Beit Guvrin is a national park in Israel. It contains flowers, caves, hikes, an old town and more. Bet Guvrin was in many periods and had changes made to it following that. hjhjhj

Geography

Flowers

Beit Guvrin is famous for its flowers and has a vast collection of anemones- a perennial herb. Its leaves grow from the base and can be simple, compound, or attached with a leaf stalk. In Beit Guvrin anemones can be found in many colors: red, pink, purple, blue, white, orange, and more. While walking around the park you will also see: primroses, marigold, asphodel, and more.

Climate

Bet Guvrin has a temperate climate typical of central Israel: warm in the spring and hot in the summer; cool in the fall and fairly cold in the winter. While hiking there in the summer, you might get hot but the caves are cool. Bet Guvrin's caves are good to visit year round but Beit Guvrin is best to visit when it's flowers are blooming.

History

Beit Guvrin was mentioned as a town in many parts of history: the Arabian period, the Hellenistic period, the Christian Era, and the Bible.

Arabian period

Most of the caves found in Beit Guvrin were dug during the Arabian period.

The Arabian period was the Period between the 7th and 10th century. It had 3 caliphs: Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid. In the start of the arabian period was the first time in a 500 years that Jews were granted permission to come to Palestine"The City of Liberty" or "Eleutheropolis" is what Roman Emperor Septimius Severus called Beit Guvrin.

Hellenistic period

The Hellenistic period began at 323 BC with the death of Alexander the Great. The Hellenistic culture was mixed with other cultures Alexander conquered- in them was Israel/ Palestine. The Hellenistic period ended with start of the Christian Era in 146 BC. During the Hellenistic period the people living in Beit Guvrin habitually interred their dead in niches within gabled burial cave.

Roman Empire

see'Roman Empire--------- "The City of Liberty" or "Eleutheropolis" is what Roman Emperor Septimius Severus called Beit Guvrin. Archeologists have uncovered many findings in this ancient Roman city. Among them is an amphitheater- the most obvious example of Roman culture. The Roman Empire started right after the Roman Civilization.The Jews were hostile to the new regime, and the following years witnessed frequent insurrections. A last attempt to restore the former glory of the Hasmonean dynasty was made by Mattathias Antigonus, whose defeat and death brought Hasmonean rule to an end, and the land became a province of the Roman Empire. In 37 BCE, Herod, a son-in-law of Hyrcanus II, was appointed King of Judea by the Romans. Granted almost unlimited autonomy in the country's internal affairs, he became one of the most powerful monarchs in the eastern part of the Roman Empire. Herod didn't succeed to win the trust and support of his Jewish subjects. Ten years after Herod's death in 4 BC, Judea came under direct Roman administration. Growing anger against increased Roman suppression of Jewish life resulted in sporadic violence which escalated into a full-scale revolt in 66 CE. Superior Roman forces led by Titus were finally victorious, razing Jerusalem to the ground in 70 CE, destroing the second temple, and defeating the last Jewish outpost at Masada. The caves near Beit Guvrin were used by the rebels.

Biblical times

Beit Guvrin was mentioned as a town in the Bible. Jewish history began about 4,000 years ago- the Biblical Times (17th century BC)- with the patriarchs-Abraham, his son Isaac and grandson Jacob. Documents unearthed in Mesopotamia, dating back to 2000-1500 B.C.E., corroborate aspects of their nomadic way of life as described in the Bible. The Book of Genesis relates how Abraham was summoned from Ur of the Chaldeans to Canaan to bring about the formation of a people with belief in the One God. When a famine spread through Canaan, Jacob, his twelve sons and their families settled in Egypt, where their descendants were reduced to slavery and pressed into forced labor. After 400 years of bondage, the Israelites were led to freedom by Moses who, according to the biblical narrative, was chosen by God to take his people out of Egypt and back to the Land of Israel promised to their forefathers. They wandered for 40 years in the Sinai desert, where they were forged into a nation and received the Torah, which included the Ten Commandments and gave form and content to their monotheistic faith. The exodus from Egypt (c.1300 B.C.E.) left an indelible imprint on the national memory of the Jewish people and became a universal symbol of liberty and freedom.

Popular Features

Caves

Sidonian Burial Caves

The Sidonian burial caves were the family tomb of Apollophanes, the leader of the Sidonian community in Beit Guvrin. The "Sidonian caves" are the only ones that are painted inside. The caves were burial caves for the Greek, Sidonian and Edumite inhabitants of Beit Guvrin. The first and biggest cave has paintings of animals, real and mythic, above the niches where the corpses were laid. Some of the depicted animals could only be found in Egypt so the painter must have traveled there.The animals sometimes have a symbolic function. For instance the cock crows to scare away demons. The three-headed dog Cerberus guards the entrance to the underworld. A bright red eagle on the sarcophaguses is a phoenix which is reborn from a ritual fire and symbolizes the life after death. The inscription above the dog Cerberus is in Greek and is scribbled by two lovers who were separated by an arranged marriage. The second Sidonian cave, the "Tomb of the Musicians" is smaller but has a beautiful painting of a man blowing a flute and a woman playing a harp. Presumably they accompanied the dead with sweet music to their afterlife.

Bell Caves

If you’ve conjured up an image of a dark, dank place, through which you may even have to crawl to reach, think again. The Bell Cave at Beit Guvrin doesn’t fit this image at all. Its walls are made of beige colored limestone, it is large (over 60 feet high), airy and is easily accessible. It is also a very unique place to hold a special event. While there are numerous bell caves within the park grounds, events are only held in one of these caves. It is one of about 800 bell-shaped caves located in the area. Many of these caves are linked via an underground network of passageways that connect groups of 40-50 caves. The bell caves were dug during the Arabian Period. They were dug for chalk to cover the roads.

Saint Anne's church

Saint Anne's church was built in the Byzantine period and restored by the Crusaders in the 12th century. The Arabic name for the church is Sandahanna. The church has three big windows and its apse is well preserved.

Amphitheater

The remains of a Roman amphitheater at Beit Guvrin were uncovered in the mid-1990s. The amphitheater was built in the 2nd century, on the northwestern outskirts of the then city of Beit Guvrin. This amphitheater, in which gladiatorial contests took place, could seat about 3,500 spectators. It had a walled arena of packed earth, with subterranean galleries. The arena was surrounded by a series of connected barrel vaults, which formed a long, circular corridor and supported the stone seats above it; staircases led from the outside and from the circular corridor to the tribunes It was built for the Roman troops stationed in the region after the suppression of the Bar Kochba rebellion. The Amphitheater is an elliptical structure, built of large, rectangularlimestone ashlars. It was in use until destroyed by earthquake in 363. It is located in the national park of Beit Guvrin, has been partially restored and is open to the public

Useful Information

Average length of visit: 1-5 hours, good to visit year round but best when flowers are in bloom, also available at the site : Snack bar; caves appropriate for hosting events, hours the site is open: April-September: 8:00-17:00 October-March: 8:00-16:00, telephone number: (07) 681-1020 or (07) 681-2957, fax number: (07) 681-2957, admission fee: Individual: adults NIS 23, children NIS 12 Groups: adults NIS 19, children NIS 11, no dogs are aloud in the park.

Maresha

Maresha is part of the Israeli national park of Beit Guvrin. Maresha was one of the cities of Judah during the time of the First Temple. The earliest written record of Maresha was as a city in ancient Judah. After the destruction of the First Temple the city of Maresha became part of the Edomite kingdom. In the late Persian period a Sidonian community settled in Maresha, and the city is mentioned in the Zenon Papyri (259 BC). During the Hasmonean wars Maresha was a base for attacks against Judea and eventually suffered retaliation from the Maccabees. After John Hyrcanus the first captured and destroyed Maresha in 113 BC the region of Idumea remained under Hasmonean control. In 40 BC the Parthians devastated completely the "strong city", after which it was never rebuilt. Maresha was first excavated in 1900 by Bliss and Macalister, who uncovered a planned and fortified Hellenistic city encircled by a town wall with towers. Two Hellenistic and one Israelite strata were identified by them on the mound. Many of the ancient city's olive presses, columbariums and water cisterns can still be seen. Furthermore, Archaeological Seminars, under the license of the Israel Antiquities Authority, conducts excavations of Maresha's many quarried systems and invites visitors to participate. Maresha is also a Hebrew name for boys meaning hilltop or summit.

References

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