Atlit whizin one day

Oddly enough, our acquaintance with Atlit will begin precisely from the cemetery. A gloomy large shield indicates that there are tombs from the time of the Crusaders. This cemetery is eight centuries old. Surprisingly, the fact is that the cemetery is the only well-preserved crusader cemetery in the entire Middle East. An English archaeologist carried out the first study of the cemetery in 1934. According to him, there are about two hundred graves in the cemetery. Until 2015, no new studies were carried out. Recent excavations have shown that there are layers of burials in the cemetery. More than two thousand people were buried here. There are different areas, such as the burial places of warriors and pilgrims and women's and children's graves. We'll talk about the cemetery later, but for now, let's see what plants bloom here in the spring months.

The most interesting plant in the coastal strip is crystal grass or ice grass. This plant got this name from the salt crystals on the surface of its fleshy leaves. It is customary to add them to salad, so crystal grass is very much appreciated among restaurateurs and chefs. But do not delude yourself seeing the iced grass in these places. The entire coast of Atlit is a nature reserve, and any plant collection and fishing is prohibited here. Another thing is the territory of the crusader cemetery. They are located outside the nature reserve.

For almost two hundred years, the crusaders ruled in the Holy Land. These years can be divided into approximately one hundred years—the first and the Second Kingdom. The capital of the first was Jerusalem. The capital of the second one was Akko. During the years of the first kingdom, there was no castle on the island in Atlit, as we can see it today. Instead, there was a small fortress on a hill east of the coastal strip. Only after the fall of the first kingdom and the loss of Jerusalem, King Jean de Brienne appealed to the European rulers and asked for help in building a castle for pilgrims. First of all, the military monastic orders responded to the request. The Teutonic Knights and Templars built the castle. In April 1218, the castle hosted the first pilgrims and became known as Castellum Perigrinorum, or in the medieval French Château de Pelerin. On August 14, 1291, the last crusaders left the Holy Land and went to Cyprus from this castle. The cemetery existed during all the years of construction and operation of the castle.

The cemetery is divided into several parts. In one there are the tombs of the knights, in the other - the pilgrims. Large knightly headstones with a cross. The pilgrims' graves are more modest. In one of the burials during excavations in 2015, an iron tip of a pilgrim's staff was discovered. All bones extracted from the graves were reburied here. Samples of DNA were sent for research to the Institute of Pathological Anatomy in order to identify the ethnic groups of people resting in the cemetery. The vast majority were from Provence and Champagne. Translated with Google Translate

The salt pools in Atlit are part of the edible salt plant. Almost all table salt in the country is produced in Atlit. This production began during the reign of the British. In place of the drained pools, various plants of the seaside region grow wildly. Salicornia, among others. In restaurants it is called navy beans. It is a natural, natural source of salty taste with negligible sodium content. Salicornia tastes like pickles or salted spinach and asparagus. It can be boiled or fried as well as pickled. Try to fry the shoots, add the grated garlic and breadcrumbs. Great salad! Translated with Google Translate

Previously, the shores along Atlit were rich in flocks of sardines and this is why one of the names of the coast is due - Sardinia Beach. Today the pristine sand dunes of this reserve attract large sea turtles, colonies of gulls and albatrosses, as well as owners of high-traffic vehicles that allow them to get to the coast. It should be remembered that the movement of four-wheeled vehicles in an area of 200 m along the coast is prohibited, and by stopping the car along the highway at the side of the road, you can not only not break the law, but also preserve the nature reserve by enjoying a short walk to the shore. Translated with Google Translate

The beach area is not fenced and does not require payment. The most successful can be a walking walk along the sea from the equipped beaches of Haifa and, in particular, from the "Student" beach. A bit of an interesting story: after the First World War, the new Yishuv decided to create a commission on the seas and reservoirs. The purpose of the creation of such a commission was the desire to develop maritime economy and maritime trade. To implement such an idea, it was decided to agitate the Jews of the coastal regions of Eastern Europe and the Caucasus to repatriate and settle the coastal regions of the future Israel. The Atlita region was one of the priorities. A fishing settlement was established in the ancient fortress of the Crusaders. It succeeded in fishing and marine life, but died from the rampant malaria in these places. By the way, it is not possible to see the ruins of the Crusader castle. In the fifties of the last century, a training base for Israeli special naval paratroopers "Shaetet 13" was located here. Translated with Google Translate

Along with the bus and light trucks that recreate the atmosphere of the last years of British rule in Palestine, a motorcycle with a sidecar is of particular interest. It belonged to Zeev Boim, a famous Israeli politician. Boym traveled around Europe on this motorcycle, as evidenced by the city emblem stickers on the side of the sidecar. Boym died of cancer in 2011, and his wife donated the historic motorcycle and sidecar to the museum. Translated with Google Translate

The camp, which houses oblong wooden barracks, barbed wire fences, watchtowers and a double zone, makes a gloomy impression. It is scary to imagine what this camp was associated with among Holocaust survivors. Illegal immigrants were considered by the British to be Jewish refugees from Europe who sought to Eretz Yisrael at the end of the Second World War. The British authorities in Palestine imposed restrictions on the entry of Jews to please the Arabs. Illegal launches were caught off the coast of Palestine by patrol ships and people were sent to Cyprus, where they were placed in similar conditions. The only camp in Palestine was this camp in Atlit. It could accommodate up to three thousand people. Translated with Google Translate

As in every similar camp, there were showers for disinfection. The same building housed a laundry and a mikvah. In 1947, the Jewish Agency was able to come to an agreement with the British authorities of Mandatory Palestine that repatriates from the camps in Cyprus would be able to enter and temporarily stay in the camp in Atlit, due to visa quotas for a subsequent one-year period or the next four months. These changes allowed the British to maintain control over entry into Palestine, and the Jewish population to provide new immigrants with medical services under the Hadassah organization. By the end of 1947, 1,400 people were in the camp. Translated with Google Translate

Huge vats heated the water. They were used for both showers and laundry. After Israel's declaration of independence in May 1948, the camp was used as a temporary camp for immigrants from Yemen and Iraq. Later, as temporary solutions for Jewish refugees from Arab countries, tent camps were created on the western coast of Haifa, on the site of the current quarters of Ein Ayam and Shprintsak. In the winter of 1951, during heavy rains that caused floods, access to the camp became impossible and the supply of light and water was interrupted. After the first Sinai Campaign and the Six Day War, the camp was used as a camp for Egyptian prisoners of war. In the 70s, the camp was no longer used and was consigned to oblivion. In the late 1980s, a museum was opened there. Translated with Google Translate

This aircraft became the legendary transport aircraft of the Second World War. Its history begins in the late thirties of the last century as the history of a passenger plane. During the war years, it has perfectly established itself as a military transport aircraft and there is even an opinion that the famous Hercules descended from these "commanders". By the way, the history of large operations for the mass export of Jews from areas of conflict or disasters is of national importance. For example, the story of the rescue of the Jews of Ethiopia in the late seventies. It was there that transport planes were involved. Translated with Google Translate

There is a cinema and an interactive exhibition in the hold of the ship. The visit to the gym takes place in small groups with a local instructor.

Jewish refugees who survived the Holocaust often left the camps for their hometowns, hoping to find relatives and return to their homes. But the houses were already occupied by other people and nothing was known about the fate of relatives and friends. American Jewish charities organized aid and refugee status for immigration to the United States. Along with them, representatives of the Jewish Agency acted to help those wishing to get to Palestine. Translated with Google Translate

People organized themselves into groups and, with the help of guides, traveled to small port cities or even just fishing piers along the coast of Italy and southern France. From there, on small longboats, they took a course to the shores of Palestine. The British Coast Guard caught violators of the British Palestine visa regime and interned people in camps in Cyprus or Atlit. In order to avoid meeting with the British patrols, people did not go on deck for months. Translated with Google Translate

It is one of hundreds of longboats and boats that sailed to the shores of Palestine between 1945 and 1948. Many of them were arrested and sent to Cyprus. The most sensational story was the fate of the Exodus ship. There were ships in distress, they were sunken in a storm. In total, about seventy-five thousand people have arrived in Israel over the years of illegal immigration. From April 1945 to January 1948, 63 ships went from Europe to Palestine. There were about 25,000 refugees on board. 58 ships were intercepted by the British, and only 5,000 immigrants made it to Palestine. Translated with Google Translate

Khirbet Karta is the name of a modern nature reserve on the shell rock ridge stretching along the sea. In fact, the name "Map" appears to be mistaken for this place. It is mentioned in the notes of a traveler from Bordeaux who visited the Holy Land in the fourteenth century. He mentioned a place called Mutatio Carthae, which means a stop to change horses. Such stations were located along the main roads. Parking for changing horses in the area of modern Atlit at the foot of the shell rock was common, especially given the peculiarity of the terrain. The bottleneck between the sea and the marshes was the only accessible land isthmus and was a strategic point along the coastal road. At the same time, in ancient times, there really was a settlement of Karta in these places. Moreover, archaeological research carried out in the valley in 1967 pushed scientists to the hill known today as Megadim within the settlement of the same name north of Atlit. Translated with Google Translate

From the top of this concrete reservoir, built by the British to store water, there are wonderful views on all sides. In the west, you can see the ruins of the medieval Atlit castle, in the north the city of Haifa, in the east - the gorge of the Oren stream and in the south - Zichron Yaakov on the slopes of Mount Carmel. A wonderful view of the valley opens up and it is not difficult to notice that the valley is cut off from the sea by a ridge of shell rock. It was this ridge that closed the Oren stream and other seasonal rivers descending from the slopes of Mount Carmel, access to the sea. For this reason, the territories to the east of the hill were swampy, and only a narrow isthmus between the hill and the sea was land and suitable for movement. On a wooden fence, you can see a sign mentioning the name of Abraham Dankner, the father of the Atlit salt industry, whose pools are visible along the coastline. Translated with Google Translate

The crusaders carved the stone for the construction of the inner tower of the fortress and thus formed the stone base of the entire structure. The fortress was partly hewn, partly built from hewn stones. In view of this method of construction, the original name of the fortress was Petra Inquisa - a carved rock. Later, the fortress and the entire area was named Via Angusta - a narrow passage. This refers to the special topography of the area. And only then the name of Le Destroit was assigned to the fortress, which means Tesnina. In medieval French, De Strua was transformed into De Trois. There is practically nothing left of this fortress. Initially, it was the outer line of defensive structures for the Atlit castle, and later, when the crusaders were subjected to constant attacks from the Arabs, the De Strua fortress was dismantled, and its stones went to fortify the Atlit castle. Only fragments of structures carved into the rock have survived, among which these stables. Translated with Google Translate

Not looking at all its current nondescriptness, Atlit played a huge role in the history of the Crusaders. It was here that the first large fortress was built and it was from this castle that the last ships of the Crusaders from the Holy Land departed. It is noteworthy that the fortress and the castle are different structures and belong to different periods of government. The first was built by order of the first king of the Crusaders in the Holy Land. The second - became a shelter for King Louis the Ninth (Louis Saint), the very one who owns the construction of Saint Chapelle in Paris. Translated with Google Translate

We are located in the southern part of the fortress. Here, too, there was a hewn and partially built watchtower. Water tanks were carved in it. Behind it begins the descent to the southern ditch. It was he who separated the fortress from the rest of the shell rock ridge. You can go down into the moat and round the hill from the west. On the way, if you are very careful, you can see letters partially carved into the rock on the south wall of the moat. These are the letters Ain and Tav. Many researchers believe that these letters denoted the borders of the Phoenician city of Atlit. It originated in the tenth century BC and is the first port city on the site of modern Atlit. Translated with Google Translate

Neve Yam is a kibbutz that inherits the territory of Kibbutz Maapilim, created in 1939. They tried to develop fishing here all the time, they even bought two fishing schooners from Holland, but business did not go well and the fishing direction was finally abandoned in 1955. However, the coastline of Neve Yam, eaten by bays and lagoons, quickly became the subject of interest for the Israeli Marines military base and the department of reserves and nature parks. Translated with Google Translate

It is in this lagoon that a plant called krithmum lives. It loves to grow on sand near rocks and is a favorite spice for pickles and marinades in southern France. Its leaves can simply be fried and you get a wonderful salty crispy snack for beer. In addition, many one-horned murex shells can be found in the bay. It is famous for the fact that the most noble and expensive dye of the ancient world - purple dye - was made from this mollusk. Translated with Google Translate