Tour Israel with Guide Jeff Abel Sat, Apr 20

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Why Israel? Why now? Israel is exciting, rich in history and diversity, safe, and surprisingly affordable. Experienced custom tour guide Jeff Abel can put together an itinerary for you and your family and create the holiday of a lifetime.

Tel Dan continued

"Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee" Genesis 12:1

This arched gateway is about 3800 years old, constructed from mud bricks. The builders apparently originated from a dry area where mud bricks were suitable. Somewhere, perhaps, such as Ur. The heavy winter rains at Dan would soon have destroyed such a structure, which they themselves apparently realized, burying the gate and thus preserving it for us today.

An intact gateway such as this is a unique find, matched, perhaps, only by finding nearby the sole mention of King David outside the Bible, seen here on the left. The inscription appears to read "the House of David" [the word "David" was underlined by Jeff Abel]. The stone was found in 1993 in what seems to have been the city wall, just outside the walls still standing to a height of about 4 meters, from the days of Ahab.

Photo: courtesy of
Israel Government Website

And from the north side of Dan, in old Israel army bunkers, or from the walls of the 3,800 year-old town, you can see the remains of a Syrian tank in Lebanon. The tank was destroyed by Israeli artillery in 1964 when Syria sent its army into Lebanon to divert the waters of the Hatzbani River so that they would no longer run into Israel.