A land with a view: Visit these scenic Israeli overlooks featuring audio guides
Scattered throughout the country’s mountains and hills are hundreds of lookout points with histories both modern and ancient. Here are just a few of them
Soon after publishing an article about Christian institutions in Jerusalem whose rooftops and belfries offer magnificent views, we received a letter from a reader. “Great piece,” she wrote. “But you forgot to write about the splendid view from Nebi Samuel!”
We knew what she meant, for when the first Crusaders to enter the Holy Land gazed at Jerusalem from Nebi Samuel, the traditional tomb of the biblical prophet, they were profoundly moved. So much so that, with tears streaming down their faces, they kneeled in awe and thanked the Lord for allowing them to see such a glorious sight.
From the Nebi Samuel complex, located slightly west of Jerusalem, there is, indeed, a beautiful view. But scattered throughout the country are hundreds of actual lookout points, wonderful, free sites often made accessible by the Keren Kayemet LeIsrael – Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF).
Most of the overlooks are dedicated to fallen soldiers or to victims of terrorist attacks. And a great number of them, like the lookouts described below, feature masbiranim — audio guides that provide visitors with excellent English explanations about the sites and their histories, as well as describe the view.
Here are but a few spectacular views featuring English audio guides.
Malkiya Overlook
In April of 1948, a month before leaving Palestine, the British handed their military post south of the Arab village of Malkiya to the local residents. Fearing that the Lebanese army would enter the Galilee from precisely that direction during the looming War of Independence, Israel’s nascent military force, the Haganah, decided to preempt its assault and to capture Malkiya.
Israel managed a first successful conquest on May 15, just after the new state was declared, but the Lebanese army immediately counter-attacked. Israel suffered heavy losses and its soldiers were forced to retreat. Two weeks later, camouflaged as a supply convoy and traveling with no lights, an Israeli unit moved towards Malkiya. At the same time, a second force performed a diversionary attack on the Arab village. Israeli forces surprised the Arabs and conquered the village, but it was retaken by the Lebanese army on June 6.
Malkiya was finally captured during the Hiram campaign on October 30, 1948, when Israel unexpectedly attacked from the south. In March 1949, a handful of demobilized soldiers established a settlement at the site of the village, which had been emptied of its inhabitants. The lookout above the settlement, featuring large monuments to fallen soldiers, offers a great view of the Kadesh Valley, the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon.
Mount Bental Volcanic Park
Not long after Israel won the Six Day War in 1967, the army built an overlook on top of the volcanic Mount Bental. Over 1,160 meters (roughly 3,800 feet) high and delightfully serene, the mountaintop position was manned for over a decade and afterward abandoned. In the 1990s, members of nearby Kibbutz Merom Golan, aided by the KKL-JNF, cleaned up the bunkers and prepared the site for visitors.
Youngsters can climb through trenches while their parents get an amazing glimpse deep into Syria, Lebanon and the whole of northern Israel. The view includes a sight of Merom Golan, the first kibbutz to be established on the Golan Heights after the Six Day War.
Originally situated in the central Golan Heights, Merom Golan relocated a few months later to the deserted Syrian town of Kuneitra, and in 1972 finally moved to permanent quarters inside Mount Bental’s volcanic crater. In the beginning, the kibbutz quarried tuff (a volcanic rock), raised farm animals and grew apples. But lately they have been expanding their agricultural ventures including, but not limited to, truffles which are dug out and picked by specially trained dogs. Tourists are not forgotten either, and the kibbutz operates a beautiful resort village and the well-known Bokrim (cowboys) meat restaurant.
Shamir Overlook
Eran Shamir could have been any bright, earnest Israeli teenager, enthusiastic about his country. During a year of pre-army service as a guide at the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel Field School in the Golan Heights, he demonstrated an affinity for every rock, flower, tree and animal in the Holy Land. He knew the entire Bible by heart. And when he talked about 2,000 years of battles on the Golan Heights — from Gamla to the Yom Kippur War — he filled his listeners with pride. We were among them, on a family trip in 1993. After getting to know Eran, it came as no surprise to learn that he volunteered for the Paratroopers’ Brigade in the Israeli army, served in a commando unit, and had become an officer.
Eran was tragically killed in Lebanon on May 15, 1997. A stunning memorial to Eran and to his father Dubi, who fell in action exactly 20 years before his son, stands along the Jewish National Fund’s Gilboa Scenic Route (Road 667) and overlooks the Beit Shean Valley.
Cpt. Eran Shamir is remembered, as well, on the Eran Ascent in the Golan settlement of Keshet. The view on the ascent and at the peak is outstanding.
Hila Lookout
In a freak accident, on April 18, 2012, Lt. Hila Bezaleli was crushed to death by a lighting iron rig. It happened during preparations for the annual Independence Day ceremonies. She lies at final rest only a few hundred meters (yards) from where the catastrophe occurred.
Born and raised in the town of Mevaseret in the Jerusalem hills, Bezaleli was an exceptionally generous young woman, with a permanent smile and endless curiosity, who volunteered in a food distribution organization and initiated a summer camp for children from poor families. Within the framework of the Young Maccabee organization, she was sent to India to teach first aid. Her drive to save lives also led her to volunteer for Magen David Adom (Israel’s field emergency services) from the age of 14. The list of Bezaleli’s contributions to Israeli society is endless. Her very name — Hila, meaning “aura” — was a perfect fit, for she spread love and compassion everywhere she went.
Hila Lookout features a beautiful playground and a lovely path. Visitors have a good view of the entrance to Jerusalem, the ancient road taken to the Holy Temple. You can also see the neighborhood surrounding Mevaseret, called Rehes Halilim (Ridge of Flutes) and Har Hamenuhot — the largest cemetery in Jerusalem. Above the cemetery, at the very entrance to the city, stands the Bridge of Strings with its ever-changing colors.
Naphtali Mountains and Liran Overlook
For some of the most striking views in Israel, take a drive through the Kiryat Shmona forest atop the Naftali Mountain Ridge. Looking left, you have a wonderful view of the Golan Heights. Their green-coated slopes tower over the sparkling Hula Valley below, while the glistening, snow-covered Mount Hermon peeks through the trees. To the right, for most of the ride, are the imposing slopes of the Naphtali Mountain Range.
The six-kilometer-long (3.7-mile) scenic route that you are traveling was developed by the KKL-JNF at the beginning of the 21st century. About half of the forest is rich with natural terebinth and oak trees, and flaming yellow Spanish broom. But those beautiful stone pines, drop-shaped trees with furry tops and long trunks, were planted by the KKL-JNF.
One of the stops along the route is a lookout dedicated to the memory of First Sergeant Liran Saadia. Born in Kiryat Shmona and a liason officer in the army’s Egoz reconnaissance unit, he fell in battle during the Second Lebanon War in July of 2006. Enjoy the sight of the town where Saadia was born and raised, and follow the path leading to the scenic lookout to explore a selection of his wonderful sketches.
Kiryat Shmona suffered greatly from Katyusha rockets during the Second Lebanon War (summer of 2006). Look below for a pine tree that suffered a direct hit, and the rocket that is still stuck in the ground.
Tel Azekah Lookout
One viewpoint that as yet has no audio guide is found at Tel Azekah, located in the area at which David fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17:1) Visitors to the tel won’t even find signs, or paths of the kind that are found in most of our national parks. That’s because excavations only began in 2012, far later than other archeological digs in Israel. The reason for the delay, according to Oded Lipschits, professor of Biblical history and archeology at Tel Aviv University, was what he calls the Tel Azeka legend.
Back when he was just beginning his archeological career, says Lipschits, students were told that excavating this particular tel would be a waste of time. It seems that at the very end of the 19th century, two English archeologists were granted permission by the ruling Turks to excavate four tels in the lowlands of the Land of Israel.
Their first attempt was at Tel Azeka, occupied from around 3,000 BCE by the Canaanites, later as part of Judea, destroyed first by the Assyrian army in 701 BCE and later by the Babylonian army in 586 BCE.
Modern excavation methods, of course, had not yet been invented and the two were ignorant of techniques that would determine population levels, date pottery, and make any other conclusions about its history. They dug very deep tunnels on the tel and all around its acropolis, and soon left for the next site.
Lipschits heads the modern excavations, which have continued every summer for the last 12 years. Even before they began, the KKL-JNF had planted trees on the slopes of the tel, built a picnic ground, and constructed a lookout at the top of the tel (accessible by stone steps). Since Tel Azekah is located high above sea level in the Judean lowlands, there is a lovely view from the lookout in all directions (although trees block much of the view towards the Mediterranean Sea).
Adventurous visitors can walk around the tel’s seven areas of excavation, where a wealth of discoveries includes hiding caves from the Bar Kochba revolt (132-135), and findings all the way back to the Early Bronze Age (the 3rd Millennium BCE). Time your visit for spring, when the tel will be bursting with wildflowers.
This article is adapted in part from chapters in Aviva Bar-Am’s book, “Israel’s Northern Landscapes: Guide to the Golan Heights, Eastern Galilee and Lake Kinneret.” A special thanks to Masbiran Koli — Marla Van Meter and Avi Zeira — for use of material from their audio guides.
