Tuesday, June 14, 2016
With a full night of sleep in a very comfortable hotel in Haifa that helped to defeat the lingering jet lag, the group set out in good form this morning. We have very good fortune of traveling with Avi Ben Hur who is a unique guide because he not only possesses a comprehensive familiarity with each of the sites we visit, but also has a deep understanding of the historical context and the history that each site plays in the region and its impact on human history.
Our first stop was the Tel Megiddo National Park, which is singularly impressive because of its historical significance and for the decades it has been under excavation. As Avi explained, Megiddo’s geographic location near a junction on the ancient thoroughfare from Egypt to Damascus played a major role in its fame as an early urban site as well as for important military battles. Under the bright, hot sunlight we climbed the Tel to view the various excavated sites on the top as well as appreciating the vantage point looking east over the Jezreel valley to the east. Most interesting was a walk through the water system build to supply water to the city without having to exit the city walls. The system is accessed by walking down 187 steps to the passageway hewn from solid rock to the spring (and it was nice and cool).
After a quick lunch (great shawarma) we continued on our way to Nahal Me’arot Nature Preserve. It is the home to a group of prehistoric caves (a UNESCO world heritage site since 2012) with evidence of human habitation as far in the past as 500,000 years ago. The caves are natural and face west toward the sea shore south of Haifa. The caves were excavated in the late 1920’s after being discovered by the British who were quarrying stone in the region.
After descending from the caves, our bus followed a winding route up the Carmel ridge where we were greeted by beautiful views of the sea from both sides of the ridge simultaneously. Just beautiful in the afternoon sun. Perched at the head of the ridge is Haifa University and the Reuben and Edith Hecht museum, a private collection of ancient artifacts donated to the university and organized in a very interesting manner – easy for the visitor to follow as if on a journey through history from the early Canaanite period through the Roman and Byzantine eras. The collection is not extensive in quantity, but excellent quality and displays included sarcophagi from the Canaanite period, pottery and small figures from the Israelite period to coins and seals from the Roman period. Most impressive was the Ma’agan Mikhael Ancient Ship, a 2400 year old merchantman discovered in shallow waters off the coast in 1985. The actual timbers have been reconstructed in an exhibit in the museum.
This is just our second day and the historical and cultural significance of the sites we have visited are almost too much for me to absorb. Tomorrow we are on our way to the region of the Sea of Galilee, which will undoubtedly be just impressive. Cheers.
– Russ Morrison Western Reserve Academy