TEL ES-SAFI or the BIBLICAL CITY OF GATH. The City of Philistines and the hometown of Goliath.

On this spot, many archaeologists believe, once stood (~1200 BC) the city called "Gath of the Philistines". Gath appears 33 times in the Bible. Nearly 3,000 years after the fall of Gath, a team of 70 archaeologists and volunteers led by Dr. Aren Maeir of Bar-Ilan University brought this lost Philistine city to limelight in 1996. It is one among the Philistine Pentapolis (league of five cities): Gath, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gaza, and Ekron.

From Gath "went out a champion from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath of Gath, whose height was six cubits and a span" (I Samuel 17:4). Spread in 100 acres, Tel es-Safi is one of the largest biblical sites in Israel and it was settled almost continuously from 5000 BC. To reach the site via public transport is almost impossible, so for time being this is what I can bring you from Tel es-Safi.

The Site of Biblical Gath (Tel es-Safi)-the City of Goliath.

See also snaps taken earlier: http://lajupaulk3.blogspot.com/search?q=tel+es+safi

THE ISRAEL I SAW

 Here is the complete list of sites that I have visited in Israel, excluding Jerusalem which is discussed separately in the previous post. Apart from the popular sites in Israel that almost every tourist makes a point to visit, I had the privilege to explore around 32 National Parks and 17 National Reserves, which was a great opportunity to know the land of Israel. The National Parks were visited mostly on my own depending mainly the public transport system, whereas I owe immense debt of gratitude to the one-day hiking trips (usually 8 to 10 km) organised by Midreshet Hiking Club of Sede Boker for the National Reserves. I made it certain that all the sites mentioned in the official brochure of the National Parks are covered. However, in this list, I have enumerated the highlights of only those sites whose attractions are spread in a large area, eg. Timnah Park, Beit Guvrin National Park etc. Regarding the other sites, where the attractions are confined to a relatively smaller geographical area, the highlights are not separately given in the list, nevertheless, they are elaborately discussed in the blog, eg. Caesarea National Park, Masada National Park etc.

1.  Acco or Acre

a.      Bahai Garden

b.     Burj el-Khasla

c.      City Walls

d.     Crusader Fortress (The Citadel)-Knights Hall

e.      Great Mosque of Ahmed el Jazzar

f.      Khan al-Umdan (Hostel of Pillars)

g.     Lighthouse

h.     Marina

i.       Old City

j.       Pisan Port

k.     Sea Gate

l.       Sea Wall Promenade

m.   St. John Catholic Church

n.     Tell Akko (view)

o.     Templars Tunnel

2.     Antipatris National Park or Tel Aphek

a.      Hayarkon

b.     Migdal Aphek

Tel es-Safi: The pictures were taken from Highway 6 early morning while traveling on Egged Bus 470 to Jerusalem (14th August, 2009).