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Galilee - is a large region in northern
Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North
District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper
Galilee, Lower Galilee, and Western Galilee, extending from Dan
to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon
to the ridges of Mount Carmel and Mount Gilboa to the south, and
from the Jordan Rift Valley to the east across the plains of the
Jezreel Valley and Acre to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea
and the Coastal Plain in the west.
Most of Galilee consists of rocky terrain, at heights of between
500 and 700 metres. There are several high mountains including
Mount Tabor and Mount Meron in the region, which have relatively
low temperatures and high rainfall. As a result of this climate,
flora and wildlife thrive in the region, while many birds
annually migrate from colder climates to Africa and back through
the Hula–Jordan corridor. The streams and waterfalls, the latter
mainly in Upper Galilee, along with vast fields of greenery and
colourful wildflowers, as well as numerous towns of biblical
importance, make the region a popular tourist destination.
Due to its high rainfall (900–1200 mm), mild temperatures and
high mountains (Mount Meron's elevation is 1,000–1,208 metres),
the upper Galilee region contains some unique flora and fauna:
prickly juniper (Juniperus oxycedrus), Lebanese cedar (Cedrus
libani), which grows in a small grove on Mount Meron, cyclamens,
paeonias and Rhododendron ponticum which sometimes appears on
Meron.
According to the Bible, Solomon rewarded Hiram I for certain
services by giving him the gift of an upland plain among the
mountains of Naphtali. Hiram called it "the land of Cabul". The
region takes its name from the Hebrew galil, "district",
"circle", a noun which, in the construct state, requires a
genitival noun. Hence the Biblical "Galilee of the Nations",
Hebrew"galil goyim"(Isaiah 9:1). The "nations" would have been
the foreigners who came to settle there, or who had been
forcibly deported there. The region in turn gave the English
name "Sea of Galilee" to the Kinneret (Numbers 34:11, etc.),
from Hebrew kinnor, "harp", describing its shape, Lake of
Gennesaret (Luke 5:1, etc.), from Ginosar (Hebrew) ge", valley",
and either netser, "branch", or natsor, "to guard", "to watch"
(the name which may have given that of Nazareth, and Sea of
Tiberias (John 6:1, etc.), from the town of Tiberias at its
southwestern end; named for the first century A.D. emperor
Tiberias.
Safed - is a city in the Northern District of Israel. Located at
an elevation of 900 metres (2,953 ft), Safed is the highest city
in the Galilee and of Israel. Due to its high elevation, Safed
experiences warm summers and cold, often snowy, winters. Since
the sixteenth century, Safed has been considered one of
Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Hebron and
Tiberias; since that time, the city has remained a center of
Kabbalah, also known as Jewish mysticism. Due to its beautiful
setting surrounded by pine forests and its mild climate, Safed
has become a summer holiday resort frequented by Israelis and
foreign visitors alike. |
