TIME FOR PART III

I have almost finished the space permissible (1024 MB) for 'Through the Land of Israel II'. With 986 posts and 2818 photographs, I am through with Part II of my blog. It took me exactly 250 days (8 months and 7 days) of blogging to reach here. Looks like in future I need to be a little careful while uploading photographs. Yes its time for me to start a new blog. "Through the land of Israel III" will be seeing the light soon. Follow the link http://www.lajupaulk3.blogspot.com/

HIKING THE JUDEAN HILLS (14th March, 2009)

Yet another hike from Midrasha and it was one of the best I had so far in Israel. The relatively easy routes engulfed with beautiful landscapes, supported by the pleasant spring weather, made the trip worth an experience. In brief, the 12 km stretch started from Ein Hemed (Aqua Bella) National Park and went through the Israeli-Arab villages of Ein Nakuba and Ein Raffa to the ruins of Tel Tzova. Had a nice view to the settlements near Jerusalem from an observation point of Tzova. From the ruins of Tel Tzova the trail took us via Ein Tzova to the ancient Sataf region. Taking a short break at the Ein Bikura spring of Sataf and hearing to the ancient agricultural methods practiced in Sataf, our next stop was at the spring of Ein Hindak. After having lunch at the green meadows of Ein Hindak, it was a steep hike to the twin springs of Ein Uzi and Ein Aminadav located above the modern village of Even Sapir. Our last halt was at Khirbet Se'adim. Due to lack of time and drizzling weather at late hours we rushed to the memorial Yad Kennedy and returned to Sede Boker.

Ein Hemed (Aqua Bella) National Park

One of the loveliest spots near Jerusalem, this beautifully landscaped park has large lawns for picnic and nature lovers. The secret of its greenery is attributed to the Kisalon spring that flows some 600 m through the park. Locals attribute magical power to its waters and orthodox Jews use the spring's water for religious purposes. The other interesting spot to visit is the large Crusader-period (12th cent) building which probably was a house on an agricultural farm. During Crusader periods, this place was called Aqua Bella or "beautiful water" and may be the reason why Arabs still call the area Khirbet Ikbala. It was not part of our schedule to visit the Ein Hemed National park. So all the snaps are taken from outside the park.

Here is link to a nice article on Aqua Bella
http://www.kalmanovitz.co.il/k_comm/english/Israel/Maps/Rezervations/EinHemed33/EinHemed_main.htm

Dont miss the park's official site
http://www.parks.org.il/ParksENG/company_card.php3?CNumber=420551

The Crusader (12th cent) farm house (3P and 4P).

My favourites from the hike

Ein Nakuba and Ein Rafa

These are two neighbouring Israeli-Arab villages located west of Jerusalem. Ein Nakuba has a population of around 1800 and Ein Rafa with 865. Ein Nakuba was established in 1962 by refugees from the village of Bayt Naqquba which is the current Jewish village of Beit Nekofa. However, Ein Rafa was founded earlier in the 1940s by Arab refugees from the nearby village of Suba. The houses you see here multi-storied compared to the relatively smaller Jewish homes in Israel. Interestingly, each individual housing complex belongs to a single family to accommodate the large joint family.