Gan Ha-Nadiv
Gan Ha-Nadiv is one of the most beautiful private places in Israel. I will
not tell you here about Rothchild and his tomb. You can find that in all
the books. What will be told here is about unknown places, and I hope you'll
like them.
In the southern edge of the Carmel, in a beautiful shadowed wood, there is
a large area with many attractions. It all belongs to the Rothchild family
(as far as I know), and this is the one of the main reasons for the warm
recomendation.
Ein-Tzur - Hirbat E'lek
A beautiful spring with a colombarium cave, an open and closed tunnel (Nikba),
and a nice pool in the end. Near it there's a wonderful Roman Bath House
(Beit Merhatz...), and it's perfectly restored (in comparison to public
restorations..). Near the spring, a little north on the hill, there's a half
ruined fortress from the times of the Second Temple (Bait Sheni). This place
is called E'lek, with no resemblance to the original name, which is not known.
The fortress has been dug in the last years by Hugey-Sayarut of Haifa, kids
aged 12-18 (some of them I know..). It seems that the place was abandoned
about 70ac, just with the Romans geting near by. It was an organized escape,
which didn't leave any valuables in site. It seems that the habitants
of the town and fortress were not full of enthusiasm to fight against
the Romans, or they decided to join the fighters in the Galilee - in Yodfat
or Yafia'.
Mantzur el-A'keb
In the most southern edge of the Carmel, with a wonderful view to all four
winds of the sky, there's an interesting house. It was a very jewish (small
Mikveh..) farmhouse in the Second Temple, and after that in the Bizantine
period also. It is perfectly restored, and signs with useful comments are
spread in all the interesting places. The farmhouse was abandoned in the
same period as H. E'lek, and possibly for the same reasons.
How to get there:
Drive to Zichron, follow the signs to Gan-Ha-Nadiv, on the way to Binyamina,
and follow the maps in the area. There are signs all the way to the fortress,
spring and farmhouse.
Where to eat:
In Zichron.
Map & Picture:
Will be supplied in the future. If you need details, don't hesitate to call
me.
Have a nice trip.