Not Far Away - Page 5

Notes from Underground (Ruins of Beit She'an)

By day three of my journey, I&I set myself free of the spirit guides. At the Wailing Wall, a note to Lost Guide fit nicely into the cracks of the limestone blocks, which date back over 2000 years. A few words from the Kaddish prayer gave homage and remembrance to a soul who led me here. Far Guide's farewell came down the cobbled streets of Old Jerusalem, thru the Damascus Gate and into the Arab Quarter, where I&I wandered with friends, past kiosks and apartments, past Stations of the Cross, to a storefront window where Yasser Arafat's photograph was prominently displayed. This was the point where I&I must turn around. Far Guide had brought me face to face with a symbol of unrepentant hate and opposition to the Israel nation state: a reminder that this has always been a contested land of many peoples. Near Guide just texted my cell phone to say, 'safe journey and send photos'. You are free to travel now.

In the days to follow, our band of wanderers roamed Israel by bus, meeting Arabs, Christians and Jews in the cities, homes and landmarks of the country. On the roads through the rich agricultural Jordan Valley, we came to a stop at the ruins of Beit She'an (City of Ivory), where I&I saw deeper into the rich history of the region.

Beit Shean Panorama - unexcavated tel in the background

With its fabulous biblical, Roman and Byzantine remains, the structures and artifacts of Beit She'an date back to the Chalcolithic era (4th century BCE), when the town was an important stop for caravans and a center of Egyptian rule. The layers of history come forward to the 20th century, when during the years of the British mandate in Israel (1917-1948), a team from the University of Pennsylvania excavated the site from the hills (or mound), referred to as a tel (an archaeological site). The history of Beit She'an reveals its inhabitants over 3000 years: Israelites, Canaanites, Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Hasmoneans, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, Mamelukes and Turks.¹