ROUTE No. 13 (The hills of Carmel) Haifa - ``Little Switzerland''
- Isfiya - Daliyat el-Carmel - Mukhraka - Nesher - Haifa
ROUTE No. 14 (Western
Galilee) Haifa - Akko - Nahariyya - Rosh Haniqra - Peqi'in - Yehiam - Haifa
ROUTE No. 15 (The Bet HaKerem Valley and Galilee) Haifa - Akko - Meron - Zefat (Safed)
ROUTE No. 16 (Across the Lower Galilee) Haifa - Bet She'arim - Nazareth
- Zippori - Kafr Cana - Tiberias
ROUTE No. 13
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The hills of Carmel
Haifa - ``Little Switzerland'' (7km.) - Isfiya (13 km.) - Daliyat el-Carmel (16
km.) - Mukhraka (21 km.) - Nesher (41km.) - Haifa (44 km.) (Road Nos. 672,
721.)
(Distances in brackets refer to start of route.)
No time limit can be set on this outing as you may wish to spend between a few
hours and a full day motoring into the many shaded picnic spots and observation
points atop the Carmel range. Assuming that you start the route just after Gan
Ha'em in the Central Carmel, drive uphill along Sderot Moriah, past villas and
flats with individual character. Follow the bends of this wide thoroughfare
into Rehov Horev which passes through the suburb of Ahuza.
It then leads straight into Derekh Abba Khoushy (Road No.
672), where the sea soon comes into view on the right hand side. If you intend
visiting the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, turn left into Rehov
Dr. Biram just before the Sonol gas station on your left. Dr. Biram leads into
Rehov International. Then turn right into Rehov Borochov, right into Rehov
Malal and arrive at the gates of this scientific centre.
The Haifa University campus is along Derekh Abba Khoushy.
And once more, along this stretch, you pass by many luxurious villas. Just before
the turn-off to the Nesher Cement Works, and immediately in front of the tall
radio antenna, there are two roads leading right. The first of these leads to
some of the most scenic views on the Carmel, in an area justifiably dubbed
``Little Switzerland.'' Here you can soak in all the virgin purity of the
Carmel woods. The road weaves and turns, offering many choice picnic sites.
The second turn right off the main road leads to a picnic
area complete with log tables and benches. At a point 2 km. past the Nesher
turn-off, the road (No. 721) forks right to Kibbutz Bet Oren and its popular
Guest House. It also offers horse-riding facilities and a restaurant.
If you want to visit the artists' village at En Hod (see
Route No. 12), take the left fork on the way to Bet Oren, pass the ancient
Roman quarry, and 5 km. later you are at the bottom of the Carmel where a
signpost directs you (left, and, after a km., left again) to the village close
by.
From the turn-off to Bet Oren it is only 4 km. to the first
of all the Druze villages, Isfiya. The road is narrow and full of potholes.
Many centuries ago there was a village populated by Jews at
this site but it was destroyed by the Crusaders. It is easy to see why people
have always yearned to live here. Isfiya overlooks the Jezreel Valley from a
height that provides a bird's-eye view of the terrain. The Druze (see
``Communities'') are renowned for their warm hospitality, and if you stop to
ask one of these villagers for directions you may be invited into his home for some
Turkish coffee.
Drive on for 3 km. to the second Druze village on the
mountain, Daliyat el-Carmel. This resembles Isfiya in nearly every respect
except that the main street has a number of shops selling Druze handicrafts.
These include straw baskets, chairs and tables, multi-coloured carpets and
jewellery. Friday is the day of rest and all shops are closed.
The road travels up and over the hilly region and 2 km.
later forks left to Muhraka. There is a parking lot 3 km. further on, at the
top of the mountain.
Muhraka, or Keren Carmel, is believed to be the site on Mt.
Carmel where Elijah the Prophet triumphed over the prophets of Baal, only to
incur the wrath of Jezebel (1 Kings 18:20-46, 19:1-3). The Carmelite Monastery
of St. Elijah, built in 1883, is located here, 482 m. above sea level. There is
a magnificent view of the Jezreel Valley and the area around Mt. Carmel from
the roof of the monastery. Open: daily 8 - 1.30 p.m., 2.30 - 5 p.m. Entrance
Fee. Return to the main road (No. 672) and backtrack as far as the turn-off to
the Nesher Cement Works to the right.
When you drive down this winding road it is advisable to
change into low gear as the descent is steep.
At various points along the road you will drive under the
giant metal cups being hauled by pulley up and down Mt. Carmel, from the
quarries to the Nesher plant below. This route back to Haifa also provides
superlative views of the Zebulun Valley and the bay area. From Nesher it is a
few minutes' drive back to Haifa, through its southeastern suburbs on Road No.
75.
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ROUTE No. 14
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Western Galilee
Haifa - Akko (24 km.) - Nahariyya (34 km.) - Rosh Haniqra (44 km.) - Peqi'in
(107 km.) - Yehiam (124 km.) - Haifa 176 km.) (Road Nos. 4, 899, 864, 89, 70,
85, 8833.)
(Distances in brackets refer to start of route.)
This route circles the western section of the Galilee and is considered by many
to be the most beautiful part of Israel.
There are afforestation and land reclamation schemes in this
mountainous region. There are also throw backs to history, with Crusader
castles and vine-clustered villages inhabited by Jews, Moslems and Druze. It is
a day-long trip.
Getting out of Haifa on the road to Akko is quick and
trouble-free. Drive onto Derekh Ha'atzmaut - the road along which stands the
fortress-like Dagon Silo. Then drive southeast (on Road No. 75) to the large
junction Tzomet HaQeriyot with a signpost pointing left for Akko (Road No. 4).
Very soon you cross the Kishon River, where Barak defeated
the Canaanites in the time of Deborah the Prophetess (Judges 4:12-13). The road
to Akko is dull from a tourist's point of view as it is hemmed in by industrial
premises and uninspiring blocks of flats. There is no chance to see the
graceful curve of the Haifa Bay area or to appreciate the fertility of the Zebulun
Valley through which you are driving. But the return part of the trip affords
countless opportunities for such views from higher ground.
Pass by Kfar Masaryk (15 km. from the junction), a kibbutz
founded by Czech immigrants and named after the first president of that
country.
Akko comes into focus when you drive near some very tall and
slender palm trees. The oblong shape of the Turkish Khan el-Umdan streaks above
the skyline. Fork left for the Old City of Akko.
AKKO (ACRE)
NAHARIYYA
ROSH HANIQRA
PEQI'IN
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ROUTE No. 15
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The Bet HaKerem Valley and Galilee
Haifa - Akko (24 km.) - Meron (68 km.) - Zefat (Safed) (75 km.) (Road Nos. 4,
85, 89, 866.)
(Distances in brackets refer to start of route.)
The principal feature of this route is the Bet HaKerem Valley that separates
the hills of the Lower Galilee from the mountains of the Upper Galilee, many of
which top 1,000 m. above sea level. These are just the right kind of scenic
wonders to put you in an elevated frame of mind for the ancient synagogues that
await you at the end of the journey.
Follow Route No. 14 as far as Akko (on Road No. 4) and then
notice the signpost directing you right (east) to Zefat (Road No. 85). The
fields of sunflowers and other crops are a welcome relief from the industrial
plants choking the road to Akko.
Wooded hills keep track of the road on the left but peter
out into stony, forbidding heights around the villages of Madj el-Kurum, Bina,
and Deir el-Asad. However, these villages retain their charm with vineyards and
olive groves.
This is the heart of the Bet HaKerem Valley where the town
of Karmiel received its first residents in 1964. Half the population of 40,000
are immigrants, with many hailing from North America. Karmiel's uniformly
designed flats contrast glaringly with the pastoral surroundings. The Karmiel
Dance Festival is a popular attraction every July, and lasts for five days,
attracting performers from all over the world.
The road climbs sharply some 7 km. after Karmiel and passes
by the pleasant sight of red-tiled bungalows, gently tucked among orchards at
Shazor. Pass by the Druze villages of Beit-Jann and Rama and then drive through
a gigantic olive grove where time seems to have wrapped itself around the
gnarled tree trunks. At the next fork, turn left onto Road No. 866. Kibbutz
Parod is on the right, and immediately after it, adjacent to the roadside cafe,
is the natural spring named after Israel's second president, Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. A
grim-looking fort, built by the British during the 1936 flare-up between Arabs
and Jews, overlooks Moshav Shefer. Round the corner and pull over at the Mitzpe
Hayamim (Seaview) observation point. From here the Sea of Galilee can be seen
clearly, far below. The area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of
Galilee (which are both visible from here) is backed by the Carmel and the
Lower Galilee hills.
It is now only a few kilometres of winding, mountainous road
to Meron. On entering, turn left to the tomb of Rabbi Shimon Bar-Yochai and the
nearby traditional burial places of Rabbi Hillel and other sages. Two ancient
synagogues are also located nearby. For a full description of Meron's
attractions and the route to Zefat (7 km. eastwards on Road No. 89) see Route
No. 20.
ROUTE No. 16
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Across the Lower Galilee
Haifa - Bet She'arim (15 km.) - Nazareth (34 km.) - Zippori (37 km.) - Kafr
Cana (47 km.) - Tiberias (70 km.) (Road Nos. 75, 722, 79, 754, 77.)
(Distances in brackets refer to start of route.)
A morning is sufficient for this trip but you should make sure that you arrive
in Nazareth in time to see the main Christian shrines that are normally closed
between noon and 2 p.m.
Drive north towards Derekh Ha'atzmaut and keep going east on
Road No. 75, avoiding the left turn-off to Akko. The Nesher Cement Works that
belch plumes of polluting smoke below the northeastern face of Mt. Carmel are
some 3 km. later. Kibbutz Yagur, where the British authorities detained many
people after the Haganah's central arms cache was discovered here, is 3 km.
past Nesher. Here you turn right and immediately left for Qiryat Tiv'on.
The road courses past the charming resort of Qiryat Tiv'on,
set between the flat plains of the Jezreel and Zebulun Valleys. The houses,
hotels and pensions are set amid cool forests of oak and pine and many young
travellers make their Galilee base in Tiv'on's Youth Hostel. The Bedouin
housing project of Basmat Tab'un (about 4 km. to the northeast) is an
interesting place to drive through. The turn-off to Bet She'arim (Road No. 722)
is on the eastern outskirts of the settlement. Turn right off the main road,
right again and follow the road signs down the cypress-lined road to the
National Parks site.