Top 5 Favorites of Our Trip North
Not to rehash over and over again, but just in case you hadn't heard I'll repeat it anyway -- Matt and I spent five days last week getting out of Jerusalem and touring northern Israel. We saw so very many places that although we hope to eventually write about each and every one, we thought it best to start with our top five places.
This list might surprise you a bit. For although we did see most, if not all, the main places listed on any one to two week trip to Israel, some of the more popular places didn't end up on our list of the best places we visited. Okay, enough chatting...on to the list!
#1 -- Beit She'arim
Beit She'arim was my absolute favorite place that we visited. Some of this might be because we arrived early in the morning, the park was near empty, the grass was green, the trees were beautiful, you could hear the birds chirping happy songs, and the weather was just perfect. Then we took our handy park brochure and began walking along the designated path. "Oh my!" I often said. "I had no idea!"
Beit She'arim is most well known for being the burial place of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi (he organized the writing down and editing of the oral law into what is now known as the Mishna around 200 CE). Before his death, Rabbi Hanassi specifically requested that he be buried at Beit She'arim.
Since many people wanted to be buried near this famous rabbi, Beit She'arim became a major Jewish cemetery during the third and fourth centuries CE.
But this is not an ordinary Jewish cemetery. In Beit She'arim, the burial locations are in caves. Some of the earlier tombs are grouped in threes. Stairs lead down to a common courtyard and then three caves have been dug into the rock.
Most of the caves have a decorated facade and a rock door that has been chiseled to resemble a wooden door, with handles and all.
Later, when there was no longer space for individual caves for individual people, extra niches were carved inside the already existing caves and other families were interred there.
One of the caves was extremely large with multiple rooms off both the left and right of the main corridor. This cave, termed by the excavators as the "Cave of the Coffins," was filled with sarcophagi. The 135 sarcophagi that were found inside this cave were either carved out of stone or made of metal although they did find that some had existed that had been made out of wood.
The sarcophagi that were carved out of stone often were ornately decorated, with designs of flowers, animals, or other scenes.
I could go on and on about the incredible things we saw here, but if I did that then you'd never hear about my other four favorite places. However, I obviously highly recommend stopping at Beit She'arim if you get a chance :)
#2 -- Tsipori (or Zippori)
I have to preface this by telling you that I am a mosaic freak -- meaning, that my favorite art form is mosaics. I love micro mosaics (small pieces) as well as mosaics that use full tiles. Thus, it should be no surprise to you then when I tell you that Tsipori easily fits on my top five list because it was chock full of mosaics.
Tsipori was an ancient city that was founded at least by 103 BCE but most likely several centuries earlier. Unlike many Jewish cities around this period, it was not destroyed by the Romans during the Jewish Revolt in 66 CE because the people of Tsipori made a peace treaty with the Roman army.
The city has many Roman elements including a colonnaded cardo, an aqueduct, a theater, and bathhouses. Among these places were many, many mosaics. There were mosaics along the streets made of simple geometric designs and then in many buildings you could find more detailed geometric designs such as this one.
However, in some buildings, the mosaics consist of intricate scenes. My pictures don't do these justice but here is one example.
In the "mansion" you find what is often called "the Mona Lisa of Tsipori" which is just one section of a huge, floor-length mosaic.
In this huge mosaic, the tiles are much smaller and the details more pronounced. This work was done by a true artist. Here is just one more example, and again, my pictures just don't do the work justice.
I super highly recommend a stop here. If you are, like me, a lover of mosaics this will be one your favorite spots. However, if you are not, the ancient remains located in this city are still wonderful and in my opinion, rival Beit She'an and Cesarea.
#3 -- Beit Alfa
This is a very quick stop but also a very worthwhile one. First, don't get lost like we did by entering into the Beit Alfa kibbutz, the Beit Alfa you want is actually in the kibbutz next door called Hetzi-Ba.
Beit Alfa is the ruins of an ancient synagogue that dates as early as the sixth century BCE. What is amazing about this synagogue is that its main floor was a huge mosaic. Curious, however, is that the center of three panels depicts a zodiac wheel -- not a symbol one would normally equate with Judaism.
As you stand and ponder this strange development, a screen comes down from the ceiling and a movie airs that explains why such a design might have been considered as part of a synagogue mosaic. The answer -- because it was a cool thing to do at the time.
The designs in both the center panel that holds the zodiac wheel and the other two bands that host more common Judaic symbols such as menorahs, lions, etrogs (in the top panel) and the scene of the binding of Isaac (in the bottom panel).
The mosaic itself is fascinating and the movie is a must to see if you visit here. What's also interesting about the mosaic, and the movie addresses this, is that the figures of people are what the film calls "naive," meaning simplistic and without depth or perception (more like a children's drawing). This is an interesting contrast to the "Mona Lisa of Tsipori" who has such fine details. Again, I apologize for my poor pictures.
#4 -- Ayalon Institute
Matt and I actually first heard about the Ayalon Institute about four years ago and ever since then it was a place we really wanted to visit. It does perhaps seem odd that we have been in Israel for nearly a full year and we had yet to see this place. My only excuse is that since it is not located in a big city, Matt and I hadn't been able to figure out a convenient way to get there until now. Thank goodness for rental cars!
The Ayalon Institute was a secret ammunition factory that was camouflaged from the British by putting it underground, in the middle of a kibbutz. The factory was rectangular in shape (about 300 square yards) and built into the ground. The main entrance/exit into the factory was hidden under a commercial-sized washing machine which moved to reveal the opening and stairs downward. The washing machine was so loud in and of itself that it hid much of the noise coming from the machines that made bullets downstairs.
The other side of the factory had an exit that was hid under a bakery, but since it took 45 minutes for the oven to be opened and 45 minutes for the oven to be replaced, this opening was only used to move the huge machines that were in the factory.
The story is really amazing. The factory was in production from 1946 until the beginning of 1949 and was never discovered. The tour guide was awesome and she told us many fascinating stories about how they kept the secret and about several near discoveries. Even though Matt and I had heard the story before we got there, the Ayalon Institute was definitely worth visiting.
#5 -- Beit She'an
I had been hearing about Beit She'an for weeks before we were able to go see it. We've had a number of friends make trips to northern Israel lately and everyone had come back very impressed with Beit She'an, many said they liked it much more than Cesarea. So it was so very nice to finally get to see it.
Beit She'an includes already excavated ruins of an ancient city as well as a tel, a tall hill that is the as-yet unexcavated remains of ancient cities that had been built one on top of another until the most recent city or city's remains are even hundreds of feet about the surrounding plain.
The ruins at Beit She'an go back as far as 5,000 BCE. It was a large city that had been conquered and lived in by many of the big civilizations over the last 7,000 years. It is also the location where Saul and his sons' bodies were displayed on the city walls.
The excavated portions of the site are an amazing look back into the past. There is a colonnaded road,
huge bathhouse,
and amazing remains of an amphitheater.
There are also a few rooms that still contain intricate mosaics but they are not as easily viewed as the ones at Beit She'arim.
This list might surprise you a bit. For although we did see most, if not all, the main places listed on any one to two week trip to Israel, some of the more popular places didn't end up on our list of the best places we visited. Okay, enough chatting...on to the list!
#1 -- Beit She'arim
Beit She'arim was my absolute favorite place that we visited. Some of this might be because we arrived early in the morning, the park was near empty, the grass was green, the trees were beautiful, you could hear the birds chirping happy songs, and the weather was just perfect. Then we took our handy park brochure and began walking along the designated path. "Oh my!" I often said. "I had no idea!"
Beit She'arim is most well known for being the burial place of Rabbi Yehuda Hanassi (he organized the writing down and editing of the oral law into what is now known as the Mishna around 200 CE). Before his death, Rabbi Hanassi specifically requested that he be buried at Beit She'arim.
Since many people wanted to be buried near this famous rabbi, Beit She'arim became a major Jewish cemetery during the third and fourth centuries CE.
But this is not an ordinary Jewish cemetery. In Beit She'arim, the burial locations are in caves. Some of the earlier tombs are grouped in threes. Stairs lead down to a common courtyard and then three caves have been dug into the rock.
Most of the caves have a decorated facade and a rock door that has been chiseled to resemble a wooden door, with handles and all.
Later, when there was no longer space for individual caves for individual people, extra niches were carved inside the already existing caves and other families were interred there.
One of the caves was extremely large with multiple rooms off both the left and right of the main corridor. This cave, termed by the excavators as the "Cave of the Coffins," was filled with sarcophagi. The 135 sarcophagi that were found inside this cave were either carved out of stone or made of metal although they did find that some had existed that had been made out of wood.
The sarcophagi that were carved out of stone often were ornately decorated, with designs of flowers, animals, or other scenes.
I could go on and on about the incredible things we saw here, but if I did that then you'd never hear about my other four favorite places. However, I obviously highly recommend stopping at Beit She'arim if you get a chance :)
#2 -- Tsipori (or Zippori)
I have to preface this by telling you that I am a mosaic freak -- meaning, that my favorite art form is mosaics. I love micro mosaics (small pieces) as well as mosaics that use full tiles. Thus, it should be no surprise to you then when I tell you that Tsipori easily fits on my top five list because it was chock full of mosaics.
Tsipori was an ancient city that was founded at least by 103 BCE but most likely several centuries earlier. Unlike many Jewish cities around this period, it was not destroyed by the Romans during the Jewish Revolt in 66 CE because the people of Tsipori made a peace treaty with the Roman army.
The city has many Roman elements including a colonnaded cardo, an aqueduct, a theater, and bathhouses. Among these places were many, many mosaics. There were mosaics along the streets made of simple geometric designs and then in many buildings you could find more detailed geometric designs such as this one.
However, in some buildings, the mosaics consist of intricate scenes. My pictures don't do these justice but here is one example.
In the "mansion" you find what is often called "the Mona Lisa of Tsipori" which is just one section of a huge, floor-length mosaic.
In this huge mosaic, the tiles are much smaller and the details more pronounced. This work was done by a true artist. Here is just one more example, and again, my pictures just don't do the work justice.
I super highly recommend a stop here. If you are, like me, a lover of mosaics this will be one your favorite spots. However, if you are not, the ancient remains located in this city are still wonderful and in my opinion, rival Beit She'an and Cesarea.
#3 -- Beit Alfa
This is a very quick stop but also a very worthwhile one. First, don't get lost like we did by entering into the Beit Alfa kibbutz, the Beit Alfa you want is actually in the kibbutz next door called Hetzi-Ba.
Beit Alfa is the ruins of an ancient synagogue that dates as early as the sixth century BCE. What is amazing about this synagogue is that its main floor was a huge mosaic. Curious, however, is that the center of three panels depicts a zodiac wheel -- not a symbol one would normally equate with Judaism.
As you stand and ponder this strange development, a screen comes down from the ceiling and a movie airs that explains why such a design might have been considered as part of a synagogue mosaic. The answer -- because it was a cool thing to do at the time.
The designs in both the center panel that holds the zodiac wheel and the other two bands that host more common Judaic symbols such as menorahs, lions, etrogs (in the top panel) and the scene of the binding of Isaac (in the bottom panel).
The mosaic itself is fascinating and the movie is a must to see if you visit here. What's also interesting about the mosaic, and the movie addresses this, is that the figures of people are what the film calls "naive," meaning simplistic and without depth or perception (more like a children's drawing). This is an interesting contrast to the "Mona Lisa of Tsipori" who has such fine details. Again, I apologize for my poor pictures.
#4 -- Ayalon Institute
Matt and I actually first heard about the Ayalon Institute about four years ago and ever since then it was a place we really wanted to visit. It does perhaps seem odd that we have been in Israel for nearly a full year and we had yet to see this place. My only excuse is that since it is not located in a big city, Matt and I hadn't been able to figure out a convenient way to get there until now. Thank goodness for rental cars!
The Ayalon Institute was a secret ammunition factory that was camouflaged from the British by putting it underground, in the middle of a kibbutz. The factory was rectangular in shape (about 300 square yards) and built into the ground. The main entrance/exit into the factory was hidden under a commercial-sized washing machine which moved to reveal the opening and stairs downward. The washing machine was so loud in and of itself that it hid much of the noise coming from the machines that made bullets downstairs.
The other side of the factory had an exit that was hid under a bakery, but since it took 45 minutes for the oven to be opened and 45 minutes for the oven to be replaced, this opening was only used to move the huge machines that were in the factory.
The story is really amazing. The factory was in production from 1946 until the beginning of 1949 and was never discovered. The tour guide was awesome and she told us many fascinating stories about how they kept the secret and about several near discoveries. Even though Matt and I had heard the story before we got there, the Ayalon Institute was definitely worth visiting.
#5 -- Beit She'an
I had been hearing about Beit She'an for weeks before we were able to go see it. We've had a number of friends make trips to northern Israel lately and everyone had come back very impressed with Beit She'an, many said they liked it much more than Cesarea. So it was so very nice to finally get to see it.
Beit She'an includes already excavated ruins of an ancient city as well as a tel, a tall hill that is the as-yet unexcavated remains of ancient cities that had been built one on top of another until the most recent city or city's remains are even hundreds of feet about the surrounding plain.
The ruins at Beit She'an go back as far as 5,000 BCE. It was a large city that had been conquered and lived in by many of the big civilizations over the last 7,000 years. It is also the location where Saul and his sons' bodies were displayed on the city walls.
The excavated portions of the site are an amazing look back into the past. There is a colonnaded road,
huge bathhouse,
and amazing remains of an amphitheater.
There are also a few rooms that still contain intricate mosaics but they are not as easily viewed as the ones at Beit She'arim.
posted by Jen | 6:33 AM
1 Comments:
I did a brief stint of stand-up here! Obvioulsy, it didn't go over well ... look at the amphitheater now!
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