Most of the parks and open spaces in Israel feature
playgrounds, caves and toilet blocks, sometimes not necessarily of the most
savoury. If you are looking for something a little more basic, yet close to Tel
Aviv and the coastal region, Tel Hadid could be just up your street. Located at
the edge of the Ben Shemen Forest, close to Lod airport, this is an area of
land developed by the JNF for active recreation. A paved track leads you up through
some woods - and goats - to running trails, cycling trails, quad bike trails
and even off road vehicle trails. At the summit there are picnic tables and a
look out point. And WHAT a lookout point!
You
can easily see why Simon Maccabee, brother of Judah, built up an observation
point and that there was already a Jewish community at the time of the
destruction of the First Temple. What is also not surprising is that there is
evidence of Bronze Age settlement and Assyrian immigration, witnessed by the discovery
of documents and seals, written in cuneiform. Stand at the observation point
and, although it is only some 150 metres above sea level, you can see (weather
permitting) as far as Tel Aviv, Herzliyah and Petach Tikvah on the pancake flat
Shephela. Yet all you have to do is turn your back on the view of Tel Aviv,
Ben Gurion airport and Route 6 as it winds around the base of the tel before
disappearing into a tunnel beneath the tel and you could be back in biblical
times, with some farms and small settlements - and those goats! You can easily
reach Tel Hadid directly off Route 444, just north of the mega junction with
Routes 1. It's no more than twenty minutes from the beach at Tel Aviv!
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