The settlement of Karmey Yosef was founded at the beginning of the eighties of the last century. It was established by a group of settlers from neighboring Rehovot and Ness Ziona. Eli Shimoni stood at the head of the settlement council. They called the village after Yosef Sapir, the Minister in the Government of Israel and the founder of the Liberal Party, which later became a member of the Likud Party. The word Kramim means vineyards in Hebrew. Thus, the name of the settlement, Karmey Yosef, denotes the vineyards of Joseph. Initially, settlers wanted to found the colony on the site of the historical Tel Gezer, but this was not possible because of the tremendous archaeological value of the hill. The settlement was established to the south; it is divided into the eastern and western parts by the Gezer stream, which flows into the Ayalon River.
Photo By צילום:ד"ר אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11929054
A few hours walk along Tel Gezer. You can start a day with a picnic in the charming forest of Hamagenim. Then, through the village of Karmay Yosef, we rise to the famous ancient hill Gezer. At this place, the battles of ancient history took place and the Egyptian pharaoh subjugated the disobedient rulers of Canaan. These rulers gathered together and concluded military alliances near one of the most mysterious structures of the ancient East - stone giants from Tel Gezer. Descent into an ancient well of forty-meter depth is the most mysterious part of the walk. We will end the day in the cool water spring of Yarda, where the battle of the Crusaders against Saladin once took place.
Cover photo by: Maximidf - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62461515
