Bordering Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, Israel, or Palestine as it was before 1948, has been plagued by invaders since at least 1250BC, when Moses first led the Jews back from Egypt. Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, European Crusaders, Ottomans and finally the British in 1917 have occupied all or part of this area of 22,000 square kilometres, 12,000 of which comprise the Negev desert in the south.
Against such a history of volatility, the Kibbutz culture, still very much present in the Galilee, evolved with a view to engineering stability, in particular for Jews emigrating to Israel after the Holocaust. The favourable climate of the Galilee, with its fertile soil and constant sunshine, allowed a different type of community to thrive, the Moshavim. Unlike a Kibbutz a Moshav is usually individually owned, but workers use the profits from the crops and produce they make to sustain themselves. Farmers can cultivate three crops a year on the same patch of soil, as the heat speeds growth and soil recovery.
The banks of the Galilee are awash with dates, mangoes, pomegranates, vines, bananas and olives and the abundance of the land has attracted a new kind of visitor. Agricultural eco-tourists come to volunteer on the many Moshavim and experience the superb array of wildlife at close quarters.
There is no better place to experience this than the Hula Valley and Nature Reserve in the Upper Galilee. This was once an important refuelling stop for birds migrating from Europe to Africa in winter, but a large amount of its important aquatic habitat was destroyed in the early years of the state of Israel, when the government decided to drain 60 square kilometres to create arable land.
Nature-lovers and scientists campaigned to save at least a fragment of the lake, but today only 3.2 square kilometres remain. Gradually the birds are returning and in the late autumn this is the place to see cormorants, herons, pelicans storks and cranes. If you’re lucky, you might even spot one of the elusive water buffalo roaming the reserve.
For a more active involvement in this spectacular landscape you can engage in one of the adventure sports for which the Galilee region is famed. As well as skiing and horse-riding, mountain-biking has become hugely popular, and to mark the sixtieth anniversary of Israel, the Jewish National Fund has constructed a 130-kilometre bike track connecting Jersusalem and Tel Aviv.
What a great and descriptive story. Love the whole website.