Israel's Good Name

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University Trip: Wadi Dalia & Sartaba

In Israel, Jordan River Valley on February 26, 2019 at 9:01 AM

Following our trip to Nachal Rash’ash, the members of Dr Dvir Raviv’s field class on the geography, geology and archaeology of the Shomron reconvened for a second day in the field. This time we had two destinations: Wadi Dalia and the fortress-peaked mountain of Sartaba. Departing in the morning from Bar Ilan University, and picking up members along the way, our trip officially began at the western side of Kibbutz Gilgal in the Jordan River Valley.

Outside Kibbutz Gilgal

Immediately upon leaving the tour bus my eyes settled upon a curious pair of birds perched on a wire a dozen or so metres away: green bee-eaters. With the birding aspect of the trip starting off on such a high, birding-friend Adam and I were quite eager to see what we could find. Just a quick scan around the perimetre, while the first of the hikers started off, we managed to see a handful of birds, including a black kite, some Tristram’s starlings and a small flock of Spanish sparrows.

Little green bee-eater

We set off heading southwest, towards the low mountains and in the direction of Wadi Dalia, enjoying the warm air of the valley. Within fifteen minutes we reached the dry streambed of Wadi Dalia and settled down for the first of many field-lectures delivered that day by our guide, Dr Dvir Raviv. Given the necessary background information on the geographical geology, including the changes in bedrock formations from the valley to the mountains as the elevation climbs.

Wadi Dalia

From the wadi we climbed up, reaching a small plateau where we could see diagonal stripes of flint in the otherwise plain sand-coloured limestone. One of the party members found a deathstalker scorpion, the most venomous variety in Israel, and rushed over to show me. Lately I’ve been seeing more and more deathstalkers, even more than the more common species.

Lecturing on lush greenery

We climbed higher, following the trail marked in red and white paint, and saw where the recent rains washed new life into the sand-coloured slopes. With the gentle sprinkling of green came the wildflowers and, throughout the day, we saw several different species, including yellow star-of-Bethlehem and dark grape hyacinth. Although unrelated, we saw more and more black kites until the estimated count reached into the hundreds.

A swirling of black kites

The view around us became increasingly glorious as we climbed, the jagged cliff edges and the green-dusted slopes combining to make a contrastingly beautiful scene. Before long we reached a small Bedouin enclosure, with a series of caves, and sat down to hear more about one particular cave with dozens of goats milling about around us. It was then, seated in the mostly-dry streambed, that we saw a very impressive sight.

Blissful clouds

As we were listening to Dvir a large shape appeared overhead, crossing over us from the cover of the nearby cliff. Everyone looked up, and multiple voices called out at me, including Adam who was watching it approach through his binoculars. I looked up as well, and saw a large bird of prey. A mere second or two passed before I turned my camera back on, removed the lens cap and began zooming in for a photograph. I knew that I’d only get one shot, and that it would be preferable to get clarity over closeness, so I shot at a mere 260mm (instead of the potential 2000mm) and got what I got. Behold, a majestic golden eagle:

Golden eagle flyby

Amazed with what we saw, Adam and I were on birding-high and decided that we’d be more alert as we walked this arid mountain terrain. Sure enough, a few common ravens passed by overhead, as well as some more ever-present black kites. An hour later, continuing along the trail, we found a small-spotted lizard hiding among the rocks.

Small-spotted lizard peeking out

Thus we continued, hiking and hiking some more as we traversed Wadi Dalia, making our way back downhill and towards the waiting bus. It was on that home stretch that we saw hundreds of black kites, swarming in large groups over the many slopes around us. Back in the bus, we were driven to a rest stop area for lunch, where Adam and I feasted on rolls, hummus and more, and then off to the final destination of the day: Sartaba, also known as Alexandrium.

The steep climb to Sartaba

I had once attempted to visit Sartaba, a Hasmonean fortress atop a conical peak, but got confused with the access roads and abandoned the notion. So, approaching the distinct mountain gave me a feeling of long-awaited excitement, as might be expected. But, we were not to just drive to Sartaba, there was a steep mountain path to climb, and the bus was going to drop us off at the foot of it, near an empty army outpost.

Looking back mid-climb

We disembarked at the base of the trail and were immediately shocked by how cold and windy it was. Dvir gave us a few words of encouragement, including something about not getting stuck atop the mountain after dark, and then we set off. It was a steep climb, of that we were roughly prepared, but it was the incessant howling cold wind that really threw us for a loop.

An ancient coin

About halfway up we reached a small cave near an ancient water reservoir which provided rudimentary shelter from the wind as the stragglers rejoined the group. From there we looped around the northern side of the slope near the peak and then climbed the last bit from the western side.

Standing atop the fortress ruins

Impressive ruins of a large fortress greeted us, the finely-cut ashlars stacked majestically. We spread about as we all explored the ruined fortress, looking around and taking photos. Just to summarise the fortress’ identity, Sartaba was originally built by the Hasmoneans and then restored by Herod approximately two hundred years later. The fortress was then destroyed during the Great Revolt by the Romans, and has been largely abandoned since.

Exploring Sartaba

With the sun setting over the nearby mountains we gathered around Dvir to hear a short explanation on the site. We examined the work of the different archaeological excavations that had taken place over the years, and then over to the “Hearts Palace”, named such due to the number of heart-shaped columns.

Heart-shaped column

Hoping to get back to the bus before nightfall, we made our way back down the slope, which proved quite difficult at first. The strong winds, coupled with the incline’s loose gravel, made the first few paces quite challenging. Eventually we reached the regular trail and made our way down the slope at a brisk pace.

Slip-sliding our way back down

Before long we were back in our tour bus and driving back to Bar Ilan University, bringing an end to a very interesting field trip.

University Trip: Nachal Rash’ash

In Israel, Samaria on January 27, 2019 at 9:16 AM

One month ago, in mid-December of last year, I participated in an adventurous field trip with fellows from Bar Ilan University. This particular trip was the first part of a field class on a range of fields including Geology, Geography and Archaeology, led by Dr Dvir Raviv. Knowing that his trips are always a great success, I signed up eagerly and I was not disappointed. The day began at Kida, where we enjoyed a lookout over the Arab village of Duma and the eastern Shomron, learning about the geography and topography in our view. One curiosity, which only became apparent once our guide pointed it out, was a soccer field delineated by field stones, nearly indistinguishable from the nearby agricultural terraces.

View from the Kida lookout

Returning to our tour bus, we were driven to our next destination, Khirbet Jib’it and its extensive ruins. Starting from the east, we climbed the gentle hill to the top and took in both the characteristic Shomron landscape, and the sprawling ruins of crude ashlars. Crested larks frolicked in the nearby patch of ploughed land, and a lone black redstart hopped from rock to rock as we learned about the site and the archaeological advancements made over the years.

Khirbet Jib’it ruins

We continued on to the more ruins slightly to the north and gazed down at the Roman era hiding complex that we couldn’t enter due to safety and insurance reasons. Scattered around the area were many potsherds, some of them painted and dated to more recent Muslim periods (Mamluk and Ottoman). One fine sherd was nicely glazed and believed to belong to the Crusader period – which interested me greatly. And then there’s this large piece that’s either dated to the Crusader or Mamluk period:

Crusader/Mamluk pottery

Our last stop at Khirbet Jib’it was to the Byzantine church on the northwest corner of the site’s main hill. There, among the local Bedouin sheep, we found some of the church ruins as well as a bit of a newly exposed mosaic. A short walk downhill on the ancient road took us to our waiting bus and then onto the next site.

Exposed mosaic

Pulling over at the side of the road some twenty minutes later, our bus dropped us off near an obscure archaeological site called Khirbet el-Marajim. After a five minute walk, and we were at the outskirts of the site, one of the sharp-eyed members of the class picked something off the ground: a rock with a trigonia fossil.

Trigonia fossil

Within minutes we were gathered around the main attraction of el-Marajim: a large excavated pool with a partially collapsed tower from an earlier period in one corner. Nearly hidden, yet plainly in sight, are the entrances to an underground hiding complex from the Roman era. A quick look at those, and some explanation on the site and we were off to the next part of the trip.

Pool at the waterfall

We hiked down from Khirbet el-Marajim towards the nearby wadi, through the characteristic Shomron terrain and towards the stream that bears the name of this post. It only took fifteen or so minutes before we entered a very different area – from the terraced green slopes to the boulders of the streambed.

Deep gorge of Nachal Rash’ash

We stood at the dry waterfall, where just a large pool of cold water remained from the seasonal rains, and surveyed the land before us. A deep canyon opened up, revealing what would be Nachal Rash’ash, and the two sides reached up higher than before. Several black kites soared overhead relatively low, perhaps hoping that one of us would fall into the ravine and become their next meal.

Black kites circling overhead

But, alas (for the carrion-eaters), none of us slipped and we set out on the trail, progressing along the somewhat muddy southern slope. While the hike felt slightly treacherous, the views were breathtaking and our quick pace kept us rightfully occupied. A half hour later we took a break, sitting down beside the freshwater spring of Ein Rash’ash. We broke for lunch and ate in peace, celebrating the glorious mountain view that sprawled out before us.

View from Ein Rash’ash

There were a handful of birds around us, including the ever-patrolling black kites, a few noisy Tristram’s starlings, a blue rock thrush or two and a lone Syrian woodpecker that perched relatively close-by. Suddenly Adam, who was periodically scanning the horizon with his 10×42 binoculars, cried out and pointed to one of the slopes in the direction of the Jordan River Valley. What followed next was a series of photographs taken at a great distance of a large bird of prey perched on the rocky slope hundreds of metres away.

Golden eagle far, far away

We had found a very first golden eagle, a relatively rare bird in Israel, and there was much rejoicing. It was nearly the end of 2018 and definitely a most welcome sighting to finish off the year. In 2017, I had spotted a white-tailed eagle in the Hula Valley mid-December, so now I just wonder what next big eagle I’ll see in December on 2019. After our lunch break we got back up and continued hiking along the southern slope, learning about the geology and geomorphology of the region as we got closer and closer to the Jordan River Valley. Eventually reaching a ridge, we hiked like kings, the vast land stretched out around us nearly devoid of human presence.

Einot Pazael aqueduct

After the ridge came the slope and we found ourselves entering the valley at Einot Pazael, where springs and a slow, gurgling brook can be enjoyed. When we gathered around the brook, tea was prepared and snacks passed around, for the sun was setting over the mountainous region we’d just hiked and we were all a tad cold and in need of nourishment. A great grey shrike came by to watch us, calling noisily from a nearby jujube tree, as we wolfed down pretzels, crackers and cookies.

Dr Dvir Raviv and a potsherd

When we were done there it was just a short walk to the bus and then the long drive back to Bar Ilan University, bringing the first day of the field class to an end. The second day, scheduled for mid-January, took place in Wadi Dalia and Sartaba and shall be written about posthaste (or something like that).