| 1847 Bartlett print SEA OF GALILEE FROM THE CASTLE OF SAFED, PALESTINE (#20) |
Nice print titled Lake of Tiberias, from the Castle of Saphet, from steel engraving with fine detail and clear impression, nice hand coloring, approx. page size is 20 x 27 cm, approx. image size is 13 x 19 cm. From: The Christian in Palestine; or, Scenes of Sacred History, Historical and Descriptive. By Henry Stebbing, D.D., F.R.S. Illustrated from sketches taken on the spot by W.H. Bartlett. London: - George Virtue, [1847] .
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Sea of Galilee
also called Lake Tiberias, Arabic Buhayrat Tabariya, Hebrew Yam Kinneret, lake in Israel through which the Jordan River flows. From 1948 to 1967 it was bordered immediately to the northeast by the cease-fire line with Syria. It is famous for its biblical associations. Located 686 feet (209 m) below sea level, it has a surface area of 64 square miles (166 square km). The sea's maximum depth, which occurs in the northeast, is 157 feet (48 m). Measuring 13 miles (21 km) from north to south and 7 miles (11 km) from east to west, it is pear-shaped. Its Old Testament name was Sea of Kinneret (Kinerot), but, after the exile of the Jews to Babylon in the 6th century BC, it was called the Lake of Gennesaret.
Because of a pleasant climate, level topography, fertile soil, and relatively abundant water, the rivers flowing into the lake and the adjacent plains have throughout history been the source of livelihood for various peoples. At El-'Ubeidiya, 2 miles (3 km) south of the lake, lacustrine formations dating from about 400,000 to 500,000 years ago have revealed prehistoric tools and two human fragments, which are among the oldest in the Middle East. Canaanite (ancient Palestinian) structures have been uncovered that date back to between 1000 and 2000 BC. In the 1st century AD the region was rich and populated; the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote of nine cities on the shores of the lake in ancient times, but of these only Tiberias has survived. Tiberias, on the western shore, was one of the four Jewish holy cities, and Kefar Nahum (Capernaum), near the northwestern shore, has preserved one of the most beautiful synagogues of the Galilee region, dating from the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. A sanctuary for the Druze (an independent sect founded in the 11th century that followed a creed containing elements of Islam, Judaism, and Christianity) is located near Kefar Hittim near the western shore. The Sea of Galilee is especially well known to Christians because it was the scene of many episodes in the life of Christ. The region was also the site of the first Jewish kibbutz, Deganya, established in 1909.
The Sea of Galilee is located in the great depression of the Jordan. The Plain of Gennesaret extends in a circular arc from the north to the northwest, and the Plain of Bet Zayda (Buteiha) in Syria extends to the northeast. To the west and the southwest, the hills of Lower Galilee fall abruptly to the lake's edge. In the mid-eastern sections, the cliffs of the Plateau of Golan overlook the lake; the plateau reappears again in the southeast, becoming larger as it approaches the valley of the Yarmuk River, a tributary that has its confluence with the Jordan a few miles to the south of the lake. Also to the south, the Plain of al-Ghawr begins, but the Sea of Galilee is separated from it by a narrow ridge through which the Jordan River flows. The greatest part of the region is covered by basalts that have been formed since the Miocene Epoch began about 26,000,000 years ago and that are part of the vast area of Mount Duruz, located in Syria. Since the Miocene Epoch began, lacustrine limestones and marls (calcareous clays) have been deposited. The rift valley, part of the eastern Africa Rift System, which forms the Jordan Trench, passes to the east of the lake; smaller and less important faults occur to the west. The depression was hollowed out at the end of the Pliocene Epoch (5.3 to 1.6 million years ago) and was partially filled in again by lacustrine and fluvial sediments. During the humid periods of the Quaternary Period (1.6 million years ago to the present) the Dead Sea extended up to this point. During the last pluvial period, about 20,000 years ago, a great lake, called the Lake of Lisan, covered the region. Since then, the waters have receded.
Because of its sheltered location, low elevation, and the influence of the lake itself, the winters are mild, with temperatures averaging 57° F (14° C) in January. The absence of freezing temperatures has facilitated the cultivation of bananas, dates, citrus fruit, and vegetables. The summers are hot, with temperatures averaging 88° F (31° C), and the precipitation—almost 15 inches (380 mm) at Deganya—falls, in the course of a winter of less than 50 days, in the form of brief but violent showers.
The Sea of Galilee is fed primarily by the Jordan River. Other streams and wadis (seasonal watercourses) flow into the lake from the hills of Galilee. In the rivers associated with the lake and at the bottom of the lake itself are many mineral deposits. Because of these deposits and because of the strong evaporation, the lake's waters are relatively salty.
Zefad
also spelled Safad, or Safed, city of Upper Galilee, Israel; one of the four holy cities of Judaism (Jerusalem, Hebron, Tiberias, Zefat)
First mentioned at the time of the Jewish revolt against Rome (AD 66–70), it is thereafter frequently referred to in rabbinic literature. Strategically situated in scenic hill country, Zefat passed from hand to hand during the Crusades until captured by Baybars I, who razed its citadel (1266). Zefat achieved renown in the 16th century as the principal centre of the Kabbala, the occult theosophy and interpretation of the Scriptures forming the principal mystical system of Judaism. Important Kabbalists such as Isaac ben Solomon Luria and Joseph Karo lived in the city, and the doctrines expounded there spread throughout the Jewish world. The Hebrew printing press established in Zefat in 1577 was the first in all Asia to use movable type. In the 18th and 19th centuries the city suffered from wars and insurrections on the part of the Druzes and local Bedouin tribes, as well as from the destructive earthquake of 1837.
Just before the proclamation of the State of Israel (May 1948), the population of Zefat was predominantly Arab. The British, evacuating the area, gave the Arabs the fortified police post on nearby Mount Canaan (Har Kena'an), 3,149 feet (960 m) above sea level and 500 feet (150 m) above the old Jewish section. The city was nevertheless taken on May 12, 1948, by the Haganah, the Jewish defense forces, and the Arab population fled. Subsequently, mountainous Upper Galilee attracted painters and other artists, many of whom now live in Zefat. Four ancient synagogues, associated with past masters of the Kabbala, survive. The city's economy is based on light industry and tourism. Pop. (1993 est.) 20,900.
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