From Rosh Haniqra in the northwest corner of the country, we left the coast, and began traveling east along
the Northern Road. It goes parallel to the northern border with Lebanon a mile or so to the left, and the River
(Nahal) Kziv an equal distance to the right. After about five miles, the road enters the Nahal Kziv Reserve.
We parked and walked to the north rim of the Nahal. Across the way was the ruins of the Montfort Crusader Castle.
We could see people exploring the castle by using our binoculars, but we decided not to spend the several hours
it would take to hike down one and up the other in order to get there, and then have to return by the same route.
We had misgivings about skipping it, but we would later get the chance to explore a better preserved
crusader-era ruins so it turned out OK that we skipped this one.
The road continues east and climbs into the highest part of the Galilee region. We left the Northern Road to
Here is a picture of Steffi at a monument to the defenders of Zefat, located in a park perched on top of a hill in
Zefat. While we were in Zefat, which probably has more different transliterations than any other city in Israel,
(Tsfat, Tzfat, Safed, Safad, among others), we had little time to explore the Artist Colony or the
Synagogues of the old city. This we greatly regret, and plan to correct on our next trip to Israel.
Beit She'an was destroyed by the Assyrians in 732 BCE. During the Hellenistic period it was known as Scythopolis. Then the city fell
to the Hasmoneans, and non-Jews were exiled. Gentiles again dominated the population later during the Roman period. In the Byzantine
period, the city became predominantly Christian. In the aftermath of the subsequent Arab conquest, the city became less prominent.
A severe earthquake in 749 devastated the city. During the medieval period, the settlement was concentrated in the southern part,
During the Crusader period a fortress was built near the destroyed amphitheater. It remained small under Ottoman rule.
The amphitheater was built in the first century CE, and renovated at the end of the second century, and was used until the end of
the Byzantine period. The colonnade and first mosaic shown are part of the Byzantine bathhouse complex. The second mosaic
can be found on the "Sigma", a semicircular concourse used for commerce during the Byzantine period. We found a number of people
doing restoration work on the antiquities in Beit She'an.
We started at the northern gate, 2 km west of the Golani Junction, and climbed out of the valley southward.
We quickly reached Tur'an lookout, from which we could look North across the valley at the village of Tur'an
on the slopes of Mt. Tur'an. Through this valley, also known as Beit Rimon Valley, a Roman road once cut
from Acre to Lake Kinneret.
The road continued towards the through forests of Tabor Oak. At the Forester's Cottage, built in 1946 at the
onset of KKL-JNF's tree planting program, there is a view of Givat HaMoreh, Mt. Tabor, Mt. Gilboa, Ramat Kochav,
Ramat Yavniel, Ramat Poriya and Upper Tiberias. Further along, there is a better view of solitary Mt. Tabor.
The villages of Daburiya (on the right) and Shibli can be seen at the foot of the Tabor. Daburiya is
identified as Dovrat, one of the satellite towns of the Tribe of Issachar. Shibli is a Bedouin village.
The driving tour continues to the top of Mount Dvora, which offered us a good view of Natzrat Ilit (Nazareth Heights).
This concluded our tour of the delightful Beit Keshet Forest Park. We headed through Nazareth and north into the Hula Valley
to establish our base for exploring this northernmost portion of the country at the Kfar Blum Guest House.
This story continues when we travel Explore the Northern Galilee and the Golan Heights.
[Intro]
[Jerusalem]
[Dead Sea]
[Eilat]
[Judean Hills]
[Mediterranean Coast]
Western Galilee and Jezre'el Valley]
[Northern Galilee and Golan Heights]
[Index]
As we proceeded eastward from that point and deeper into the Galilee region, the Northern Road reaches a point where it is less than a quarter mile from the
international border with Lebanon. We turned off at a small road that seemed to parallel the border with the idea that we
might find a vantage point in this hilly country where we could safely look into Lebanon, and perhaps get a picture.
We didn't go far until a HumVee approached us from the other direction. We stopped the car on the shoulder so there
would be enough room for them to go by. They stopped and the soldiers looked at us, but then they moved on, without
questioning us. We knew that the border area had been quiet, otherwise we wouldn't even have been on this road, but
when I saw the HumVee now behind us a few hundred yards back into a hiding spot that allowed this large vehicle to be
completely invisible from the road, we decided that this part of the adventure was making us nervous, so we turned around,
stopping at the best view we had found to snap a picture looking north into Lebanon, and quickly returning to the main road.
angle off to the south, eventually reaching the amazing city of Zefat.
This city is associated with Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah, and is also an artist colony, located on a cliff. Its elevation
is slightly greater than that of Jerusalem, making it the highest city in Israel. We found a nearby hill that offered a
great view through the clear air down toward Lake Kinneret, known by some as the Sea of Galilee, although it is a fresh water lake. It is below sea
level, so we are looking down a great distance to see it.
Lake Kinneret
From Zefat we took the long road down to the Lake through Rosh Pina and past the Christian pilgrim site at the
Mt. of Beatitudes. Mt. Arbel looms over the road here. While we were near Mt. Arbel, the highway was briefly blocked
by a shepherd who crossed his flock, interrupting traffic. I got out my camera, but by the time I took the picture of him,
he had gotten them all safely across the road and was driving them along the shoulder. It was late afternoon, so I assume
he was returning them from a day of grazing closer to Mt Arbel.
We followed the shoreline around to Tiberias. While we were there, we took a picture from the rocky beach, looking across to the east side of the lake,
with the southern portion of the Golan Heights behind it in the distance.
Beit She'an
15 miles down the Jordan River from where it drains the lake, there is the huge archaeological
excavations and restorations at the Beit She'an National Park that extends over more than 400 acres.
Within this area excavations have been going on since the 1920s, and major excavations have been going on since 1986.
This area was first settled 7,000 years ago. It was the seat of Egyptian rule during the late Canaanite period
(16-12th centuries BCE). The Israelite tribes did not conquer Canaanite Beit She'an. The Philistines defeated
Saul and his sons on nearby Mt. Gilboa. Later King David took Beit She'an. along with Megiddo.
With so many layers of archeological remains to uncover, this site is a gold mine of artifacts and architectures, and
only about one tenth of its area has been uncovered!
Jezre'el Valley
We took the road from Beit She'an to see the ancient synagogue at Beit Alpha, and then took the scenic route through the
Gilboa Mountains, where Saul and his sons met their deaths at the hands of the Philistines. Mitzpeh Gilboa
looks out, over the Jezre'el Valley. We continued along the valley as far as Tel Megiddo National Park.
Megiddo has been important throughout history because it guards a pass through Mount Carmel between the Coast and
the Jezre'el Valley and the Galilee. Megiddo is referenced in the Bible. It is identified in the
New Testament as site of the battle of Armageddon at the
end of the world. "Armageddon" is an English corruption of the Hebrew "Har Megiddo" (Mount Megiddo).
Like Beit She'an, Megiddo has many layers of ancient civilization for the Archaeologists to decipher.
In the case of Megiddo, there are twenty distinct layers laid down between 4000 BCE and 400 BCE. The 2800
year old grain silo has a staircase against the circular wall curving down to the bottom. The ancient water system
is even 100 years older and is preserved to this day. It is a large shaft sunk through the rock to a depth of
120 feet where it meets a tunnel cut through for 215 feet to a spring outside the city. This ensured a water
supply in the event of a siege.
Beit Keshet Forest Park
We started our last day of exploring the Western Galilee by checking out of our Haifa hotel and packing the car
to head for the Northern Galilee. We decided that on our way, we should take another JNF-KKL driving tour.
This time we chose the tour of Beit Keshet Forest Park.
The pictures and text are all Copyright © 2001,
Steven R. Weiss. All rights reserved.