January 8, 2019
From Ein Gev to
Tel Hazor, Hula Nature Reserve, Hermon Stream Nature Reserve (Caesarea Philippi),
and Tel Dan and back to Ein Gev
Breakfast and departure were as usual,
7:00 am and 7:30 am, respectively. This
was predicted to be a rainy day and it turned out to be; a cold, windy and rainy
day. Our drive north took us along the
Sea of Galilee and we were impressed by the lushness of the countryside with
oranges, lemons, tomatoes, cabbage, etc. being grown all along the way. A much different environment than we had from
Jericho southward.
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| A Very Green Lanscape |
Tel Hazor is located in the Hula Valley,
at the foot of the Galilee mountains. It
location along the ancient road that turned northeast and linked the land of
Israel through Lebanon’s Beka’a Valley to Babylon made it an important
location. Another road, to the
northwest, led to Phoenicia. It was one
of the most important cities of the Canaanite period. It consisted of an upper and a lower city,
which had an earthen rampart.
Hazor’s history can be divided into two
periods: Canaanite Hazor (Bronze age)
and Israelite Hazor (Iron age). Its
beginning was in the third millennium BCE and little is known about that time,
except the settlement occupied the upper city only. Archeological evidence indicates the city was
an integral part of the northern Canaanite culture. Egyptian documents from the 18th
century BCE mention Hazor. Twenty-some
documents highlight a close relationships between Egypt and Hazor and mention its
importance, the caravans that passed through, and ambassadors, singers, and
musicians that lived there. The Bible
mentions a king of Hazar who fought the Israelites at the time of Joshua. In the late Bronze age it had a population of
about 15,000. Archeology shows the city
was fortified by earthen rampart and walls.
Palaces, temples and dwellings along with pottery vessels, statues,
weapons, jewelry and many artistic items have been revealed. The city was linked with Syria, Egypt, the
Hittite kingdom, Babylon, Crete, Greece, and Cyprus.
The Bible relate that King Jabin of Hazor
went out at the head of an alliance of Canaanite cites to fight against the
settling Israelite tribes, led by Joshua. The Israelite victory led to the
destruction and burning of the city. Archeological
finds show that Hazor was indeed burned in the 13th century BCE with
a burn layer in both the upper and lower cities. After its destruction, Hazor was abandoned
for about 150 years. In the 11th
century BCE, resettlement occurred, but this was limited to the upper city
area. It arose from the ashes and by the
10th century Hazor was one of the most important cities in the
united Israelite monarchy and was fortified by King Solomon. In the 9th century, it doubled in
size and public structures were built, including a water system, a citadel, and
storehouses. It was then destroyed
during the military campaign of Tiglath-pileser
III in 732 BCE and the inhabitants exiled. Thereafter, settlement of Hazor was
limited. It is mentioned the last time
in I Maccabees (11:67) that describes the war of Jonathan against Demetrius on
the “plain of Hazor” in 147 BCE.
We toured the upper city by walking
through the “Solomonic Gate” (#2 on the map), which is a 6-chambered gate
(dated 10th century BCE) and proceeding to the Palace (#3 on the
map) that served the Canaanite Kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th
centuries BCE. At the top of the stairs
leading to the entrance to the palace, two huge column bases can be seen. A throne room was found in the center of the
complex. The lower parts of the mudbrick
walls of the palace were covered by dressed basalt stones and the upper parts
with cedar-wood paneling. Excavations in
the palace revealed several clay tablets with cuneiform writing, stone and
bronze statues, and jewelry.
Walking further we viewed the water system
(#4 on the map), which was constructed in the 9th century BCE. The system was constructed to ensure a
regular water supply in time of siege.
It consists of 3 parts: first, an
access structure leads to a vertical shaft; second, the vertical shaft of 45 m
with rock-cut steps leads to five flights of steps; third, a 25 m long sloping
tunnel leads to the spring fed water supply.
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| Six Chambered Gate |
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| Canaanite Palace Approach |
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| Palace Interior |
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| Palace Interior |
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| Decent to the Water Supply |
We then drove to the Hula Nature Reserve
in the Hula Valley, which is the most important resting place for birds
migrating from Europe to Africa and back.
This is only a small part of the original wetlands and lake in the area.
Prior to 1948, this was a wonderland of
flora and fauna. Efforts to drain the
wetlands and lake (15,000 acres) and create cultivated fields began in
1951. Scientists and nature lovers battled
to conserve part of the lake and wetland and resulted in saving 800 acres for
the reserve. Major restoration occurred
in 1971 to build new dikes, create a fresh water reservoir, introduce water
buffalos, and construct a bridge trail over the wetlands. We visited the site and walked the trail to
see numerous birds and wildlife. An
observation tower and blinds are located along the trail to observe the
migrating birds. During the migratory
time, it is probably a paradise.
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| Nutria |
Our next visit was at Ceasarea Philippi
(Banias) located in the Harmon Stream Nature Reserve. After the conquest of Alexander the Great in
332 BCE, Greek culture was brought to the East and a temple to the god Pan, who
lived in nature, was constructed on this location. In 200 BCE, a battle between the Selucids and
the Ptolomies occurred here as part of a fight for control of the land of
Israel. At the end of the 1st
century BCE, the Roman annexed the area to Herod the Great. Josephus records that Herod built a temple
here dedicated to the Roman Emperor Augustus.
After Herod’s death, his son Philip was awarded the north and the Golan
Heights. He built a capital at this
location in 2 BCE and called it Caesare Philipi. It continued as the capital during the day of
Agrippa II (second half of the 1st century CE).
According to Christian tradition this is
the place where Peter stated that Jesus was the Messiah and Peter was given the
keys to heaven. With the rise of Christianity
during the Byzantine period in the 4th century CE, pagan worship of
Pan came to an end, but the city continued to thrive. After the Muslim conquest in the 7th
century, the city declined and became no more than a village. In the 10th century CE, waves of
immigration brought a rise in population and the city was renamed to
Banias. The Crusaders saw this as a
strategic location as a border between their kingdom and the neighboring Muslim
realm with its center in Damascus. The
Muslims fortified the city. In 1129,
control of the city passed to the Crusaders, but the Muslims recaptured it in
1132. After Saladin’s defeat of the
Crusaders in 1187 (battle of Hattin), Banias declined in importance and was
eventually taken over by the Bedouin chieftains. In the 1967 Six-Day War, it was conquered by
the Israel Defense Forces.
During our visit, it rained and we saw
only the area where the worship of Pan occurred and the temple to Augustus once
stood. We then had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant
before heading to Tel Dan, our most northern site visited in Israel.
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| Pan Temple |
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| Pan Temple Niches |
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| Lunch |
Excavation of Tel Dan began in 1966 and
revealed sections of imposing walls and gates, as well as a ritual site that
dates to the time of events recounted in the Bible. The earliest findings are from the Ceramic
Neolithic Age (beginning 5th millennium BCE). A Canaanite city was first built here and
populated between 2700 and 2400 BCE. In
the 18th century BCE, a huge earth glacis surround the city for
protection. One of the fascinating finds
from Tel Dan is a piece of a fossilized tablet from the second half of the 9th
century BCE. Carved into it is an
inscription of Hazael, King of Damascus, boasting of his victory over the king
of Israel and the king of the house of David.
This is the first time that the words “house of David” were discovered
outside biblical writings.
As we explored Tel Dan, we saw first the impressive
“Abraham Gate” massive wall, built during the Canaanite period. It has remained completely intact, having
been buried for centuries.
From here we walked to the massive wall
built during the Israelite period (First Temple period) with its entrance gate
and seating place for the elders and the canopy platform for the king. Behind the outside gate are remnants of the
main gate of the Israelite city from the time of Ahab. The threshold, the stone doorstop and the
indentations for the hinges are all original. Further up the ramp we enter the
ancient city and proceeded to the ritual site of the monarchy. The earliest ritual artifacts discovered date
to the period of Jeroboam who led the people’s revolt against the heavy taxes
levied by Rehoboam, son of Solomon. This
results in 930 BCE in the kingdom being divided and Jeroboam established ritual
centers in Bethel and Dan, where he erected a golden calf. Stones from the large platform have been
reset. A Hellenistic period wall
surrounds the ritual site. Here was
found an inscription in Aramic and Greek:
“to the god who is in Dan.” This
site was used for ritual purposes until the Roman period.
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| Tel Dan Model |
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| Canaanite Gate Model |
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| Canaanite Gate Excavated |
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| Main Gate |
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| Canopy Stand |
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| Ramp to Inner Gate |
With a coming storm, including lightning,
we returned to the bus and made the drive back to En Gev. First we stopped at the En Gev olive
processing area for a brief tour and tasting.
Then we had a short distance to the lodging area.
Our dinner was at 6:45 pm followed by a
map session at 7:45 pm.
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| Dinner Salad Buffet |
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| Mapping |
Tomorrow we sail on the Sea of Galilee and
explore the western side.
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Hope today has better weather for your sailing trip!
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