Category Archives: Nature

Cities of Decapolis in Israel: Ruins of Hippos & Bet She’an

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If you are interested in Rome and 2,000 year old history and archaeology then take a tour of the two Roman Decapolis cities in Israel: Sussita or ancient Hippos (both words mean horse) a mixed city of Jews, Christians and pagans sitting on a hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee, the areas of Jesus’ ministry and Beit Shean, ancient Scythopolis but a city that goes back in time much farther, more than 18 layers of occupation from the late Neolithic period (fifth millennium BCE) through medieval times. Both cities were “stopped in their tracks” in 749CE by a massive area earthquake that destroyed both cities and froze them in time (think Pompei). The cities of the Decapolis minted their own coins, enjoyed Roman military protection, and celebrated a lifestyle focused on public baths, theater, philosophy, and Greek pagan worship. If you love walking through colonnaded Roman streets, exploring massive amphitheaters, and diving into ancient history, these two travel highlights belong on your bucket list.

Sussita (Hippos)

Located on a flat-topped diamon-shaped mountain to the east of the Sea of Galilee, this site was a prominent member of the Decapolis. It offers a slightly more rugged, archaeological hiking experience with stunning views.

  • 🌊 The Vibe: A dramatic, wind-swept archaeological site overlooking the water, far away from the heavy tourist crowds.
  • 🐎 What to See:
    • The Decumanus Maximus: The main east-west basalt-paved colonnaded street stretching across the mountain crest that leads to a small a small Roman theater or Odeon
    • The Forum and Hellenistic Temple: The civic heart of the city where citizens worshipped and conducted trade.
    • Byzantine Churches: Remarkable ruins of 7 early Christian churches featuring surviving floor mosaics.
    • The Water system based on an aquaduct that brought water 25km from Nahal El Al – learn the technology that got the water up to the city
  • 📜 New Testament Context: Because Hippos was perched so prominently on a hill, many scholars believe it was the visual inspiration behind Jesus’s famous Sermon on the Mount metaphor: “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.”

Because these were primarily Gentile areas, Jesus famously traveled here to minister—most notably exorcising demons from man in nearby Kursi and transferring the demons to a herd of pigs that stampeded down the slope into the lake and drowned.

Beit She’an (Scythopolis)

Located at the strategic intersection of the Jordan River Valley and Jezreel Valley, it bridged Mediterranean trade routes to Transjordan and was the single largest, most powerful, and only member of the Decapolis located west of the Jordan River.

  • 🏛️ The Vibe: An ancient Roman metropolis showcase of luxury, advanced civil engineering, and public entertainment.
  • 🎭 What to See:
    • The Roman Theater: A beautifully preserved, 7,000-seat theater that still hosts modern performances.
    • Palladius Street: A breathtaking, marble-paved colonnaded thoroughfare lined with ancient shops and intricate mosaics and the columns were discovered exactly where they fell during the earthquake.
    • The Roman Bathhouse: A massive complex complete with underfloor heating systems (hypocausts) where citizens socialized.
  • 📜 Biblical Context: Long before the Romans, this was where the Philistines hung the body of King Saul. It reached its golden architectural heights under Rome, before a catastrophic earthquake completely leveled the city in 749 CE.

Pro-Tip for your Itinerary: If your travel plans allow, consider crossing into neighboring Jordan, which also holds a number of Decapolis cities, perhaps the most famous and best-preserved is Gerasa , modern Jerash, which is just a 1-hour drive across the border from Israel and an absolute must-see for Roman history enthusiasts.

Coastline series

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Just when we think maybe we’re beating Covid-19 and life and tourism may return to a new normal we get hit with an oil disaster along the whole length of Israel’s Mediterranean coastline. https://www.timesofisrael.com/tarred-and-shuttered…/

Here is a reminder of how things should be.

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This is the latest addition to Coastline (set of 12 so 2 more to go), coast at Dor with the remains of the harbor and a mock-up (courtesy Kuala) of how it might look on the wall.

In addition to the Coastline series as a 12-piece limited edition boxed set (US$1500) the photographs are available individually (in 2 sizes, 36x45cm US$125 and 46x70cm US$250). To order Contact me.

Text and photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns

Through the Lens, Dead Sea

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Israel consists of a very broad range of geography: coast, desert, mountains, forests, in a very small area making it a great photo location for those interested in nature and landscape. The Dead Sea is an incredible and unique place to photograph, at the lowest point on earth, part of the Great African Rift valley, in the crack in the earth’s crust created when Asia and Africa were torn apart five million years ago.

If you’re into photography and want to make that part of your Israel experience you need a guide who is also a photographer. I am delighted to announce that I am offering personalized photography tours of Israel (along with tours focussed on history, archaeology, religion and more), to enable you to get the photographs you’re looking for.

Here are some of my photographs from a photoshoot that I did with clients starting at sunrise at the Dead Sea.

 

Here’s what the clients said:

We got some amazing sunrise photos at the Dead Sea, we hiked through canyons and got lots of cool shots there, then Shmuel found some unique salt formations back at the Dead Sea. We captured some great photos of sinkholes.

To sum it up this was the highlight of our 17 day trip to Israel. Shmuel delivered beyond our greatest expectations.

One shot, two ways

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When you’re taking photographs and looking for the best shot you have a choice of whether to shoot the scene in landscape (horizontally) or portrait (vertically). When looking at landscape photographs you usually expect the scene to be horizontal. Sometimes a vertical shot gives a very different view.

I was driving down to the Dead Sea to take clients for a hike in Nahal Arugot to the Hidden Waterfall and we were talking about desert, water and sinkholes. Since they were also interested in photography I decided we should stop to explore and photograph some sinkholes I’d seen near the checkpoint.

Sinkhole at Dead Sea, Israel

Sinkhole at Dead Sea, Israel

I took the same shot, two ways. Photographs were taken on November 2, 2017 with a Nikon 5300 DSLR camera with 18-200mm zoom lens. Technical details – ISO 250,  F11, 1/500 sec, the horizontal photo, 24mm, the vertical one 20mm.

If you’re interested in having a guide who also knows where to take you for some great photographs contact me.

Photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns (unless marked otherwise).

Photo of the Week – Makhtesh exit

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The Hebrew word makhtesh is the word used for a geological formation that is unique to this area, formed when a river hollows out a mountain. This photo was shot from inside and shows the rim of the makhtesh where the river exits the mountain and the colored sandstone. The panorama shows more of the makhtesh but to really experience it you need to go the Negev.

makhtesh-exit

The technical details – the photo above was taken with a Nikon 5300 digital SLR camera in February 2016 (ISO 400, 44mm, F11 at 1/400 sec). The panorama below shows more of the expanse of the makhtesh and was taken with my iPhone 6s, the exit is the dip on the left. I’ve printed this image as a large (40x150cm), high-quality inkjet print.

makpan-smaller

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Photographs on this website are © Shmuel Browns (unless marked otherwise) – if you are interested in buying or using one of my photos for your own project please contact me.

Yam l’yam: Start at Achziv

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Last week I walked yam l’yam again, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sea of Galilee. In 3 days you actually walk across the width of the country (that’s how small Israel is). Each day is a great hike but together the 3 days are more than the sum of their parts, enabling you to experience a cross-section of the Galilee. Each day hike is different, challenging in its own way, with varying topography, vegetation and accompanying history. I invite you to consider this amazing hike on your next visit to Israel.

For a more complete description (with photos) of the hike, see my post from last year at https://israel-tourguide.info/2015/12/21/yam-lyam-hiking-sea-to-sea-3-days/.

Here are the introductory lines of Naomi Shemer’s poem Night at Achziv beach.

The wind and the darkness and the water
Remember from yesterday night your steps
The froth that erased your footprints
Knows that you were here alone

I was up just after 4am and took these photos of the sea and sky before morning light at Achziv.

First shot

Early morn

When light broke I shot some photos of the beach.

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