in the middle east

The second of my Albright field trips took us up the furthest northern point of the Israeli territory: the Golan Heights. The 6-day war of 1967 could actually have been the 4-day war, but Israel pressed on to gain more territory than it previously had, namely, the Golan Heights. The precious water resources of this land could then be directed towards their agriculture. The region is directly above the Sea (Lake) of Galilee, and boasts some of ancient Israel and Canaan's best preserved cities. We first went to to the gigantic mound of ancient Hazor. There was a large Canaanite temple and city here, and later the Israelites built a major fortress city as well (see 1Kings 9:15). It was strategic because it controlled a main road from the norther hill country to the fertile Hula Valley below, where the Jordan river supplies the area with irrigation. Our next stop was to the city of Dan. The major period revealed by excavations is the fortified city from the time of Ahab, the mid-9th cent. There was a marvelous stone plaza, a city-gate gate courtyard, and the ancient sacred temple area that Jereboam constructed to rival the temple in Jerusalem (see 1Kings 12). It is housed in the Tel-Dan Nature Reserve; a beautiful haven of a park. In the middle is a natural spring that is one of the largest sources of the Jordan river. Last of all we went to Banias, known in antiquity as Caesarea-Philipi. This is a huge rock wall, along which was built a large temple complex in the last centuries BC. A natural spring issues from the base of the rock producing a series of cascading pools. As we traveled about, the border with Lebanon was just a few kilometers to the North-West, and the Syrian border to our North-East. This is truly one of Israel/Palestine's most beautiful regions, so see some more by clicking here.