Today we are visiting a wonderful biblical site which, in my opinion, is a contender for the title of Israel’s prettiest spot. This site boasts a perfect combination of nature, including cold water wading pools and a stunning walk through the forest alongside a gushing river. It also has well-preserved, one of a kind biblical archeology (connected to several of the Bible’s most climactic stories) and has long played a major role in the survival of the modern state of Israel. While today’s emphasis is on the biblical aspect, let us first explore the nature together!

Since the weather in Tel Dan is often warm, one of the highlights of visiting is the spray of the water mist, and dipping your feet into the cold, refreshing water!

The several family friendly trails found at the nature reserve offer plenty of shade, because of the beautiful forest made up of Atlantic Pistachio, Oak, Syrian Ash, and Oriental Plane trees.

Now that we have a sampling of some of the natural beauty of Tel Dan, let us now discover the biblical city. In the middle Canaanite period (circa 1800 BCE) an important city developed here. Although little remains from that time period, surprisingly a large, arched gateway was discovered completely intact! Constructed of mud-bricks, the archway is considered by many to be the world’s oldest arch still intact (some say an arch from Ashkelon may be the same age or older).

The first mention of Dan is connected with a dramatic biblical event that can accurately be called the “First World War”. Five local city state (Canaanite) kings, including the rulers of Sodom and Gomorrah decided to rebel against their overlords (four powerful Kings of empires, including the ruler of Babylonia).

The four kings sent their troops to Israel, subdued the armies of the 5 city state Kings, and took the entire population of Sodom and Gomorrah as prisoners, including Abraham’s nephew Lot.