ISRAEL TOURISM
March 2024
site includes remains of an agricultural settlement dating back to the Hellenistic period, with ruins of houses and burial and hiding caves. It’s also famous for its pyramid. Admittedly, at just 10 meters (32.8 feet) wide and 3.5 meters (11.4 feet) high, it is much more modest than the pyramids of Egypt. But, just like the pyramids there, the Madras pyramid is part of a magnificent burial system. It was a memorial to the people buried under it, based on the concept that the pyramid-like structure served as a dwelling place for the souls of the dead. 9 The bulbous field in Nahal Tzin Around the world there are places where hundreds or thousands of giant stones are scattered and no one knows how they got there. There is a similar phenomenon in Israel – the bulbous field in Nahal Tzin. In this large field at the foot
who was angry with the sinners, turned their heads into stone, so that they would see and be seen. 10 Har Karkom | Mount Karkom Many mysteries have been associated with Mount Karkom, which lies in the southwestern Negev close to the border with Egypt. A significant part of the mystery is associated with the many rock paintings found here — over 40,000 images and signs, including paintings of animals and portraits of everyday scenes such as hunting or prayer and even a painting that some believe depicts the Tablets of the Covenant. This image, along with other findings, led to theories that Karkom is the biblical Mount Sinai, although this concept does not enjoy a consensus among archeologists. In addition to rock paintings, over a thousand archeological sites were found on the
mountain, whose geological age is estimated at 40 million years, from the Paleolithic period to the Ottoman period, which indicates a sequence of human settlement in the place. Many of the sites found are burial and cult sites. In recent years, the aura of mystery around the mountain has grown thanks to an unusual phenomenon that occurs there in December, around the shortest day of the year: starting at noon, a halo of light emerges from the edge of one of the caves on the side of the mountain, which looks like fire breaking out of the rock. The phenomenon, nicknamed “the burning bush,” actually has an explanation: At this time of the year, the sun is at its lowest angle in front of the Earth. When the sun’s rays hit the interior of one of the caves on the side of the mountain, the cave wall reflects the light rays and creates the effect of yellow-orange light emanating from the cave.
Har Karkom
allows for easy carving. In the Judean Lowlands there are thousands of caves and pits dug for various purposes — cisterns, cloth houses, warehouses and more. Many of these caves were later converted to hideouts. The complex and important hideaways in the area were apparently set up by members of Bar Kokhba’s army in preparation for the Bar Kokhba rebellion (132-135 CE) against Roman rule. Today, about 300 such cave systems are known in the Judean Lowlands and the Galilee. The caves are usually characterized by wide spaces with narrow openings, which are connected by narrow and low caves. Some speculate that the Romans located the ventilation openings of the caves and blew in smoke, which forced the rebels to come out and surrender. 8 The pyramid in the ruins of Madras Another site famous for its concealment system is the Madras ruins in the Adullam Grove Nature Reserve. The
of Mount Tzin – a flat-top mountain in the Negev
Kidane Mehret Church, Jerusalem
Desert — thousands of round (bulbous) limestone rocks up to 50 centimeters in diameter are densely scattered. This is the only place in Israel with such a large concentration of limestone bulbous rocks. Fossils of creatures such as fish and oysters were found in many of them. How were these rocks created? Bedouin residents of the area say that the biblical story of Sodom and Gomorrah happened here, and that God,
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