The Schefela (Hebrew: השפלה "haSchefela“) Is a region in Israel. It's south of the line Tel Aviv - Jerusalem between the coastal plain and the West Bank. The Schefela does not have as many tourist highlights to offer as other regions of the country, but a visit is still worthwhile, e.g. because of various ancient settlements that have been excavated here.
Regional breakdown
Between the southern coastal plain of Israel and that too Palestine counting Judean hill country the so-called Schefela lies in the hill country. Further neighboring regions are the settlement belt around Tel Aviv in the north, so the so-called Gush Dan, in the northeast the region around Jerusalem and in the south the desert Negev.
The stretch of land is about 45 km long from north to south and about 15 km wide.
places
There are only a few large towns in the region; the most important are
- Kirjat Gat, once a city of the Philistines, now an industrial city, and
- Bet Shemesh, a city on the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem railway line.
Other goals
Of tourist interest are mainly
- Latrun with the ruins of a Templar castle, a Trappist monastery and a military museum,
- the Sorek cave at Bet Schemesch,
- the excavations of Squeezed on the Tel Gezer at Karmei Yosef
- the Tel Tsafit, the excavated ruins are probably those of the Philistine city Gath, near the Haruvit Forest.
- the remains of the city of Eleutheropolis and Bet Guvrin with the excavations of Maresha
- the excavations of Lachish at Kirjat Gat
- There are various nature reserves in the region, including the Pura Nature Reserve
background
The Schefela is a mountainous, stony hill country in locations between 120 and 450 meters above sea level; this area is therefore almost "halfway up" between the lower lying coastal plain and the mountains of Judea. Pasture farming is possible on the marl soils of the hills in the semi-arid climate, and arable farming on loess and clay soils in the valleys.
In biblical times the Schefela belonged partly to the settlement area of the Philistines and partly to the area of the Israelite tribe Judahas evidenced by the remains of the settlements. Many of the ancient settlement mounds have now been excavated. The capital of the region was the city of Eleutheropolis in ancient times Bet Guvrin.
language
The Schefela is Israeli national territory, so Hebrew is predominantly spoken. As elsewhere in the country, you get along well with English, as most Israelis understand and speak at least some English.
getting there
By plane
The Schefela does not have its own airport. The nearest airport is that Ben Gurion Airport.
By train
The Tel Aviv Railway Line - Lod - Beer Sheva the Israel Railways runs in north-south direction through the Schefela. The only train station within the region on this route is in Kirjat Gat. Trains run every hour, one way from Tel Aviv is NIS 24.50 and from Be'er Sheva NIS 22.00. Driving time is just under an hour from Tel Aviv and around 40 minutes from Beer Sheva.
On the Tel Aviv - Jerusalem route, Bet Shemesh is the second city of the Shefela that can be reached by train. From Tel Aviv there is an hourly service (20.50 NIS, travel time just under an hour), from Jerusalem Malcha only a two-hour service (7.50 NIS, 45 min). (As of August 2010)
By bus
Since there are mainly smaller towns in the region, there are hardly any buses in some places. The situation in the far north between the settlement belts around Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is somewhat better. Kirjat Gat further south can be easily reached by bus from Jerusalem (446, about hourly) and Ashkelon (25, about half an hour). But if you want to continue to Lachisch or Bet Guvrin, for example, you have to rely on individual buses. In this case, be sure to check the current timetables beforehand or use a taxi!
In the street
The Schefela is roughly limited to the west by road 40. This road begins on the eastern edge of the Gush Dan at Kfar Saba and then leads via Lod and Rechovot to Kirjat Gat; in the south it leads over Beer Sheva still far into the Negev; For those arriving from Tel Aviv or Be'er Scheva, for example, this road is ideal. With the toll motorway 6, another national road leads in north-south direction through the Schefela; this street can be seen e.g. from Ben Gurion Airport (in the case of rental cars, however, additional landlord fees may apply).
If you are coming from Jerusalem, take road 1 in the direction of Tel Aviv, which crosses the region in the northern part. If you want to go to the southern areas of the Schefela, you should turn off road 1 at Latrun and take road 3 towards the southwest (to Kirjat Mal'achi and Ashkelon). This street crosses the already mentioned streets 6 and 40, on which you can go further south.
mobility
Since buses and trains only offer relatively few good connections in the region, you should plan your journeys with the help of the corresponding Internet offers, i.e. above all. Israel Railways (Israeli Railways), Egged (largest bus company in the country) and Otobusim.co.il (Information portal on public connections of all companies) plan thoroughly.
The best way to get around the Schefela is with a rental car.
Tourist Attractions
- A few kilometers east of Kirjat Gat is the archaeological site of the fortress Lachish.
- 1 Bet Guvrin. Ruins of the Hellenistic city Eleutheropolis lie. To the south are the ruins of the city Maresha with the very impressively preserved structures, especially those underground.
- Mini Israel, on street 3 near Latrun. Tel.: 972-8-9130010, Fax: 972-8-9214122, Email: [email protected]. The park is in the north of the Schefela Latrun near the intersection of Streets 1 and 3. It contains models of nearly 400 historical, religious and other landmarks in Israel.Open: On weekdays and Shabbat normally 10 a.m. - 7 p.m., Nov - Mar only until 6 p.m., Jul / Aug until 10 p.m. Thursdays one to two hours longer than the normal seasonal opening times (but never longer than 10 p.m.), Fridays only 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.Price: Adults 79 NIS, discounts for children, groups and seniors.
activities
kitchen
nightlife
security
The security situation in the Schefela does not differ fundamentally from that in the rest of the country.
climate
In the Shefela, as in other parts of Israel, it is rainy and cool in winter, while in summer it is hot for months and no rain falls. From north to south it gets increasingly drier: In the south of the Schefela there is only about half as much precipitation as in the north, here is the transition to the dry desert Negev. The historical settlement boundary was roughly on the line Ashkelon - Bet Guvrin - Hebron, because further south the rain is no longer sufficient for agriculture.
