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Hidden Treasures in Ancient Beit-She'an
| Article
# : |
11057 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
11 / 1993 |
2,746 Words |
| Author
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Varda Avnisan
Varda Avnisan writes stories and children's books. |
It was a two-hour drive from Jerusalem to Beit She'an via the Jordan Valley, and I chose to leave at first light to avoid the heat that usually builds through the day over this region. The road descends steeply, leaving the newer neighborhoods of Jerusalem and old Arab villages behind before entering the rolling hills of the Judean desert. I continued down until I reached a junction at the floor of the Jordan Valley; the road straight ahead went to the Jordan River and the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, and I turned north toward Jericho.
Despite the early hour, the road was humming with traffic going in the opposite direction. Mercedes taxis and trucks overfilled with produce made their ascent toward Jerusalem. Bedouin children, already up and about, were shepherding flocks toward patches of green on the distant hills. Their tent dwellings were clustered near the road, with pickup trucks parked in front and television antennas projecting to the sky. Otherwise the landscape was devoid of modern allusions.
The bleached hills and the stark wilderness reminded me of the biblical landscape--desolate, untamed, and magnificent, bringing to mind numerous stories and legends. The sun, rising above the mountains of Moab in neighboring Jordan, and casting mysterious shadows across the badlands, only intensified this feeling. In these mountains rises the peak of Mount Nebo, where Moses, after leading the Israelites out of Egypt, viewed the Promised Land he was not allowed to enter.
I passed through Jericho, situated in a lush green, fertile oasis fed by underground springs. I continued through the center of the town, observing merchants sifting on rattan stools, smoking water pipes and sipping their morning coffee, beckoning me to stop and sample the colorful local produce. The landscape becomes drier and barely inhabited as the road continues north and changes only at the fertile Beit She'an Valley.
ENTERING BEIT SHE'AN
The short path leading to the excavations of ancient Beit She'an was shaded by a scented grove of pine and eucalyptus trees, and the air was filled with their fragrance. A group of tourists who walked ahead clogged the way as they listened to their guide, whose voice was desperately trying to compete with the clamor of hammers, chisels, tractors, and earth-moving equipment coming from the opposite direction.
Though this was
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