Mountains, marzipan and material

The Mount Tabor area offers a wide range of activities

tabor 521 (photo credit: ITSIK MAROM)
tabor 521
(photo credit: ITSIK MAROM)
We are always in search of new places to visit – those small places that we often ignore as we are on our way to a better-known destination.
The Banyas waterfall, for example, is often one of the places we visit on a one- or two-day trip. We usually don’t have the time to explore those smaller places along the way, so maybe we should take the time to choose one of these smaller attractions as our planned destination.
There’s no need to travel far or to the country’s borders in order to explore. There are some lovely places open and waiting for visitors.
In the heart of the country, near Mount Tabor, you will find Devorat Hatavor, the “Land of Silk and Honey” located in Moshav Shadmot Devora. This honey farm offers a lot of family activities, such as demonstrations of honey- and silk-making. It is the only place in Israel where you can watch silk being made. Thanks to the mild winters in Israel, the farm is open every day and even in rainy weather.
In Kfar Tavor, a sweet place to visit is Shaked Tavor. Its visitors’ center is a marzipan museum that displays all kinds of figures and statues shaped from marzipan. These include biblical figures, children’s story heroes, food items such as fruit or bread and other shapes. The figures are delicate and inventive. In their store, you can find almost every product that can be made from almonds. Their products have been carefully developed by family recipes over many years.
During the month of Shvat, there are tours in the blooming almond orchards.
If you are searching for a more classic museum, you will find it on nearby Kibbutz Ein Dor. The Ein Dor Museum of Archeology is also a center for human landscapes. Since the kibbutz was founded in 1948, its members have collected ancient artifacts of the area that are now on display in the museum. In 1986, they opened the museum and arranged all of the archeological artifacts. In the museum you can see the evolution of man’s tools from the prehistoric era, the Stone Age, the Iron Age and the beginning of agriculture in the Lower Galilee until the time of early urban life. Today, the museum serves as a bridge to connect the people of the past and the present: Jews, Arabs, Christians and Circassians.
If you choose to spend the night around Mount Tavor, there are options like the Ahuzat Hate’ena B&B in Shadmot Devora and fine restaurants such as Bella.
Venturing off the beaten track can be rewarding. This trip offers new experiences and the deeper diversity that can be found in the Lower Galilee Mount Tabor area.