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Excursions in the country
Excursions in the north
The small village that branded itself as "Savyon in the Galilee"
The settlement of Yanuh-Jat in the Western Galilee consists of two quiet Druze villages with lots of lovely corners that are now beginning to appear.
But is his branding as "Galilean Savyon" what will bring him visitors?
Invert Guta, invert.
The beauty is precisely in the simplicity
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Jat
Yanuh-Jat
Druze
Excursions in the country
North of the country
Ziv Reinstein
Thursday, 03 December 2020, 05:07
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The Druze village of Yanuah Jat (Photo: Ziv Reinstein, Editing: Nir Chen)
Not every day you come to a settlement that has been declared "Savyon in the Galilee."
I thought to myself that here, this is another upscale settlement with people tucked away in their villas and surviving cars parked next to them.
But in fact Yanuah-Jat, a local council in the Western Galilee, and Savyon, have almost nothing in common.
This did not prevent Moody Saad, the head of the council, from writing in large letters at the entrance to the settlement, "Welcome to Yanuah-Jat Savyon in the Galilee."
Perhaps the thought of Savyon, as a thriving council that many want to live in, may have a positive effect and attract visitors, but why would a Druze village in the Galilee become a settlement that is sometimes perceived as patriarchal?
Invert Guta, invert.
The beauty is in the simplicity.
Jat and Yanuah reunited in 2003 into one council that is starting to come to light these days, even though the corona is not making life easy for it, and in recent weeks it has been moving between being an orange and red settlement.
However, the council is now trying to expose its coveted corners and even recently appointed my grandfather Mr. Fahim, who knows every stone and door in the village of Jat, as the "holder of the council's tourism portfolio", so that things start to move.
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Winning location.
The village of Jat and above it will rest (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
"Agriculture is almost non-existent here"
On the roof of the People's House in Jat I meet Sultan Abbas, a native of the village and a guide in Israel and around the world, and together we tour the quiet and ancient alleys at "Al Hara" - Jat's nucleus.
About 6,700 people live in the council, about 2,000 of them in Jat, and they are all Druze who lead a quiet life and work in the Tefen, Yarka, Nahariya and the area.
"Agriculture is almost non-existent here and progress has done its thing," Sultan explains.
However, Jat, probably named after the biblical settlement of Gat Asher from the time of Pharaoh Ramses II (as opposed to the village of Jat in the Triangle), still preserves an ancient character of Ottoman-Arab construction of the last centuries and even the agricultural tools hidden within The houses.We enter one of the houses that an ancient wooden door closes, and behind it hides a cloth house with sea stones and mamel that poured olives into olive oil in the traditional technique, and then transferred to aqles (baskets from wicker) pressed by a screw until the oil came out. Here, you can see how a family lived decades and centuries ago - the house is built of vaults and two windows on the west side facing the wind, and today one of the young people turn it into a future tourism venture.
One of the streets in "El Hara" - the ancient nucleus of Jat's village (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The houses in Jat have an ancient character of Ottoman-Arab construction (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Sultan points to another house and a number in which the village sapar worked.
"He would have known everything," he recalls, "and when they connected the village to the Bezeq line, then they placed his pay phone, because everyone passed by here and passed gossip and messages."
Sultan arrives at another house - this is the mukhtar house of his maternal grandfather.
Jat has undergone renovations in the last decade, and unfortunately for Sultan, despite the renovation intended to do better with Jat, they did not know how to preserve the ancient houses.
Some blue-painted wooden doors add a bit of half-Greek character to the place, but it looks like the village is deserted and there are no people on the streets.
The village of Jat has undergone renovation in the last decade.
An old wooden door painted blue (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Despite the renovation in Jat, they did not know how to preserve the ancient houses. "Sultan Abbas on the roof of the People's House in Jat (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The tree of blessings and weddings
But the central point in Jat, and perhaps the most beautiful in the village, revolves around one person.
Abu Arus was one of the religious prophets who came to Jat and spread the Druze religion.
It sat under the shade of a common oak tree, which made the giant tree sacred.
Today, members of the community come to ask for blessings from Masara al-Baraka (the "Tree of Blessings") of Abu Arus, which is located near his tomb.
"Every wedding that took place until the 1980s, started here, in wood, for a blessing and around there was a hafala," Sultan recalled.
Abu Arus used to be alone in the cave, where his grave is now located.
Above it is Khilwa - the Druze prayer house - which also served as a school years ago.
"The motto of the khaliva is simplicity, modesty and humility," says the sultan.
Indeed, you will not find beautiful chandeliers or a large hall with colorful stained glass chairs.
On the contrary, mattresses on the floor, some pictures of the community's dignitaries, including Sheikh Amin Tarif who was the head of the Druze community in Israel, and that's it.
Every wedding that took place until the 80s, started here.
The Blessing Tree in Jat (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Abu Arus' tomb in a cave where he used to be alone (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Life is a wheel
On the way to Yanuh, a few minutes' drive away, we stop at "Hashhasha" - the Druze cemetery - where there are no gravestones or worship for the dead, due to the belief in reincarnation in religion.
The hushahasha (perhaps from the word "husha" explains Sultan) contains a number of cells that are sealed with a heavy iron door, into which the bodies are inserted.
"The soul enters a body that decays and passes into the mercy of the sublime God," he says, "and it is thanks to equality that each incarnation is different - once you were born rich and once poor, once successful and once less."
The Druze have no tombstones or worship for the dead.
Hushahasha, in Jat (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Yanuh: A good place to rest in the middle of the road
The winding road inside Yanuh brings you together with a village where there is more life, or at least more human movement in the small streets.
The height of the village, about 650 meters above sea level and 300 meters above Jat, provides you with both colder air and a piece of observation to the west.
Dr. Farage Raja, a former historian and school principal, meets me in one of the ancient houses in the village. interruption of Exodus) and is also mentioned in the book of kings Chapter XV / 29, within the framework of the conquests of the cities of the Assyrian king Tiglath Filasr "and he took at-Aion and at-pasture Beth-Mach and At-
Inoh
." but Faraj said the historians arguing "The name Yanuh probably comes from the word 'to rest', because armies used to camp here on a journey 33 km from Safed to Yanuh, and from Yanuh to Acre which is also 33 km long," He explains.
Yanuach has been mentioned since the days of the pharaohs.
Dr. Raja in the village of Mukhtar (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Galilee Savyon?
Not really.
The large inscription at the entrance to Yanuh (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
How to seal a roof?
With branches and bristles
We enter the courtyard of the house of the former village Mukhtar, a position that began in the days of the Ottoman Empire in 1858 and survived shortly after the establishment of the state.
In the houses next to the Mukhtar house you can see a simple but fascinating construction of amazing vaults that have been beautifully preserved.
In the corner of the house is a sage for making pitas and above it a chimney for the fire smoke to escape.
Faraj says that in order to seal the roofs, branches of ezdrech trees were used, which has two uses: it prevents the entry of worms and the fruit keeps mice away - hence snakes.
To create a filling for sealing the walls, they would take the branches of the ezdrech and between them put branches of buckthorn and hairy bow together with goat hairs, make a pulp and put in the wall.
The beauty is in the simplicity.
A house in the village of Yanuach (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
The preacher who disguised himself as a woman
And as in any self-respecting Druze village, here too lies the local shrine.
This time the tomb of Sita Shams, a Druze preacher who used to dress up as a woman because the government in the 11th century AD, did not always approve of preaching to other religions, probably of minorities.
Although Shams was not considered a preacher (out of seven ranks), he became an important saint after the tomb complex was renovated in 1982, at which time it was decided to open the tomb and discovered a coffin and two dressed stones.
"Since people come and ask for blessings," says Farage who is also willing to swear he knows a woman in her 60s, whose voice is muted and after years of treatments, she came to the grave and said that in her dream someone with a white beard came and stepped on her chest, and she started talking.
"Her son is the secretary of the council today," he says.
A coffin and two dressed stones were discovered in the tomb.
Sita Shams Tomb (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
People come to ask for greetings.
Shams' tomb complex (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
From a landfill to a spectacular lookout
At dusk, I continue with Modi, the head of the council, to one of the projects that are already gaining ground these days.
This is an agricultural farm located on land that was once a landfill.
"We set up the farm a year ago," Moody explains, "and revived the area with the intention of bringing tourists here, and that there would be self-harvesting here and later a hydroponic greenhouse."
In the greenhouse several species of lettuce and other field crops and especially a great northwest view for sunset.
But the real sunset is worth seeing at the entrance to the village, exactly where Modi "wrote" in the giant that you came to Savyon in the Galilee.
But in fact, Yanuah-Jat should not be a savior.
On the contrary, it has its own unique character, devoid of any manners of luxury, chauffeurs or pools in luxury villas.
She has the past and the fascinating history, she has the height and the scenery and most of all she has the innocence and simplicity.
And you will not find it in Savyon.
The landfill has become a beautiful vantage point.
Modi Saad Bianuh (Photo: Ziv Reinstein)
Want to get to know the Druze villages in the country?
The "
Kfar Bikratam
" project offers free tours during the month of December and especially during the Hanukkah holiday.
For in-depth tours talk to Sultan Abbas (054-5690204) and Raja Faraj (050-6282445).
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