Nature
Tiyul in the Sharon National Park Thursday 19 February, 2009
Half Day Tiyul
Our guide Sharona Liman will take us on an easy walk through the lovely nature
reserve behind Kibbutz Shefayim. From the cliff we will have awesome views of
the coastline from Hadera to Jaffa. White broom will be in bloom, spreading its
scent and we will admire the beautiful purple iris, the coastal iris which also
blooms in Netanya. The trail is sandy, but not difficult, and less than one
kilometer long. If we are lucky we might see traces of the gazelles that inhabit
the area - at the very least, their footprints.
Sharona will tell us about the
preservation of nature along the Coastal Plain and we will hear about the "Kurkar"
on which we will be walking. This is a unique geological rock found exclusively
along the coast of Israel and Lebanon, and, consequently it has no other
scientific name.
On
a rocky cliff overlooking the sea near Herzliya we will visit the archeological
ruins of Apollonia. Thre first settlers of Apollonia were the Phoenicians, and
it was inhabited up to the time of the Crusaders by all the peoples who ruled
the land (Greeks, Romans etc). They in turn were thrown out by the Mamelukes
under Bybars the Sultan who destroyed Apollonia. It was never rebuilt but in
order that there should be a constant Muslim presence in the area, they built
the mosque of Sidna Ali. It is the grave of Ali ibn Ali, and has an incredible
view of the sea.
Early Bird: NIS 95 After 22/2/2009 NIS 105 Depart Kikar:
8.00 am Return: 2.00 pm
A
Different Arava
When the Little Prince reached the desert he thought:
"What a queer planet! It is altogether dry, harsh and forbidding. And the people
have no imagination....."
On our tour of the
Negev and Eilat mountains we will try to prove the Little Prince was wrong.
We
will see how people through the ages have used imagination to overcome the
dryness and harsh living conditions. We will visit the ancient sites of a
Nabatean farm and a biblical and Roman road station.
Modern settlers from Mitzpe Ramon, Neot Smadar, Ketura and Chatzeva will tell us
how they have coped and even flourished in the desert. Animals also have their
struggles for survival and we will learn about that at the Eilat birding station
and the antelope farm.
Join us and enjoy the wonderful sights and splendid colors of art and nature of
the Arava.
