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| Huleh Valley |
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Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p. 102. |
Luke Huleh (Waters of
Merom) from Hunin
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. . . the great Hûleh Plain . . . . including the marsh and lake, as seen from
this point, forms a picture of unusual beauty, especially for parched and rocky
Palestine. The greatest length of the valley is not far from sixteen miles, with
an average breadth of six miles. The lake proper is four miles long and as many
wide, but in addition six or more miles to the north are occupied by reeds,
among which the streams not only wind, but form here and there miniature lakes,
adding variety to the surface, which otherwise would be an unbroken mass of
green. Into this dense jungle of canes and papyrus it is impossible to
penetrate. We have sometimes made the attempt on horseback at points where there
seemed to be a small opening, but never succeeded in going any great distance.
So far as we went the bottom was hard, but this may not be the case in every
part. (Source:
Picturesque Palestine, vol. 2, p. 108.) |
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The Mouth of the Jordan, Lake Huleh |
Source: Those Holy Fields, p. 210. |
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Of Lake Hûleh little was known until it was
explored by Mr. Macgregor in his canoe voyage
on the Jordan. It is a triangular sheet of
water, about four and a half miles in length
by three and a half in its greatest breadth,
surrounded by an impenetrable morass covered
with tall canes and papyrus reeds, through
which, as the Arabs declare, it is impossible
even for a wild boar to make its way. It could
not be surveyed from the shore, and until Mr.
Macgregor’s adventurous expedition no boat had
ever floated on its waters. The additions
which he has made to our knowledge of the
hydrography of the district are of the highest
value; and his vigorous narrative of the
difficulties he surmounted, and the perils he
escaped amongst the wild Bedouins of the
district is familiar to all our readers.
(Source: Those Holy Fields, pp. 210-13.) |
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Source: Those Holy Fields, p. 214. |
Hermon from the
Northern Shore of Lake Huleh
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Soon after passing the northern end of the lake the snowy summit of Hermon,
which has been previously visible at intervals for some days, comes full into
view, and forms a fine feature in the landscape. A cool, refreshing breeze flows
down from its glittering heights, and is doubly welcome in the sultry plain over
which we are toiling. The contrast between the near and the distant landscape is
very striking. The Plain of Hûleh might be a portion of tropical Africa. Droves
of black, hairless buffaloes wallow in the swamps. The Gawarineh Arabs, almost
black and quite naked, live in reed huts like many negro tribes, and twist their
hair into a tuft like the inhabitants of the Gold Coast. The intense heat
produces a semi-tropical vegetation. But we have only to turn our eyes to the
northern horizon to see a long stretch of snow as bright, and clear, and cold as
that of Switzerland. (Source: Those Holy Fields, p. 213.) |
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Huleh Lake from Hazor |
Source: Matson Collection. |
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It was in this hot, seething, pestilential,
but fertile plain that Joshua, after the
subjugation of Central and Southern Palestine,
fought his third and last great battle with
the hosts of Canaan. Jabin, king of Hazor,
rallied round him all the chiefs who had not
yet yielded. They came from ‘the plains south
of Chinneroth,’ the Jordan valley south of the
Sea of Galilee, the Jebusite from the fortress
of Jerusalem, the Hittite and the Amorite from
the far south, to ‘the Hivite under Hermon,’
in the north. ‘And they went out, they and all
their hosts with them, much people, even as
the sand that is upon the sea shore in
multitude, with horses and chariots very many.
And when all these kings were met together,
they came and pitched together at the Waters
of Merom to fight against Israel.’ It was
doubtless the multitude of their horses and
chariots, a force not possessed by Israel,
which induced them to select this great plain
as their battle-field. Suddenly Joshua and his
men fell upon them from the heights above, and
the Lord delivered them into the hands of
Israel, who smote them and chased them far to
the west, across the hills and valleys of
Galilee, where their horses and chariots could
only encumber them . . . . (Source: Those Holy
Fields, p. 213.) |
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See
Acco,
Beth Shean,
Jordan
River Sources,
Nazareth,
Nimrod's Fortress,
Sea of Galilee or
Tiberias |
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