Shvilist

Azeka was a biblical town, one of the cities which Joshua conquered (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azekah). It is better remembered as the gathering place of the Philistines army, a place from which Goliath climbed down each morning for forty days, and challenged the Israelites to choose a champion who will fight him. In the times when the people believed that the fights are being determined my the gods, this sort of challenges were common: instead of having a full-army-fight, and have many good people get killed – let’s give the gods a vessel they could fight with – and the winner of the duel will symbol the winning of the entire fight. A very human way for fighting, I say.

So the philistines gathered in Azeka, and the Israelites gathered in Shocha mountain – south-westward from Azeka. This means that each morning, when Goliath climb down to the valley, he had the sun in his eyes (a fact which is not mentioned in the bible, and that the light feeted David was able to take advantage of). On the other hand, he came fully armoured (he had great great copper-plate armor) think of how his figure glittered when he shouted accross the valley, inviting the other side to choose someone, anyone, who will be willing to face him.

I climbed Azeka right before dawn, and gazed upon the valley with first light. I wish I could post here the pictures which I’ve seen – but unfortunately my camera doesn’t capture well a fight which happened 3000 years ago… especially not when faced the rising sun. On the way up, the JNF placed pillars on which biblical verses were inscribed (all taken from 1 Samuel, 17, which is the chapter in which this fight is described – שמואל א, יז.) Though not all of them are in good condition (some needs repairs) they do get you into the right atmosphere – and buy the time I reached the top, I was able to feel the philistines aroung me, and see David and Goliath fighting, down below. So this was the climax of the archeological jurney which I had yesterday. In this site there are also caves in which Bar-kochva’s warriers hid in their rebbelion against the Romans – but I had my fill of history for that time, so I didn’t visit them.

Should you choose to visit them, do be careful  – a friend of mine fell into one – a 15 meters drop. Not the preferable way to end your trip….

Anyway – The trail climbs down into the valley of Elah, which nowadays is covered with fields (wheat, if i recall correctly) Then it continues on low hills (it started raining so again – I don’t have any photos, this time due to more earthly reasons) and connects to ceasar’s path – a path which was paved in 130 A.D. from Ashkelon to Jerusalem, in honour of Adrianus. One of the things that the roman took care of is water supply to the  passengers on their roads – and there is a water hole, which was active till the 60′ (!!!) from that time.  (then we paved the road, and the stream which used to fill this hole was  diverted). The path reaches Hanut ruins, from which you climb down to Matta fountain.

The path here twists arounds settlements – and you can feel the effort put in the planning of the route, in order to avoid the urban areas.
Over the past 3000 years, people searched these hills – and wherever they saw a green tree, they cut it down, dug a hole – and found water. The result is about 2000 (maybe more. I didn’t count)  different fountains and water holes in the vicinity of Jerusalem.

So the next worth mentioning location is Ein misla (Ein = fountain), which marks the begining of Begin Park – where you hike  to Ein Kobi – a place where I met a nice group of teenagers, which set out to have a BBQ in the nature. They were just about to finish, so I arrived in perfect timing : they gave me no less than three full plates, and told me that each and every thing that i won’t eat – will be thrown away.

Fully stuffed, I continued to Kobi stream – a tiny (though quite steep) stream, which I think is the most beautiful place in this area. It’s upper part is paved, making the hiking much easier (they knew that I’ll need an easy track after so much meet. how considerate of them ). You then enter Rephaim wadi (the literal translation of Rephaim is ‘ghosts’, but acording to the legend, it was also the name of the tribe who lived here in ancient times, before the Judean tribe settled here)

The trail connects to the fountain’s way (“שביל המעיינות”) – on which I hiked in twighlight time, and reached Jerusalem after dark.

The day started in Tel Lachish, one of the oldest cities in Israel – the earliest finding from it are dated to the neolithic era – 4000 – 7500 B.C. Sennacherib destroyed it at around 700 B.C. – and you can see to this very day the ramp which he built in order to get to the city walls. I found it absolutely amazing that almost each and every tourist arriving in Israel visits Mesada, and sees the roman ramp, while here you have a ramp which is 800 years older, and I’ll be surpized if a single percent of our tourists are aware of it’s existence. BTW, for those who didn’t remember the name -  Sennacherib is the guy who destroyed the kigdom of Israel (the ten tribes, which became lost after his war).
see also : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lachish

After an hour-long tour to the ancient city, I climbed down and continued to Maresha stream, which led the way to Tel Maresha (another ancient city) and the caves of Beit Govrin – the ground here is composed from soft rocks, which were mined by the people of Maresha (and later of Beit Govrin, which was built on top of Maresha). you can also find there impressive burial caves and a roman amphitheater.
see also : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleutheropolis

Then the trail continues to Tel Goded (another settlement which was active in the 1st millenia B.C – till Bar Kochva rebellion (the second Judean uprising under the rule of the romans – 132-135 A.D.), where an impressive tunnel system was dug in this area, in which the warriers hid from the roman soldiers.

The trail enters Britain park – a JNF planted forest, which was funded by the jewish community of Britain, sometimes in the fifties. you reach Masua observatory, from which you can see (in a clear day, which – unfortunately for me – i didn’t have) all the way to the sea. You pass several ruins on the way – Shiklon, for example is a very nice place, though I know almost nothing about it…

Then the trail carries on to Tel Azekah – another biblical town, and near it i camped for the night.

The weather forecast warned of a heat wave – and they were right. The tempratures climbed up – and by noon it was about 42 Celsius. Only once on the trail it was that hot – in Paran river, right before Vardit canyon. But In the desert there is no humidity, and so you’re constantly dry, and the heat doesn’t bother all that much. Here, on the other hand – I was constantly wet. I drank about 8 litters of water (i’m not kidding no exaggerating.I counted bottles) considering the fact that I started the day with only three, and I did not reach any tap on the way, Its a fact i’m quite proud of – lots of people on the way gave me water. and not just one cup, they gave me whole bottles. As I said – you get to meet the better part of our people on the way.

The day started with a farmer passing by my tent (about 6 a.m.  – we switched to summer saving time, so this means just after dawn. I’m never gonna be a farmer if it means waking up so early each and every morning….. ) Then I walked for about 7 km to Pura nature reserve – i’ve seen the sign pointing to this reserve many,many times (it’s near the main road leading to the south) but I never stopped to take a look – so this was a very pleasent surprize for me, for this reserve is very beautiful, combining both nature scenes (there’s a little pond where Pura stream gets wider – The ottomans built a dam for that pond to exist, a planted grove at Pura stream and many wild flowers, and there’s the impressive Sid canyon) as well as historical sites – starting with a 100 years old bridge (the Ottomans built a railroad over Pura stream. Unfortunately, in order to power their train they needed wood – and so they cut down each and every forest which existed in Israel and going to the 4500 years old Tel Nagila (easily recognized for the magnificant tamarist tree on top of it.

It may be due to the intense heat, but this is the only place where I spotted two hyenas, which are usually extremely shy creatures. This is another advantage to hiking alone – you make less noise, enabling you to spot many more animals.

From the Pura reserve the trail goes east, through wheat fields towards Tel Lachish, but I deviated once again and explored the Semech nature reserve – and for once I agree with those who planned the path of the INT and chose not to include this reserve. There’s nothing of real interest to see there. I reached Tel Lachish at twilight, and camped there for the night.

I returned to Meitar, to the exact spot where I last stopped. The trail follows the pre-67 border, along the security fence. It climbs mount Sansana (another nice JNF-planted grove over there) and reaches a carob tree (מסתבר שזה השם הלועזי של חרוב). Why do I bother to mention this? First of all, there are not many tree which are specifically mentioned on the maps (though there are more – but usually not in forested areas….). Secondly this specific tree has a story to tell : in 1948, when the original borders of the state-to-be were set, the border in this region was more or less a straight line one the map from Ein Gedi (which lies on the banks of the dead sea) to – you guessed right – this very tree.

From this tree the trail continues to Kibbutz Lahav, to Joe Alon center ( http://www.joealon.org.il/english/eng_home.htm ) . The center has a nice museum (the bedouin heritage museum) as well as a watch tower with an observatory – and if you’re lucky, a guide will give explenations and tell some stories about this area. Very interesting.

The trail continues to Ga’at hills – nothing really interesting there, save for several nice flowers. Then the trail goes along the road, though there are ancient ruins (Za’ak) and a nice grove (Dvir forest) which the trail, without any good reason, skips. Unfortunately for me, I naively believed that it does so with a good reason, and so i missed those  sites. Oh well – I’ll have to go back there. Wait for the post

Near Dvir (which, for some reason is named Dvira in my map) I met several famillies who celebrated passover by setting out to the nearest camp site – and have a BBQ. The invite me to join them, and true to my moto – I did.

Most people mix  being alone and being lonely – and I deiscovered that this mix leads to a great ice breaker when it comes to meet people – and I met new people on a daily basis. I am proud and delighted to say that there are still good and warm people in this country – many, many of them – unlike the pictures you might be getting from the media.

Anyway, the road goes along Shikma stream – a tiny(about 15 meters wide) patch of natural reserve between plowed fields.  Somewhere along this road my daylight ended, and so I stopped for the night on the road (and now I finally had a tent to sleep in it… what a luxury!)

I started early, and walked to the ruins of Dragot (nothing of real interest to see there). Along the way there are many, many illegal Bedouin settlements – they are taking over this land, slowly but surely. At the ruins  the INT goes up a roman staircase – the roman path which led to Arad 2000 years ago – still in good condition. As you start to climd you leave behind the desert yellow and brown colours, into the fertile brown and the lush green of the bushes.

The path leads to Mount. Amasa (who is named after one of king David’s nephew, and his general for some time – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amasa) which normally would give a great view over the plane Arad is located at – but unfortunately today was foggy.  There the trail enters the largest forest in Israel – Yatir forest.

I originally planned to have a break (passover was drawing near) at Arad – but it turns out that i walk faster than i though (especially when i don’t take the full 9 litters of water with me), and so i walked through this forest (about 20 km) without any map – just walking from one route marking to another.

The JNF started planting this forest in 1964, to mark the pre ’67 border – וכאן הקו הוא באמת ירוק. Another reason was to keep the land free of bedouin settlements – and it worked, so they keep on planting each year.

I reached the settlement Meitar just after dark, there I tried to hitch a ride (unsuccessfully) to my aunt’s house, which is located in Omer – a nearby village. The following day I had the planned break in the trail, and so my hike was resumed a week later.

I started the day at the north-eastern corner of Arad, at Mr. Fonyo’s house. Mr. Fonyo is personally responsible for the marking of many trails in Arads surrounding – he hikes the area, and reports the antiquities authority of any finding he does, and since there are many archeological sites in the area – most of them are somehow linked to gathering and preserving what little water exists in the area. In Israel, a country where every rock & almost every tree has a story to tell – I truely wish that more people will follow his example, and report the various finding that are waiting to be found.

The land in the Arad vicinity is the land of the Bedouin people. About ten minutes after i left the city I encountered a shepherd herding her goats – and throughout the day i met many,many more (both goats,sheeps and sheperds )

I started with Kidod stream, which holds a water hole from the roman period (“מאגורה”). I continued with the green marked trail to Moav observatory, which lies on the city’s edge, then climb down with Praim (literal translation : wild ass) stream – this stram, for one, is not marked in my map (I do believe that it is on newer editions) and i wouldn’t have known about this trail hadn’t i met Mr. Fonyo.

Praim stream connects to Ye’elim (literal translation: Ibex), though there is no marked trail there – and as i drew near i found out why.

Inside Ye’elim wadi, right at the connection with Praim, lies a settelment (looks like a permanent one) of Bedouins. Illigal, of caurse – it is a nature reserve if i’m not mistaken, but there’s not much you can do about it. These people do need to live somewhere, and their natural increase rate is one of the highest in Israel (about 10-15 children per familly). They have a nomadic heritage – which does creat a problem when it comes to where & how they should stay.

In Ye’elim there is another water hole, curved into the walls of the wadi. Due to the special properties of the soils here, every time it rains a flood is created, and these holes were designed to capture the gushing water as they suddenly filled up the wadi.

Then, I finally reached the original INT – and climb to Zohar fort (another fort from the roman period), which is a very impressive place (actually – the most impressive in this day’s hike)

The trail goes south, but i headed west, to Kisan (=dumpling) stream (guess what – another roman water hole), then i turned north untill I reconnected with the INT at Arad’s park. From there I continud on the trail to Tel arad, where I spent another night.

So there is one part (from Tamar fort to Zohar fort) which i did not completed – something to look forward too, in the future

The day started with the rest of Hatzera machtesh – the trail crosses the makhtesh again, this time from south to north. less impressive part of the makhtesh (most the coloured sand are located in the southern part) but still a nice trail. You leave the makhtech by climbing its nortern wall – a path named Hatzera ascent. from there the trail continues to another roman fort – Tamar fort, which protected the route to the dead sea – a route which is still being used today.

I reached the fort at about noon. Since i didn’t have any food (and wasn’t in the mood for cooking) i started walking along the road, trying to hitch a ride to Arad. it took me three long hours before i finally made it. I then resupplied, and friends picked me up to Tel Arad – where ancient Arad was located (and it is ancient indeed – the earliest finding were dated to about 4000 B.C.) we spend the night there, as well as the following day (they don’t hike of Shabbat).

Tamar fort marks the end of the desert – and so this part ot the INT is over

Since the fox incident, I’ve been living on my emergency supplies. According to my initial planning, I should have reached my next stash (hidden in the night camp right outside Hazera makhtesh) by yesterday – but since i did stay with magdalena, and I did not took into account the slow progress on mount Karbolet, I ended up with nothing to eat for today – but fortunately the guard of the Oron factory was kind enough to give me three rolls – which are more than enough for a day’s march. In order to quicken my pace, i filled only three bottles (meaning – 4.5 litters. I traveled with 9 for most days in the desert) and it worked – I was able to catch up with my plans and reach the camp about 20 minutes before dark.

So the day started with a climb on Hasnapir hagadol (again – the literal translation of this name is the great fin – a very suitable name). then you climb it down to Yorkeam fort (only ruins nowadays) from which the trail enters Hatira stream (which is the same stream which created the makhtesh in the first place).  Next you get to Yorkeam spring – a truely beautiful place.

Hatira stream turns into an impressive canyon, from which you eventually get out by climbing Yamin ascent (Yamin is the hebrew word for right, as in the direction. I have no idea as to the source of that name….).

Then the trail continues to Zafir fort – which was part of the roman defence system, and was ment to protect the roman routes from bandits (my guess will be mostly the Nabatians). For a 2000 years old building, it is very well preserved indeed.

From there the trail continues to Gov stream, then to Eli descent – which is the entrance of the third makhtesh (Hatzera makhtesh,  also known as ‘the small makhtesh’) Once in the makhtesh, you cross it – and enjoy the multi-coloured sand stones display that nature made of the hikers who visit this amazing place.

As I said in the preface, I reached the night camp which lies just outside the small makhtesh about 20 or 30 minutes before dark – only to find that my stash was discovered – and stolen. so now i’m in the desert without food (I had some rice and spaghetti with me – but they needed cooking) and what’s much,much worse – without water. Take it as a lesson : you have to hide your things well! when it comes to your survival, location could sometimes be a crucial thing…. and apparently I was  too lightheaded and careless in choosing where to hide my supplies.

So what did happen to me?  I was about to go to the nearest road (about 8 km from the night camp) and hitch a ride to the nearest city (Arad or Dimona), but I saw a local – a nice guy which works for Mekorot (our national water company, which have several drills inside the makhtesh). He lives near Arad, and was kind enough to bring me water (he had some in his car, and he went back to his house and brought some more). So this guy literaly saved me.

The day started with a walk through the low hills from Madur stream to Efron stream – which directly led to the infamous mount Karbolet (again – Karbolet is the hebrew word for a chicken’s crest, a well suited description of the shape of this mountain)

The mountain itself makes the southern wall of Hatira makhtesh (there are three makhteshim in Israel, and five in the entire world. The remaining two lies in the Sinai desert, Egypt), also known as ‘the big machtesh’ (this name was given during the british mandate, due to the fact that it is bigger then the other makhtesh known at that time. The Ramon makhtesh, which is the largest, was not yet discovered by that time)

So why did i call it an infamous? Because that’s suppose to be the most strenuous day of the entire trail (personally i think that climbing down Yotveta stream was just as hard, but then again – this stream is not on the INT ). As you climb the mountain you can see the geological layers standing in an angle of about 45 degrees – which means a very hard climb. And the trail goes up and down these layers, forcing you to excersice muscles you are not used to. Add sore feet (from the past two weeks of walking) to this – and you’ll get a strenuous trail indeed. I’ve heard others describing it as “the most strenuous – but most beautiful part of the INT” – and personally i dissagree. You do have an amazing view of Zin river – but then again you had a better view from Hod Akev. You do have fantastic view of Hatira makhtesh, with it’s multicoloured sand stone – but then again you’ll have an even more impressive view of similar ladscape at the Hazera makhtesh (‘the small machtesh’).

The one thing which impressed me the most was the first step of the climb – where you actually pass through geological layers one after the other, meaning that as you go up you go back in time millions of years. And as you reached the top – you get the first glimpse of the makhtesh which is very pretty (thus, to sum up my personal opinion – a well worth-the-effort trail, but unworthy of the title “the most beautiful part of the INT”….)

The trail is relatively short – approx. 9 km long – but it did take me the entire day. The trail climbs down into Oron factory (phosphate mining and extraction factory) and I originally planned to carry on and climb again the walls of the makhtesh (a mountain named “Hasnapir Hagadol” – the large fin) But I arrived at the factory about 1 hout before dusk – and realized that I will get stuck on that mountain in the dark, and so decided to stay the night near the factory. Besides, i needed to recharge the battery of my camera

P.S. – one last thing : as I climbed down this mountain, i saw a grey, long eared hare. That was the only place throughout the INT that i saw it (in most places you only get to see rock hyraxes)