Hiking Emek Elah or Elah Valley (7th February, 2009).

"1 Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle, and were gathered together at Shochoh, which belongeth to Judah, and pitched between Shochoh and Azekah, in Ephesdammim. 2 And Saul and the men of Israel were gathered together, and pitched by the valley of Elah, and set the battle in array against the Philistines. 3 And the Philistines stood on a mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side: and there was a valley between them" (I Samuel 17: 1-3); this is how the Holy Bible introduces the legendary battle between David and Goliath.

Here are we standing on the top of Tel Sochoh and looking towards Tel Azekah and the Valley of Elah in between; the beautiful valley could have appeared to Philistines exactly the same way to us, as nothing much has changed in the topography of this region. One could still see the brook/spring in the valley from where David picked up the stones to kill Goliath. The brook is visible only if you are approaching the valley from Azekah and not Sochoh. Elah valley is not only Biblical but also a very panoramic and scenic area to tour. The hiking route passed through many ancient settlements and had some unique flora to offer. Although, the whole stretch was 11 km long, the pleasant weather and nature at its best made our journey much more enjoyable. More details later....