NATURE RESERVE. A few kilometers north, next to Kibbutz Ein Karmel, is the
Nahal Me'arot Nature Reserve, with prehistoric caves inhabited some 200,000
years ago. These caves are the only evidence in the world of Neanderthals and
Cro-Magnons living simultaneously. Experienced guides explain the significance
of the caves and can recommend or lead longer hikes in the surrounding area.
English tours and film available. (Bus #921 goes to the site fmm
Haifa (20mm. every 30min. NIS10) and from Tel Aviv (2hr„ every 30mm. NIS23.20). Get off at
Ein Carmel Junction and walk a few minutes south along the road until you see a sign indicating
the Nature Reserve. A few hundred meters east of the main mad is the entrance to the caves.
Open Su-Th 8:30am-4pm, F8:30am-3pm. NIS18, under 18 NIS9.)
BEIT SHE'ARIM OnjNP Л"»2 «04
Nineteen centuries ago, Beit She'arim functioned as the center of Jewish life, as
evidenced by the subterranean graveyard that houses the rich and famous of
ancient Israel. Following the Romans' destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, Juda-
ism's hub shifted to the Galilee, and Beit She'arim became a prominent Jewish
city. It once served as the gathering place for the Sanhedrin, which the Roman
Empire recognized in the 2nd century CE as the Supreme Rabbinical Council and
judicial authority over all of the world's Jews. Two hundred years later, when Jews
were barred from Jerusalem's Mount of Olives cemetery, Beit She'arim became
the site of a sacred Jewish burial ground. The flourishing city was burned down in
351 CE by Emperor Galus as part of his attempt to quash a Jewish rebellion. Since
1936, archaeologists have unearthed a labyrinth of some 20 caves, the walls of
which are lined with dozens of intricately adorned sarcophagi. According to
inscriptions found on the sarcophagi, many of the buried were brought from as far
away as Sidon, Tyre, Babylon, or Southern Arabia. Rabbi Yehuda Ha-Nassi, patri-
arch of the Sanhedrin, compiled the Mishnah in Beit She'arim (see Literature,
) and is among those buried in the catacombs. (Open daily Apr.-Sept.
8am-5pm, Oct-Маг. 8anr4pm. NIS14, children NIS6.)
GETTING THERE. Transportation to the site goes only to the access road. Many
buses from Haifa go near Beit She'arim, but buses #301 and 338 (20min. every
2umin. NIS11.50) are the most convenient. Ask the driver to stop at the Beit She'arim
archaeological site, not the moshav. From the bus stop, go to the far side of the grass
circle and continue down Izrael St After a 20min. walk, turn right at the T-intersection
and then right again at the fork. Continue past the unimpressive ruins of an ancient
synagogue and olive press as well as the steep road uphill on the left (which leads to a
statue of the first modern Jewish settler of the region, the foundations of an ancient
basilica, and a breathtaking view). Continue down the road as it hooks right to reach
the entrance to the catacombs.
Though perched on the western slopes of Mt. Carmel, 14 km. south of Haifa, Ein
Hod ("Spring of Grandeur") seems to reside in its own surrealist universe. Tin sol-
diers stand guard along winding, nameless streets, funky mobiles swing between
trees, and bronze nudes recline lazily against fences in this small artists' colony.
D A D A I S M Dadaism was an artistic movement founded in the 1920s that
sought to undermine established society through satire, parody, and non-sequiturs.
According to Hans Arp, cofounder of the Dada movement of Zurich, Dadaists "were
seeking an art that would heal mankind from the madness of the ages." What they
found was a style of cabaret performance that included simultaneous poetry reading,
feeding a stuffed teddy bear fluffy meringues, and actors shouting, "We demand the
right to piss on you in a variety of colors."