Hamalachim - Shahariya Forest

Hamalachim - Shahariya Forest is located 4 km east of Kiryat Gat, a city in the Southern District of Israel. The forest was named after the Shahariya transit camp, which was established in 1956 slightly west of where the forest was planted. Residents of the transit camp started planting the forest on the initiative of the KKL-JNF (Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael - Jewish National Fund) in the same year. The Jewish community of Los Angeles raised funds for the project, and in honour of their contribution, the northern part of the forest was named Hamalachim Forest, which means the Angels Forest, true to the meaning of the city's name in Spanish - City of Angels. More recent development of the forest has been made possible because of friends of the KKL-JNF in the USA, Australia and Germany.

Along with picnic tables and playground facilities, the forest offers many hidden treasures including oil presses, wine presses and an ancient kiln, but on the day Mister Handmade in Israel and I visited, it was the carpets of rakefot, or Persian cyclamen, that we were searching for. They were not hard to find! The rounded hills and gentle slopes of the forest were absolutely covered with the blushing pink and white flowers. It was truly a sight to behold!
According to one of numerous fables, King Solomon, the king of Israel who built the first Temple in Jerusalem, wore a beautiful crown decorated with delicate cyclamen blossoms. Hundreds of years later, when the First Temple was destroyed, and the Jews were exiled to Babylon, they took with them the royal crown. The cyclamens that bedecked the crown were devastated by the tragedy and bent their heads in sorrow. And that is why, even today, cyclamen flowers bow their heads.
Of course, you may prefer the botanical explanation: The cyclamen's humble blossom protects its pollen from getting drenched in the rain.
Cyclamen are blessed with other natural defences as well: The undersides of their heart-shaped leaves are often purple, a colour that heats the leaves and helps keep cyclamen warm during freezing winter days.

We followed a trail through the forest, soon finding ourselves at the Keroa ruins, above. The Hebrew name retains the sound of the Arabic name, Khirbet Kharua, which means the Castor Ruins. The ruins include a building with three levels. The upper level includes cattle fences. The second level, from the Byzantine Period, originally included a building with two rooms, 16 metres long and 8 metres wide. Later, a third room was added on the eastern side of the building. The lower level of the building (the earliest) has not been excavated.

Archaeologists are not certain that the building is a synagogue dating back to the Talmudic period*. However, it faces Jerusalem and has a row of stones that could have served as benches for Jewish worshippers. Not only that, but there are five steps inside a large, plastered pit only a few metres away that lead to a rectangular bath. Since its dimensions conform to Jewish law, it seems likely that this is a mikveh, or ritual bath, and that the building served as a Jewish house of worship.

We continued walking till we reached the Olive Press Trail on the northern slope of the forest. The trail features oil-making apparatuses dating back to the Talmudic period including large, round stones which were used to crush olives in the first stage of producing oil, and a b'dida, or small olive press. Crushed olives were turned into oil using this very small and primitive kind of oil press, a depression cut into natural rock. Wooden beams were placed on top of the b'dida and covered with special goat-hair baskets. The baskets were filled with crushed olives and topped with heavy rocks that exerted immense pressure. The resulting oil would drip into the b'dida. Several of these are found along the trail. Excavations also revealed benches carved in the bedrock and wine presses. 

We carried on exploring the slopes of the forest. There were many pretty flowers to be seen, including the beautiful and plentiful cyclamen, red anemone, the white and yellow Palestine Iris and more. We saw one family collecting huge mushrooms, which can be found among the trees. Olive, fig and carob trees can be seen in the valleys, where fertile soil accumulates. The carob trees were planted here early on, so that herds of sheep and goats could feed off their delicious fruit. Unfortunately, when a steady diet of carob caused the poor animals to miscarry repeatedly, the idea was discontinued. The chalk slopes of the forest are not so fertile, so the KKL-JNF planted conifer trees (Jerusalem pine and cypress) on them. These particular trees can thrive in harsh conditions.

An ancient kiln, estimated to be around 1,500-year-old, can also be seen in the forest. The kiln is a huge pit that was dug in the ground and lined with two layers of stones. Limestone was burned in it in order to produce plaster. Plaster was a mainstay used to insulate cistern walls, in plastering roofs and as a substitute for refrigeration. Food that is covered with plaster, like eggs and watermelons, can be preserved for a long period.

When the furnace was in operation, a structure resembling a dome was built above the pit, in which the limestone to be fired was placed. Inside the pit the fuel was kindled, most likely the Thorny burnet plant common to this area, which was inserted through a special opening. The furnace would burn for 3 to 6 days, depending on its size. When the dome started turning red, it was the sign that it was time to stop adding fuel. The opening was then closed and after a few days, when the furnace cooled, the walls were disassembled and the product was taken out - burnt lime.

The furnace is well preserved and has been restored. It is six metres deep and its diameter is about 4 metres.

In the open expanses that surround Hamalachim - Shahariya Forest, the vegetation that grows is primarily desert brush. The most ubiquitous shrub is the buckthorn, which is known for its tiny leaves, its round berries that turn black and its branches that end with thorny points. Other common plants are the aforementioned Thorny burnet and the common thatching grass, also known as Coolatai grass, which flourishes between the rocks. You can also find the wild marjoram, also known as hyssop, which is the main ingredient of the famous Middle Eastern spice za'atar. It is an endangered species and it is forbidden to pick it.

* The Talmudic period is the period of Jewish history from approximately 70 CE to roughly 640 CE. The start date is the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem and the end date is the Muslim conquest of Palestine.

** This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Nature Notes, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Sharon's Souvenirs, Tuesday's Treasures and My Corner of the World.