NAZARETH (Isranet) — Northern Israel is still waiting to be discovered.
Over the past three years the Ministry of Tourism has invested more than $400,000 in marketing the Galilee under a project called “Go Galilee.” Apart from promoting the traditional tourist attractions, the ministry has also tried to include some of the more unusual destinations that could be combined with a holiday in the north.
To support this millennium-inspired project, nine new hotels have been built or are near completion.
A short distance north from Nazareth is the ancient city of Zippori. Here some of the most beautiful mosaics in the Middle East have been discovered, bringing to life the stories and traditions that are recorded in the Mishnah and the early years of first millennium.
Alongside the present day village of Hosha’aya, across the hill from Zippori, Menachem Goldberg has established an unusual biblical village.
Known as Kfar Kedem, the village shows how people worked the land and kept their animals in biblical times.
“Bible stories take on a new meaning,” Goldberg said recently. “Here you can see exactly what is meant in the texts concerning everything from biblical commandments relating to the growing and preparation of food to how you should give food to the poor man in the community. It’s more than an experience here — you actually touch the past.”
Visitors to Kfar Kedem are each given a biblical four-cornered garment to wear plus a traditional headscarf. It is not difficult to enter into a bygone era as Goldberg, or one of his guides, explains the different aspects of village life.
The visitor can also partake of traditional foods inside a large shepherd’s tent.
“I started this project about 10 years ago,” Goldberg said. “It was for me a dream and I came here with a view to establishing good contacts between the three main religions in the area: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
“Ten years ago the government was trying to encourage Israelis to settle in the north instead of the overcrowded center of the country and this idea appealed to me. I think visitors to Kfar Kedem have both a spiritual and a physical experience in one place”
About 30,000 tourists visit Kfar Kedem each year — half are Israelis and half foreign tourists.