Tag: Mediterranean

About 100 years ago, small pockets of Israel lay dormant and unused. The Galilee was a swampy marshland.The Judean Hills were rock-strewn. And the Negev’s desert landscape was largely inhospitable. To waves of Jewish immigrants from Russia,Eastern Europe, and beyond, these seemed the perfect places to start Utopian communities. 

The Jews who came to Israel during the First and Second Aliyahs wanted to be farmers. But they detested the class structures they had seen elsewhere. Instead, they wanted to create a community of equals. Their vision for communal settlements would not come easily: Most of the colonists came without any farming experience, and they learned quickly enough that this was an unwelcoming region that was often the target of hostile nomadic Bedouins.

They had to stick together. Living collectively in a commune-type environment provided the perfect security. Everyone contributed equally—with sweat equity, skills, and financial resources—to ensure the success of the group. Remarkably, these pioneers also received financial support from around the world as the Jewish National Fund, which was founded in 1901, placed “Blue Boxes” in Jewish communities everywhere; proceeds from the boxes helped to purchase land that came to belong to the entire Jewish population.

Settlers reclaimed the marshes and hills and desert, converting much of it for human development. They planted trees, drained swamps, and converted the soil into productive farmland. To encourage continued donations into those Blue Boxes, word got around about a miraculous transformation in Israel: “The desert,” so the gossip went, “was blooming.”

And that’s not all that was blooming. In a society where all were equal and free from exploitation, immense gratification and pride also blossomed. Throughout the 20^th century and into this century, the kibbutz movement has grown into a kind of farm co-operative where crops are harvested, chickens are raised, and cows are milked…much of it for shipment throughout Israel and beyond.

Into the 21^st Century

Our Israel, Ancient & Modern Culture trip features a two-night stay at the Pastoral Kfar Blum Kibbutz, founded in 1943. Like those before it, this kibbutz sits on land that was once barren, waterlogged, and inaccessible. Its original settlers were from the Baltic, England, the U.S., and Canada.

To stay in tune with the 21^st century, the 600-member community has recently privatized. Its farm spreads out over 1,225 acres, where 1,200 tons of fruit are harvested every year, including the famous red grapefruit beloved throughout Israel. Prize-winning cotton is also grown here, as are peaches and nectarines. Each year, the kibbutz ships 3.5 million liters of milk throughout the country.

Pastoral Kfar Blum also supports itself through Israel’s thriving travel industry. Its intimately styled hotel boasts everything from a restaurant and spa, convention hall and Olympic-sized swimming pool to a synagogue, schools, and a center for music and dance. One visit is all it takes to see the community spirit of the kibbutz is still very much alive here.

When you think of Israel, a vast treasure trove of historic and religious sights undoubtedly comes to mind. But this small country is home to some of the world’s most stunning natural beauty, the likes of which you won’t see anywhere else.

Here, quiet villages are tucked away in fertile valleys. Mountains rise from plains and rocky cliffs soar to the heavens. Starkly beautiful deserts are dotted with Bedouin tents. And serene lakes stretch out like small seas. Throughout Discovery Tours’ Israel, Ancient & Modern Culture trip, you can witness this magnificence firsthand.

The Road to Galilee

The rocky terrain of Galilee seems to stretch into eternity. Dappled in wide swathes of green and soaring to summits of up to 3,800 feet, it’s a breathtaking canvas adorned with streams and flower-laden fields. The climate of this fertile region supports a large variety of flora and wildlife. The Hula Valley Nature Reserve especially thrives with life, including many birds that stop here to rest from their migration between Africa and cooler climates to the north. In one of nature’s most spectacular displays, tens of thousands of cranes pass through here as they make their way from Finland to Ethiopia every winter.

In the west of Galilee on the Mediterranean Coast, white chalk cliffs spill into the sea. Over millennia, the crashing surf has carved a network of spectacular grottoes dimly lit by the sparkle of azure waters. These Rosh HaNikra caves, Hebrew for “head of the grottoes,” are a mysterious and magical place, a maze of subterranean passageways untouched by humankind for ages until divers began exploring them. Today, a cable car lowers you to the grotto entrance, and it is well worth a visit.

From sea level to mountaintop, Mount Bental rises in the eastern region of the Golan Heights. In Arabic, it is sometimes known as the “Mountain of Lust,” so it might not surprise you that it was once an active volcano. Now dormant—as are the other peaks of this mountain chain—it provides incredible views of the Golan Heights and the surrounding region. The volcanic soils have made this a fertile pocket of Israel. Farming communities, kibbutzim, and wineries dot the landscape, and Discovery Tours visits one of them—the delightfully welcoming Golan Heights Winery—to sample some of the local vintages.

The tranquil Sea of Galilee is the focal point of this beautiful region. Contrary to its name, it is a freshwater lake fed by underground springs and by the Jordan River from the north. Aside from its beauty, it has a lot to boast about. It is Israel’s largest and the world’s lowest freshwater lake. What’s more, it is the site of several miracles of Jesus. He is said to have walked on these fabled waters, and to have transformed five loaves and fishes into a feast for thousands here on these shores.

A Sea Full of Salt and a Massive Mesa

Unlike the Sea of Galilee, the Dead Sea is very much full of salt. So much salt, in fact, that it is impossible to sink in its waters. This is the lowest point of land on earth—1,315 feet below sea. This fascinating body of water is more than nine times as salty as the ocean, creating an environment that cannot support animals, hence its name.

But it is a geographic curiosity for a host of other reasons. With the Jordan River its only significant source of water and with no outlet, tiny springs have formed underneath its shore, resulting in pools and quicksand pits. Further, with so much salt and relatively little water, intriguingly shaped salt deposits form on the shores as water evaporates, from thick multi-layered blankets to tiny pearl-like pebbles, all of them sculpted over millennia. If you’re not completely smitten with the geology of the Dead Sea, then its buoyancy is sure to put a smile on your face. Merely step in, lie back, and relax to enjoy nature’s only flotation device.

Nearby, a giant rocky plateau rises from the Judean Desert. This is Masada, and its magnificent setting helped to shape history. So commanding are the views from atop this mesa—some of its cliffs are 1,300 feet high—Herod the Great built his fortress here just a few decades before Christ. Who can blame him? The vistas of the Dead Sea and the Negev Desert are spectacular. But not everything was serene and beautiful in Herod’s day. When the Roman Empire attacked at the end of the first Jewish-Roman War, 960 Jewish rebels are said to have thrown themselves off the cliffs rather than surrender to Rome.

We invite you to surrender to the natural beauty and irresistible allure of Israel.

Click here for trip details!