Israel's Good Name

Te’omim Cave

In Israel on April 14, 2024 at 8:21 AM

Resuming in the delayed narration of my life, or perhaps, more accurately, some adventurous highlights therein, the saga picks up on October 3rd – a mere four days before life took a sudden and tragic detour. It was an unassuming Tuesday, one that I had taken off from work to go on a family outing during the holiday of Sukkot, and our plans were quite simple. Since beginning my research on the usage of caves in the medieval periods, one particularly accessible cave – the Te’omim Cave – remained at the forefront of my mind, thoughts and plans always lingering, waiting for the perfect opportunity to see the cave with my very own eyes.

Enjoying a family outing

At last, the opportunity presented itself and we planned a family outing to go hike to the cave, to see what was there to be seen. Timing was quite essential, as the cave is physically fenced off during the winter months to keep the local bat population, engaged in a quasi-hibernation, unbothered by human visitors. Packing water, snacks, my binoculars, camera and a few trusty flashlights, we drove down to the area of the cave, located just a few minutes outside of Bet Shemesh.

The trailhead

Many goals were set out for this trip, the primary one being to explore the tantalizing cave and to have a rewarding family experience. But there was also a photo contest at play, where amateur and professional photographers alike submit nature photos taken during a select 48-hour period – and I was unfortunately at work for the first of the two days. This meant that, no matter the circumstances, if I wanted to participate, I had to take a worthy photograph on the Te’omim Cave outing. Alas, I did not win – the photo below was the best I could muster, taken on the walk from the main road (near where we parked) to the cave park entrance.

My entry into the photo contest – a juvenile red-backed shrike

While researching the cave itself, and poring over assemblages of medieval ceramics found within, I had become quite familiar with the layout. So, quite naturally, my anticipation grew as we began the official hike towards the cave, having exchanged pleasantries with the park rangers at the entrance. Amir was just over a year old, and not yet ready to hike on his own, so I wore him in the baby carrier, with my camera and binoculars nestled safely to the sides.

Climbing up the rocky path

Bracha set the pace as we hiked the dusty trail, passing scores of sweaty hikers who had just come from the direction of the enchanting cave. As the elevation climbed, albeit gently, the trail became a bit more challenging, with slippery bedrock and well-worn handrails. We scampered over the rocks, pausing briefly here and there to take a few pictures, and continued on our way.

Loads of people outside the cave

At last, having travelled less than a kilometre, we reached the cave and were shocked to see the masses of people sprawled about – some seeking shade, some picnicking and some queued up to enter the cave. Duly, we joined the growing line and awaited our turn to gain entrance into the beckoning yawn cracked into the planet’s surface. Whilst patiently waiting, a little surprise made itself our way – none other than the parents and sister of Miriam Yablon (who made a guest appearance in the posts about Sachne and Park HaMaayanot).

The railed path snaking through the cavern

Once the madding crowd thinned some, and a shadow replaced the harsh sun on the guano-encrusted wood railings, we found ourselves within the cave’s large entrance hall. The wood railings provided direction, taking us deeper into the drippy cave, to the point that the sun’s most valiant efforts couldn’t penetrate the inky darkness.

Speleothems inside the cave

Despite the urge to recoil from the sensation of mysterious liquids and slimes on the bannisters, I clutched tightly, keeping Amir safe as he dangled before me up against my chest. My relatively powerful flashlight’s beam danced upon the glistening cave walls, illuminating a grungy world built of speleothems and fallen rocks – the result of eons of erosive moisture.

Attempting to portray the cave’s internal dimensions

I’ve always enjoyed the cool-but-clammy embrace of life underground, and look back fondly at the times that I have spent in the various subterranean recesses that I’ve become acquainted with (especially Murabba’at Cave 2 in the Judean Desert, Alma Cave in the Galilean mountains and the burial caves at Tel Goded). However, with a small and potentially somewhat frightened child in stow, a prolonged visit wasn’t going to work too well. So, to maximise my time within the cave, I deposited Amir back to his mother at the cave entrance, and dashed back into the darkness, trying earnestly not to slip and soil myself on the mucky pathway.

Some of the many fruit bats dangling from the cave ceiling

There was the ever-present sound of innumerous Egyptian fruit bats squeaking in their lofty roosts up above, tucked into colonies along the hall’s ceiling – which peaks at about ten metres. The bats taunted me as I groped through the darkness, relying on my single flashlight to find my way through the damp cavern. The pathway followed a zigzag course, passing closely to the northern wall, and eventually ended at a platform beside a placid hewn pool of water.

The hewn pool at the end of the trail

While the cave was first explored in the name of science in 1873, it was none other than one of my department professors, Boaz Zissu (featured in a handful of my more adventurous posts from 2017-2019), who made some of the most remarkable discoveries with his teams of researchers, deeper within the cave’s passages. Over the years of cave surveying, he and his teams had found staggering evidence of human presence during the Bar Kokhba rebellion against the Romans some two thousand years ago. In addition to stashed weapons, they found three hoards of ancient coins that had presumably been stashed there towards the end of the fateful war, the owners most likely not having survived, leaving the coins to be forgotten for ages.

Leaving the enchanting cave

Alas, on a simple hiking trip and surrounded by families and the like, I couldn’t galavant to my liking in search of the semi-hidden passages. I resolved to take a good number of photos, the best my camera can do in the darkness, and rejoin my family who had begun to unpack a small picnic on the rocks outside the cave. Once we had adequately rehydrated and refueled, we packed ourselves up again and began the hike back towards the car. It was a family day, meant to be enjoyed to its fullest, so we decided to also get some delicious schwarma wraps in Bet Shemesh before taking the drive back home.

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Lod Mosaic Centre

In Central Israel, Israel on March 1, 2024 at 9:29 AM

It was the final day of August last year and I had taken the day off from work. Coordinating with Bracha’s plans to go shopping for Amir’s first birthday, which was to take place in one week’s time, I decided on a spontaneous trip with the little boy. We were to visit the newly opened Lod Mosaic Centre, built to house none other than the famous Lod mosaic which was painstakingly unearthed starting in 1996.

Father-son outing

I had visited neighbouring Ramla back in 2017 with Adam Ota, and we had attempted to see all the main sites of interest, but the city of Lod had always escaped me. This was to be my first real visit to Lod, strangely enough, and I noted that there was even a playground just outside the centre – perfect for entertaining Amir even more.

Inside the museum

We arrived at the museum, entered and began our self-guided tour. At first, I was surprised at how small the place was (reminiscent of Beit Alpha national park), but it made perfect sense. The building was simply covering the site of the famous mosaic, which had been removed, restored, internationally displayed on tour, and finally replaced to the very earth it called home since the late Roman period some 1,750 years prior. There is really no need for a bigger building.

Gazing out at the spectacular work of art

Passing some fragmented mosaics on display, we made our way through the tastefully-lit central room (or atrium, in this case) where the main mosaic is located. The museum structure mimics a typical upper class Roman villa, a recreation of sorts of the house that once existed on site. We gazed out at the vast central floor, covered in an intricate collection of mosaic motifs and patterns, and tried to take it all in.

DIY mosaic tables

Amir was at that transitional age between crawling and cruising, so I let him down to explore as I took pictures and read the display signs. The focal point of the giant mosaic intrigued me most, being a montage of exotic and mostly African mammals posed together in a manner somewhat reminiscent of The Lion King. I pointed out the tiger to Amir, who was overall quite familiar with the striped beast, but I don’t think he quite caught on to my helpful intentions.

Amir playing with the mock mosaic tiles

Perhaps what was more relevant for him was the DIY mosaic tables where trayfuls of small colourful tiles were to be placed in efforts to create mock mosaics. This was geared towards children and had innumerous choking hazards, so, naturally, Amir wanted to give it a try. Carefully, and under my supervision, he had a try at making his own mosaic as well.

A closer look at the magnificent handiwork

Returning to the ancient masterpiece at our feet, we looped around to the far end of the floor mosaic and completed our circumnavigation with an appropriate amount of approving nods and low murmurs of admiration at the magnificent handiwork seen before us. We then popped outside into a small courtyard where another floor mosaic awaited us. While this one was far less preserved, it was only to be expected as this courtyard was identified as the original Roman villa’s peristyle courtyard. Albeit damaged, we were still able to make out some of the scenes described in the medallion-patterned layout.

The outer courtyard

Also featured outdoors was a chronological overview of Lod overall, ranging from the prehistoric Neolithic period until modern times. Naturally, I took particular interest in the Crusader period, which unfortunately was the only time period listed not to feature any artefacts on display. I settled for a collection of ancient ceramic vessels of other time periods and a neat Scottish military beret pin from the British Mandate period. One final exhibit caught my eye, and that was an interesting cabinet of drawers tucked into the far corner. Within, each drawer represented a different layer (or stratum, as it is known in archaeology) in the sample soil. This gave a very hands-on representation of archaeological work, and the expected results as one digs deeper and deeper into the past. Even with my hands-on knowledge of archaeology, I felt that this exhibition really hit the nail on the proverbial head and applauded the designers.

Outside the Lod Mosaic Centre

We finished our educational trip in the small playground outside, where Amir played a bit and enjoyed a sandwich for lunch. There was of course still more to see nearby, and I was fortunate enough to pick up a map and some tourist literature, but those sites will simply have to wait for another day.

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Berry Picking in the Shomron

In Israel, Samaria on November 22, 2023 at 1:27 PM

Back in late June, which now feels like eons ago, we had another family outing. For the past year or two, Bracha had been yearning to go fruit picking but for one reason or another, it just hadn’t come to fruition. That was the case until June, when she had seen recommendations of a berry picking place called Bikurei Shiloh, located next to Shiloh in the Shomron (Samaria).

Bikurei Shiloh backdropped by grapevines

Tragically, just two days before our scheduled trip, four Israelis were killed in a terror attack just 3.5 kilometres up the road outside of Eli. It was uncomfortable to push through with our plans, but we were as determined as ever not to let terrorism alter our lives (a recurring theme in Israel, sadly). As we drove by the site of the attack, we saw a small grouping of people and what seemed to be a makeshift memorial surrounded by waving flags.

Rows and rows of berry plants

It was already late in the morning when we pulled into the parking lot, the U-pick site nestled between ancient Shiloh and Nachal Shiloh, both of which I had visited back in September 2017. We entered, receiving small baskets and instructions, and then made our way to pick some berries. Our options for the day were strawberries, raspberries and blueberries – the plants located in long netted rows, protecting them from the elements and pests.

Strawberry in the sun

We started with the strawberries, which were on the cusp of being perfectly ripe. Thus, we had to scour the leafy plants in search for the choicest plump red fruit. I was wearing 10-month old Amir in the baby carrier, which allowed him to also grab at the dangling berries with his pudgy little hands. As an added perk, at that point in time, strawberries were probably his favourite food.

Blueberries galore

After a few handfuls of strawberries, we decided to move on to the next berry of choice: blueberries. Entering a separate netted area, we stepped into blueberry heaven. For any strawberry that was lacking, there were thousands of blueberries to make up for it. So much so, that we hardly had to go anywhere to pick all the blueberries we’d want. But we walked around, browsing the berry bushes, choosing only the choicest dark blue orbs. For, as it is known, the darker the berry, the sweeter the juice.

Bracha finding a choice raspberry

As per the raspberries, those were less abundant than the blackberries but, when ripe and juicy, exploded merrily in our mouths. When we had finished picking all the berries that we desired, both to eat on site as well as those to take home, we decided to stop for a picnic lunch.

Some berries for the road

Wisely, we had picked up some rolls and sliced deli meat, making perfect sandwiches to enjoy in the shade of the olive trees. I sat in a hammock, Amir in my lap, all three of us happily munching away.

Berry bliss

However, our adventure was not over yet. After we had paid for our berries and completed the journey back home, Bracha decided to make a blueberry pie. It was the perfect, and most decidedly sweet, way to end yet another family outing.

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Israel's Good Name

Israel's Good Name

Te’omim Cave

Lod Mosaic Centre

Berry Picking in the Shomron

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