Your journey with Esther and Uzy in the Holy Land continues. This time, it is Uzy mountain-biking with his friends from the top of Mount Tabor to the southern tip of the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

Last Friday, July 30^th, after waking up at 4:30AM, I drove to meet my friends at the top of Mount Tabor (Har Tavor in Hebrew). You already know the way: from Tel Aviv on the Coast Highway to Caesarea, then northeast on the Wadi Ara highway through Afula, and then another 30 minutes drive to the base and then up to the top of the Tavor. All in all, one hour and 45 minutes from Tel Aviv.

So, at 7:30AM, a group of 14 manly men (no girls came this time) met at the top of Mount Tabor. Har Tavor is a noticeable landmark in northern Israel.  It is located southwest of the Sea of Galilee, and it rises 1,900 feet at the northern edge of the Valley of Jezreel. Since this area is the most level land in northern Israel, it became a strategic location for many historical and biblical military operations. It is in this area, around the 10^th century BCE, that the Judge Deborah and her commander Barak gathered the forces from the northern tribes of Naphtali and Zebulun to launch a successful attack against Canaanite general Sisera (Judges 4:6-16). The famous Song of Deborah commemorates this victory.

At the top of the Tavor, and seen as a tiny speck on its peak from miles away, is the Church of the Transfiguration, designed by the Franciscan architect Antonio Barluzzi and completed in 1924. Monks have run the place since. The impressive stone façade hints at the splendor of the ornamentation inside, complete with enormous vaulted arches, peacocks and a dazzling mosaic of gold and white tiles depicting Jesus' Transfiguration. Smaller, hidden chapels on either side of the entrance commemorate the company of Moses and Elijah during Jesus' sojourn at the summit.

Once we were down the Mount Tavor, the hard work really started. Our route to the Kinneret and its cool, blue water awaiting us, took us, at 102 degrees and 80% humidity, through varying terrain. Even though our 50km (30miles) route was, in terms of elevation gain/loss, a net descent of 2,500 feet, we had to cross open fields without a tree for shade (the few trees were taken by resting cows), both wet and dry creek beds, swamps, muddy puddles, almond plantations, do a very tiring slow, long climb of the Sirin Heights near Yavne'el, cross pasture land full of cow poopoo which we had to walk through, ankle deep in dung, and then had this junk fly onto our sweaty bodies when we resumed biking. But finally, from Yavne'el, it was a racy course down rocky, rutted single tracks which at certain points we had to walk or risk breaking bones, finally reaching the backyard and date trees plantations of the vintage Kibbutz Dgania Aleph, established in 1910 on the shores of the lake, and from which some of the most famous leaders of Israel came.