How the mighty have fallen!

A week ago Saturday some friends from the Albright and I headed north to Mount Gilboa for a day hike. This mount overlooks the breathtaking Jezreel Valley, which stretches from Beth Shean to Megiddo. For ancient travelers this valley was the best was to get from the Mediterranean Coast inland to the Damascus Road and the King's Highway, and it was (and still is) some of the most fertile land in Israel.

For these reasons, the Jezreel was highly attractive to the Egyptians, the Israelites, the Philistines, the Phoenicians and the Arameans, and it became to site of numerous battles in the history of the Holy Land. One of the most famous of these battles is recorded in 1 Samuel 31, in which the Philistines overtake Saul and his army, killing Jonathan and wounding Saul, who soon falls on his own sword rather than let the uncircumcised capture him. Their deaths will lead David to mourn his special friend Jonathan and his erstwhile enemy Saul with the lament that begins: "How the mighty have fallen" (2 Samuel 1:19).

Our hiking troop had two missions: first, to complete the two trails we had chosen to hike; and second, to reenact some key events of this battle. As you will see, we were successful on both missions.

First, here is the hiking crew at the first hike, Nahal Yizpor (l-r: Rodney, Yorke and Christine):

Here's one of me taking a closer look at some of the wildflowers. Admittedly, it's not my best angle. (It was also very muddy that day.)

Here's an old car we found lying right in the middle of our path. They just don't make Hyundai's like they used to. And yes, I did get a haircut, thank you for asking. As many of you know, I try to avoid paying for haircuts if at all possible. The job usually falls to Emily's expert hands, but this year I broke down last fall and paid for one in Jerusalem, just to experience the local barbershop scene. More recently, though, Rodney, who just arrived a few weeks ago and brought his own clippers, agreed to give me a cut. We started out going for a "trim," but a few slips of the clippers later I told him just to shave it down.

Now for the drama. Here's Yorke-as-Philistine smiting Christine-as-Jonathan; he really seems to be relishing his gruesome task.

As here's yours truly as Saul, falling on his own spear. Doesn't it look like the spear is coming through my back? But it's really not; it's just pinned in my armpit. (Talk about special effects!) I also thought the hand to the forehead would be a poignant gesture of defeat and resignation.

Here is Yorke breaking through to a view of the Jordan Valley and Beth Shean:

It proved to be a fine spot for our picnic lunch of pita and hummus:

Our next hike took us to Mt. Barkan which is on the same ridge as Mt. Gilboa. It is a loop trail that affords some fine views of the Jezreel Valley. For some reason, there is a rule there against slapping flowers:

In a fit of rebellion, I completed disregarded this rule:

And here is the valley. I ended up shooting a small video, which opens with the Jordan Valley, then follows the Jezreel as it branches off to the west.

And here is a picture looking east from Mt. Barkan:

All in all, it was a fine trip and a fun day with some of the other fellows.