BET GOVRIN

Bet Govrin (or Guvrin) was the centre of the largest region in the land during the Roman occupation. That its citizens were affluent in the 3rd and 4th centuries can be seen from the scattered, ornate tombs they built and from mosaics of hunting scenes found in several houses. The mosaics are in the Israel Museum, Jerusalem. The many ruins here are from the Frankish settlement and castle, built to protect the kingdom from raiding Egyptians based in Ashqelon. Saladin destroyed the castle in 1191 to prevent the Christians from repossessing it.

Having turned right opposite the Crusader ruins, take the first tarred road left leading up to a parking lot. Walk a few metres down to the first of the enormous limestone caves, some 20 m. high. Their origin is uncertain but they may have been dug by Philistines to build their cities on the coastal strip. There are hundreds of these chalk-white and beige limestone caves dug below the surface of the earth in this region. In time they were used as churches. Notice the Byzantine and Crusader-order crosses carved on the walls. The inscriptions include ancient Hebrew and Greek as well as the inevitable scrawls of recent visitors.

The weird and wonderful shapes resemble basilicas, with the opened domed tops throwing in streams of sunlight.
Exiting from the parking lot, turn left, past the shell of the 12th-century Crusader Church of Saint Anna built on the ruins of a Byzantine church.

There is a rusted iron gate on the left. There are many more caves down here, near the gate, but they are not easily accessible and visitors should take care to keep to the rocks as the area is dotted with open holes that drop to great depths.

The most interesting caves here are immediately ahead of the gate. Stone steps lead down to three adjoining limestone caverns and the walls are moist with moss and lush with ferns. Note the steps circling the cave on the left and leading down to the bottom of what was obviously once a cistern.

Cross over to a tarred road leading within a few metres to a parking lot on your left. Immediately ahead, and seemingly covered by a bush, is the entrance to the famous Sidonian Tombs. The several dozen niches comprised the final resting place of a wealthy family from Sidon and have been dated to the 3rd century BCE. Walk now along the double-tracked path to what is popularly dubbed ``The Colonel's Tomb,'' in honour of the officer who was in charge of the region during British Mandate times and who saw that they were made accessible after their discovery. These tombs are identical to the Sidonian Tombs.

Back out of the ``tombed'' area, turn left, stopping opposite the summit of Tel Maresha. The panoramic view from here accounts for its strategic importance and it, too, was fortified by Rehoboam (2 Chronicles 11:8). It capitulated to Sennacherib after the fall of Lakhish. In 163 BCE Judah Maccabee took it but yielded it to the Syrians the following year. It reverted to Jewish control when the Hasmonean, John Hyrcanus, captured it in 125 BCE, forcibly converting its Idumaean population to Judaism to ensure their loyalty.

After Pompey's conquest of the Holy Land, Maresha became an autonomous city under a Roman pro-consul in Syria, but it was razed by the Parthians as Herod fled to safety across the Dead Sea in 40 BCE.

Return to the main road, turning left and almost immediately driving across Road No. 343. Turn right and pass Kibbutz Bet Nir on your left.

The vineyards and crops of Moshav Luzit open up. Take the gravel road on the right, directly opposite the kibbutz signpost. After some 300 m. you arrive at the entrance to even more wondrous limestone caves. Soaring as high as the previous caves, they are more enigmatic because parts of their walls are honeycombed with niches that no one has yet been able to find a reason for. Note the inscriptions and the Christian crosses, many of which are high up on the sun-illuminated walls.

Continue along the main road, turning right at Agur, passing densely wooded hills. Take the left turn to Sha'ar Hagai at the crossroad to Road No. 38.

Within minutes you will be in the biblical Valley of Elah. The partly denuded hill on your left is Tel Azekah where the Philistines grouped as they faced the wavering Israelites. It was in this valley that David came forward with his sling and a bag of stones and slew the giant Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1-5).

This is the valley where 35 men of the pre-State Haganah were ambushed by Arabs and slain to a man as they were on their way to help the besieged settlers at Gush Etzion on 16 January 1948 (see Route No. 2). There is a museum to French Jews who died in the Holocaust.

Continue straight on, past Kfar Zekharya, a village founded in 1950 by immigrants from Iraq and Kurdistan. The mosque is a leftover from the former Arab village. Stop up the hill, just past the village, for a look back at the marvellous beauty of the Elah Valley.

The terrain becomes very rocky and dotted with olive trees. A signpost directs you right up an accessible - but narrow - road to the Silesian monastery of Beit Jimal, founded in 1873. The monks teach Arab orphans and boys from impoverished homes. The white and red dry wines from the vineyards are very good and very cheap. When foundations were being dug for the church atop this peak, 5th-century mosaics, together with a cross and a tomb, were discovered. As a 5th-century priest wrote that he had found an urn here containing the remains of the 1st-century Jewish sage, Rabbi Gamliel, there is speculation that this may indeed have been his final resting place, although a large domed tomb at Yavne is also pointed out as the tomb of the rabbi. The small, open tomb may be seen near the crypt below the beautifully decorated church. The mosaics hang on the wall outside.

As these are the last hills before the plain it is possible, on a clear day, to see the power station chimneys at Ashdod and the Shalom Tower in Tel Aviv.

Continue past Bet Shemesh, a development town named after the ancient town where the Ark of the Lord once rested. (The ancient Tel Bet Shemesh is off the main road as you enter the town.) Nearby (crossing Bet Shemesh and passing Mahseya) is the Avshalom Stalactite Cave (see below). Cross the railway line and the small bridge after 3 km. you are at the Shimshon Junction turn left for Ramla (Road No. 44). The road to Jerusalem is straight ahead. Soreq Stalactite Cave: Avshalom Shoham Nature Reserve, Bet Shemesh (about 20 kms. southwest of Jerusalem, 2 kms. from Nes Harim). A 5,000-sq.-m. cave with a wide variety of stalactites and stalagmites, discovered by chance in 1968 and opened to the public in 1977. Special lighting brings out the incredible beauty of the mineral formations, which grow at the rate of about 0.2 millimetres per year. Open: Sun. - Thurs. and Sat.: 8.30 a.m. - 3.45 p.m. Fri. and eve of holidays 8.30 a.m. - 12.45 p.m. Enquiries on a postcard to Soreq Cave: 78 Yirmiyahu St. Jerusalem 94467. Tel. (02)9911117, 9915756. Fax. (02)9990215.

This is the Valley of Soreq, where Samson lived. The Bible mentions that Samson ``loved a woman in the valley of Soreq, whose name was Delilah'' (Judges 16:4).

Long before reaching Ramla you pass the wooded picnic sites at Eshtaol and Ta'Oz. Then there is the Mitzpe Harel observation tower next to Kibbutz Harel for a comprehensive view of the entire valley.

For a description of Ramla and the remainder of the journey to Tel Aviv see Route No. 5 in reverse.