Caves of Arbela: the ultimate hiding place
Even Herod could not vanquish the guerrilla cave dwellers that lodged in these extremely steep cliffs atop a very deep valley.
March 27, 2013, 2:11 am
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Forty-five years after my first
climb up Mount Arbel, I tried it again this week. How beautiful it is
during this almost-spring season, filled with brilliantly red anemones,
tall asphodels and the pink and white blossoms of the Maltese cross. And
although I huffed and puffed quite a bit, ending up with legs that were
wobbly and stiff for one or two days, it felt pretty good to know that I
still had it in me!
Maltese Cross, Arbel, Feb. 2013 (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)
Mount
Arbel, just north of Tiberias, is a stunning site that oozes with Jewish
history. In fact, well over 2,000 years ago it was filled with Jews!
They lived on the mountain in two different kinds of housing: One group
resided in dwellings on the mountain top and the others occupied natural
caves that had been gouged out of the limestone by rainwater over many
millennia. Their town was called Arbela.
Arbela’s
cave dwellers built ritual baths and water cisterns, and enlarged the
caves in order to make their homes more comfortable. And at different
times over the course of Israel’s turbulent history, the caves were
fortified and connected with an internal staircase.
In 161
B.C.E., Greek commander Bacchides passed through Arbela on his way to
battle Judah Maccabee in Jerusalem. Most of the townspeople rose up
against the Greek army and were slaughtered, with only a few able to
flee.
Arbela’s
Jews found themselves in the midst of battle again more than a century
later, after the Romans appointed Herod absolute ruler over Israel.
Resistance to the move was fierce, especially in the Galilee, and Herod
took violent steps to consolidate his position.
Mount Arbel (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)
Yet
although he fought and defeated most of the opposition, Herod could not
vanquish the guerrilla cave dwellers of Arbela. In fact, his troops
found it impossible to reach the caves, which were well-fortified, and
situated within extremely steep cliffs atop a very deep valley. Herod’s
soldiers only gained entrance after being lowered in chests,
precariously, from the top of the cliffs. Most of the people inside the
caves were soon killed by the Roman soldiers. Those who survived
preferred death to captivity and jumped into the riverbed below —
exactly as thousands of Jews would do a few decades later, when the
Romans attacked the town of Gamla, during the Great Revolt.
The Great
Revolt between Jews and Romans began in the Galilee, in the year 66. In
an attempt to protect the people of Arbela, Galilee commander Yoseph ben
Matityahu added walls and other fortifications to the town’s caves: “Moreover, he built walls about the caves near the lake of Gennesar, which places lay in the Lower Galilee.”(Wars of the Jews).
The historian who wrote these words was Matityahu himself: he surrendered to the Romans during the revolt, renamed himself Josephus Flavius, and authored several extremely important books that, among other subjects, document Jewish history.
Cows on Mount Arbel (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)
Some of
the caves are three stories high, and what look like holes from the
outside are actually rooms grouped together. Looking out from inside the
caves makes it possible to fully understand the strategic advantages of
their topographical position.
Most of
the existing fortifications and structural improvements are from the
early Ottoman period of rule in Israel. However there is no dispute that
they were built on top of Hasmonean and Roman-era structures.
Josephus’s Roman-era walls blend in gracefully with the environment.
Mount
Arbel and its historic cliffs were once free and open to all comers, any
time of day or night. On my first trip, I ascended the slopes from the
Arab village of Hamam, at the bottom, made my way to the caves, climbed
the rocks up to the top, and then reversed the whole process.
Today the
site belongs to the National Parks and Nature Reserves Authority, with
restrooms, an entrance fee, and far sturdier handholds and grips for
climbing up and down the rocks than the rickety ones of the past. So
this last time, together with my better half, we drove all the way up
the mountain on an excellent road, parked in a lot, and then followed an
easy trail to the lookout.
Arbel Valley (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)
Standing
here, 181 meters above (Mediterranean) sea level and 381 meters higher
than the Kinneret, the view is panoramic. Directly below the slopes are
the Arbel Valley, Hamam, and the town of Migdal.
On a clear
day there is a magnificent view of Safed nestled in the hills almost
directly to the north and, even when it is hazy, it is possible to make
out a dome-topped structure on the slopes to the southwest. This is Nebi
Shueib, a holy site to the Druze. Above Nebi Shueb stands the volcanic
mountain called Karnei Hittin where, on July 4, 1187, Saladin and his
Moslem troops routed the Crusaders in a decisive battle.
Mount Arbel carob overlook (photo credit: Shmuel Bar-Am)
Directly
east, the Kinneret is filled to the brim following this winter’s blessed
rains. On its shores, slightly northeast, lie the green fields and
orchards of Kibbutz Ginnosar.
The
kibbutz’s most famous member was probably Yigal Allon, a charismatic
leader of the Palmach and Israeli foreign Minister in the 1970s. When
visiting VIP’s came to see Allon at the kibbutz, they often found him
wearing an apron and washing dishes in the communal kitchen!
Further to
the north, on the shores of the lake, stand Kfar Nahum, Tabha and other
sites of religious and historic importance to Christian pilgrims. The
pumping station for our National Water Carrier is also located on these
banks. A few years before the Six-Day War, the Syrians tried to torpedo
the project by diverting the sources of the Jordan River into a canal on
the Golan Heights — then part of Syria. The Golan Heights are across
the water, towering above the lake. And, to the north, stands a
glistening, snow-covered Mount Hermon.
If you would like directions for taking this wonderful hike, now or in the future, please contact us by email at israeltravels@gmail.com.
Caution: do not try this after it rains because the rocks will be slippery and the paths full of mud.
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Aviva Bar-Am is the author of seven English-language guides to Israel.
Shmuel Bar-Am is a licensed tour guide who provides private, customized tours in Israel for individuals, families and small groups.
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