church of St Joseph, Nazareth

Close by, in the same complex, is the significantly smaller Church of St Joseph which was constructed over another cave, considered to be the home of the Holy Family on their return to Nazareth and the location of Joseph’s carpentry shop. Here you cannot really see directly into the cave but on descending into the crypt you can see glimpses of it through some bars.

Church of the Synagogue, Nazareth

We walked into the narrow alleys of the market to our next stop, the confusingly named Church of the Synagogue. This Orthodox church is located on the site traditionally associated with the synagogue of Nazareth. Here, according to the story in Luke 4, Jesus read a prophecy from Isaiah and announced to the congregation that he was here to fulfil it. Unfortunately they were not ready to receive this news and reacted rather badly, expelling Jesus from the town, even about to throw him off a cliff, although fortunately they did not follow this through.

Orthodox Church of the Annunciation, Nazareth

Our final brief stop in Nazreth was at the Orthodox Church of the Annunciation. The church is located over the Nazareth spring (known as Mary’s spring) and is based on a story from the Gospel of James, part of the Christian apocrypha. Here we learn that the Annunciation actually happened in two stages: first the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary while she was drawing water at the spring, but she was frightened and ran back home, where he appeared to her again and delivered the full prophecy. In the crypt of the church it is possible to look down on the spring (the only spring in the city, so it is also the spring from which the Holy Family would have drawn their water) and it is also possible to touch the holy water through a pipe system.

View over Nazareth from Mount Precipice

We then left Nazareth for our last stop of the day at Mount Precipice. This cliff, located just outside the city, is considered the site to which Jesus was expelled following his problematic announcement in the synagogue which I mentioned earlier, and indeed there is a sheer cliff face from which he may have been thrown. The site commands outstanding views of both the Jezreel Valley and Nazareth; it was with these stunning vistas that we wrapped up the day.

View over the Jezreel Valley from Mount Precipice

I’m pleased to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my first Christianity field trip. I felt that I learned a lot about an important world religion (33% of the globe identify as Christians) and it was moving to see the pilgrims many of whom were really quite overcome with being in the holy sites. Regardless of belief, there is something rather exciting about being in a site identified with a historical event (in this case as told in the Gospels) and reading the story in situ. I’m looking forward to the rest of our Christianity excursions!

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!

April 16, 2013

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

January 14, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

January 6, 2013

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

December 31, 2012

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

November 12, 2012

Mount Carmel

After our desert adventures last week it was now time to head northwards to the somewhat leafier region of Mount Carmel. I’m beginning to appreciate the unearthly hour at which I have to leave the house for the day trip. We are between times in Tel Aviv, as it were. The late night revellers have made their way home; the gainfully employed are yet to start their commute; and so the city rests, tranquil, the odd street cleaner pottering about here and there. A rest before the craziness begins once more.

Mount Carmel is actually less of a mountain and more of a mountain range. Or rather, more of a large hill range, as at its high point it reaches just 546m above sea level; even Ben Nevis, Britain’s highest peak, is over two times taller. It is an offshoot of the Samarian hills, geographically speaking, although it is not directly connected, at least anymore, thanks to various bits of tectonic activity and weathering.

Panorama over Nachal Oren from Mishmar HaCarmel

We began our day with a panoramic view over the Oren stream (note that most streams in Israel don’t actually contain water during most of the year) from the Mishmar HaCarmel Nature Reserve. We learned about the geographical features of the range, the Mediterranean Woodland that one finds on its slopes (largely evergreen, meaning that we have a landscape that consistently retains a lush, green appearance), and the history of its settlement. Due to the lack of fresh water (only three springs on the mountain) it was largely devoid of human settlement until recent times; even now it is mostly woodland and large swathes of the range have been designated as a National Park which means that further building is prohibited.

We continued on our way, sadly witness to scenes of devastation still present from the terrible forest fire of December 2010. I remember driving up to Netanya and seeing the huge plumes of smoke billowing towards the heavens. The fire raged for four days, claiming 44 lives, and reached temperatures of up to an incredible 1000°C. On our route, we passed the place where 37 prison cadet officers, on their way to evacuate the prison at the top of the hill, were trapped by the fire and tragically did not manage to escape. They are remembered by a recently dedicated monument.

Our next stop was in the area of Little Switzerland, so called by European immigrants for whom the greenery reminded of my former home. As much as it is lovely, I’m not sure how close it comes to representing the beauty of the Swiss countryside, but I suppose that in comparison to the flatness of the coastal plain and the barrenness of the southern deserts, the association makes sense. And I imagine that, so far from homes in Europe, in a time when communication across such distances would have been very difficult, it was probably nice to have some sort of connection to their places of origin.

Limestone ‘notch’ (צניר) in Little Switzerland

The area is full of hiking trails and for the first time so far on the course we took one of these, down towards the Yuval Katan stream, learning how to read the trail signs and identifying various plants as we went. Eventually we reached our destination, a large ‘notch’ in the rock formed by erosion over millions of years. We sat, rested and enjoyed the view over the Kelach stream, while our guide explained to us the geological processes which formed such notches and why they were present in the area. We hiked back, enjoying the freshness of the mountain air, and the pleasant temperatures; quite the contrast to last week’s venture into the desert where temperatures were still searing even though it was early November.

View over the Chai Bar

From the end of the trail it was just a short bus ride to the Chai Bar. This is an intriguing project, initiated by the Nature and Parks Authority in Israel. For different reasons, over the decades and centuries, various types of animals that were native to Israel have become extinct. In the Carmel region, it was largely because of hunting. So, the Chair Bar organisation was set up to try and reintroduce these animals to the Israeli landscape. There are two locations, one in the Negev desert, and one here on the Carmel. The animals are sourced from various locations in the Mediterranean and Middle East, gradually acclimatised to Israel, and then released into the wild. It has been running since the seventies with quite some success; in this reserve some of the animals include various types of deer, eagles and a fire salamander. There is a short explanatory film which includes quite an exciting story set against the backdrop of the Iranian revolution; the Israelis had arrived to collect some pre-ordered animals when the revolution broke out, and just managed to get them and get them onto the last El Al flight out of the country using a good combination of initiative and chutzpah. Afterwards, one can wander around the enclosures and enjoy the view from the lookout point. A note for any budding visitors: apart from weekends and chol hamoed (intermediary days of festivals) you can only access the Chai Bar as part of a group which has pre-arranged the visit.

From the Chai Bar we crossed over the 672 road (the main road on Mt Carmel) to another fascinating conservation project: Derech HaDorot (Road of the Millennia). In this case however, the focus is on antiquities rather than wildlife. As you can imagine, Israel is full of areas of archaeological interest. In addition, as a country with a rapidly expanding population and developing economy, there is a great deal of construction and development. We learned about the Law of Antiquities which means that any construction project that discovers archaeological remains needs to pause their work for the experts to move in and excavate; the construction company even has to fund the excavations. However, once the digs are over and the archaeologists have removed whatever artefacts can be salvaged and photographed where relevant, the remains are built over, never to be seen again.

Canaanite ruins at Derech HaDorot

This is where the late Dr Reuben Hecht comes into the picture. He set up the Hecht Foundation, part of whose remit is to salvage these sites and painstakingly extract them from their location in full, moving them to a new site, Derech HaDorot, so we can enjoy them for posterity. Without meaning to sound crass, it’s a sort of Disneyland for archaeologists who can peruse numerous structures from different parts of the country and different time periods in a relatively small space. I found it remarkable and think it’s a great project; the best thing is that it will only get better with time as more excavations occur.

View over Akko Valley from Mitzpe HaMifratz

Within walking distance was another viewpoint, known as Mitzpe HaMifratz, where we enjoyed the view over the Valley of Akko. Here we heard the story of the 200 Days of Terror in 1942 when it was feared the Nazi forces were about to reach the British Mandate of Palestine. The Jews made plans to make a last stand on the Carmel; fortunately these plans were never needed.

Grove of the Forty

We continued on foot down a hiking trail to the Grove of the Forty (Churshat HaArbaim), a site that is holy for the Druze people (more on them later) and contains trees that are around 400 years old. The site was peaceful and beautiful, I could understand why it would be considered holy. We received a short preamble about the Druze religion and the trees in the area.

Much more on the Druze was to come in their biggest city in Israel: Daliyat-al-Carmel. We walked into the old town, ending at the relatively new memorial to the Druze who have sadly fallen in Israel’s wars. The Druze are a small people (around 1 million globally) who are mostly based in Israel, Lebanon and Syria. The religion dates back 1000 years and began in Egypt before persecution forced them to flee to the areas where they are based today.

Shrine to Abu Ibrahim in Daliyat-al-Carmel

Probably because of this persecution, the religion is a closely guarded secret; they also have a principal of fierce loyalty to the government of whichever country is their base. This is why many Druze sided with the Israelis in the War of Independence; since the 60s they also have mandatory conscription to the Israeli army (unlike the Bedouin or other Israeli Arabs) and are much more assimilated into Israeli society. On the way out of the old town we passed the shrine to Abu Ibrahim, one of the first preachers of the Druze faith. It is said that he hid in a cave here while escaping persecution (sadly a regular theme for the Druze). It is a pretty building and worth a visit if passing through Daliyat-al-Carmel for its popular market. Speaking of which, we gladly received fifteen minutes of free time to peruse said market. I put this time to good use by heading straight for a sweet shop. Delicious!

Traditional sweets in Daliyat-al-Carmel. Yum!

Our final stop of the day was at the Muchraka, a Carmelite Monastery said to be at the site where the prophet Elijah challenged the prophets of the Canaanite god Baal to a showdown in order to prove God’s might. The story (related in 1 Kings 18) is great; a good mix of danger, drama, suspense and a cheeky bit of humour. All topped off with a divine miracle, not something to be sniffed at. As our guide related the story, I tried to picture the scene; the prophets of Baal struggling to save face; the multitude of the people watching in awe. Elijah certainly had a flair for the theatrical.

Panoramic view from Muchraka

We finished off with a brief visit to the chapel and we concluded the final hours of daylight with the magnificent panorama from the balcony on the monastery roof (my picture sadly did not come out well, so thanks to Wikipedia for the above). And with that, it was time to head home. Until next week!

November 4, 2012

Northern Judean Desert

And so it begins. After some logistics and forms the night before, we gather as the sun rises over Tel Aviv at Arlozorov bus station, ready to set out on our first trip on the guiding course. The previous night, our rakaz (coordinator) had instilled the fear of God into everyone, promising that the bus was leaving at 6.30am and if you were not on it, then tough. And then he said it again, several times. Obviously, the last thing you want to happen having already woken up at the crack of dawn is to make it all worthless by missing the bus, so it was that when I showed up half an hour early there were already about half the course there to meet me. And yes, we did leave on time.

Our first journey took us south into the North of the Judean desert. But before we could get to our first site of the day, we had about 90 minutes of travel time. I pulled out my travel pillow, looking forward to catching up on those lost hours of sleep. This went well for about 5 minutes before our guide grabbed the microphone and started pointing things out as we travelled down the road, and of course we were writing this all down.

One of the things that I love about this country is the incredible concentration of sites of interest. I must say, however, that this can be a mixed blessing; when on the guiding course one receives far more content than one would on a normal tour, to equip us for every situation and eventuality, so significant concentration is required. “On the left, an ancient archaeological site; on the right, the site of Israel’s first soap factory; look at the rock here which is a reddish colour because of the copper, etc”. And I dutifully listened, and looked, and noted, and worked out some of the more complicated Hebrew words (limestone, flint, aqueduct, weaving ant, to name but a few of the additions to my lexicon on this trip).

We passed Jerusalem and began the descent into the Judean desert. I love the desert. Israel has two: the Judean Desert, and South of it the Negev. Both are rocky (there is a small area with some dunes). The craggy rocks, the undulating hills (Israelis call them mountains, but having spent two and half years in Switzerland, I’m not sure), the weaving valleys, I find it all so incredibly beautiful. And tranquil. An amazing tranquillity in the desert. A place to enjoy the aesthetics, to think and absorb the beauty of nature. And lots of historical, geographical and geological information too, on this occasion.

Mosaic at Inn of the Good Samaritan

There are of course many sites of interest, and our first stop was at the Inn of the Good Samaritan. According to tradition, this is the site of the famous Good Samaritan parable told in Luke’s gospel. In the 6th century a church was built here, and you can visit the partial reconstruction. There are also a variety of artefacts and stunning mosaics (like the one above) from around the area (partly in an air-conditioned museum). The museum also contains a very interesting display on the Samaritans (the original sort, not the British charity), who still exist in Israel although latest numbers put them at under 1000. We will learn more about them as the course progresses.

View over Wadi Kelt/Nachal Prat

Back on the bus and a short hop down route 1 to this stunning viewpoint over Wadi Kelt. The view was so breathtaking that it required a moment’s reflection before turning to the important matter at hand of identifying the sites of interest; I can now point out a variety of locations from the viewpoint; from Jerusalem to Jericho; from a palace of Herod to the birthplace of Robert Kennedy’s assassin. Just in case you were wondering, of course.

As we continued on towards the Dead Sea we had a short nature break; I was thrilled to bump into an old friend and very experienced guide who had been advising me about the career transition, Mike Hollander. It was something of a heart-warming moment and seemed to me to be a good omen.

The next step, via Lido junction (the lowest point on land in the world), was the site of the Ashlag factories, the first factories at the Dead Sea, used to mine potassium. The story of the Russian tourist who happened upon this area, had the idea to start mining, and nagged the British authorities for nine years to let him do so, was quite remarkable. But it was also sad to realise that the Dead Sea waters used to come up to this spot, but are now several kilometres away. More on that later. This site fell into Jordanian hands in 1948, and was then taken by Israel in 1967, at which point it became an army base. An evidently very bored officer on reserve duty took a crusader map of the Jordan valley and painted it on the walls (cheekily adding in the local Lido junction). It is actually pretty impressive, an extract is pictured below.

Painting of Crusader Era Map near Lido Junction

Onwards South we went with the next stop being Einot Tzukim, the ‘lowest nature reserve in the world’. I’m not sure that is particularly anything to shout about on its own, but that should not let anything be taken away from the nature reserve. Based around 130-170 fresh water springs in the middle of the desert, King Abdullah of Jordan was so taken with the area that he designated it for his use only, when it was Jordanian territory. When it was no longer Jordan, Israel made it a nature reserve, and it was remarkable to see the freshwater springs and also to learn about the extensive wildlife, set right in the middle of such an incredibly barren and unwelcoming landscape. The reserve also encompasses an archaeological site; the theory is that it was used to make the mythical afarsimon oil, known to have been an extremely valuable commodity in ancient times. No one knows what afarsimon was for sure (the word exists in modern Hebrew and means persimmon, but it is not the same fruit) but the search continues. There is also some modern history – the day of declaring the state Ben Gurion came here with his wife for a bit of ‘me time’ before heading up to Tel Aviv to make history. No doubt he was enjoying the serenity of the desert before what he knew would be complete chaos. And so the ancient and modern worlds connect.

Einot Tzukim

Slightly further South we braved the oncoming traffic to cross over route 90 (the longest road in Israel) and visit the Ruins of Mazin. This consists of the remains of what was an ancient ship yard on the Dead Sea, with evidence that it was an economic resource even in ancient times – a stash of coins nearby probably used to pay for asphalt brought up by the ships.

Ancient shipyard at Ruins of Mazin

We then began the journey in the direction of home, slowing to take in the rather depressing Palestine Exploration Fund (P.E.F.) Rock. The P.E.F. was founded in 1865 and still exists, with the purpose of exploring, mapping and excavating the land of Israel, which was at the time under Ottoman control (they may have been gathering intelligence on the side, cheeky things). The rock marked the height of the Dead Sea at the beginning of the 20th Century. 100 years later and it’s quite sad to think that it is now some distance away from even touching the rock. It’s caused largely by a huge increase in the use of the tributary, the Jordan River, for water by all its surrounding countries. Hopefully the scientists and politicians can find a way to fix it.

P.E.F. Rock – lines show previous height of Dead Sea

Replicas of scroll containers found at Qumran

Our penultimate stop was at Qumran. I remember stopping at Qumran once before; a family road trip to Eilat. Dad saw the sign and decided that he wanted to stop there; I think everyone else wanted to get home (it’s quite a long drive). I vaguely remember it being closed in any event. This time, I certainly appreciated it more. Qumran is the site around which many of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls were found; their discovery is quite an incredible story. Some of these scrolls date back to the 2nd Century BCE, and are the oldest copies of the books of the bible in existence. I studied them a bit at university, and this context always adds more to visiting a historical site. It is thought that here lived a group of Essenes, a sort of ascetic cult that broke away from the mainstream Judaism in the Second Temple Period. There is a good explanatory film and small museum and then you can walk around the site. I always find it amazing to wonder around these ancient places, to imagine people walking those same paths thousands of years ago. It must have been tough in Qumran, in the middle of the desert, an unforgiving place where it sometimes rained once in two years. They must have been pretty committed.

Mikve (ritual bath) at Qumran

Caves at Qumran

Eventually we were thrown out at closing time. There was time for just one more brief stop on the way home, Nabi Musa, the site where Muslims believe Moses is buried. Night was falling and prayers were beginning so we didn’t stay long; a quick peek at the shrine and some history outside before heading home, arriving at Arlozorov at 6.45, just over 12 hours after we had left.

Quite an intense first day! In addition to all the general information, we also received lots of useful practical tips, such as good places to stand and address a group in a particular site; good routes; ideas about how to integrate sources. One has to pay just as much attention to the way the material is delivered, as to its content. At every site I was thinking about how I would relate it when my time to guide will come; plenty of food for thought. All in all, very enjoyable, although completely exhausting. Looking forward to more to come!