Meggido

Jezreel means “God will sow” and today this area is known as Israel’s breadbasket, sprouting wheat, cotton, sunflowers and even fish ponds.

Inhabited from the Chalcolithic period, Megiddo has approximately 26 levels of occupation.  The Bible, geography and ancient and modern history in the Jezreel Valley are perhaps more closely entwined and visible than anywhere else in the country. The central Jezreel Valley, roughly 380 square kilometers in size, is bounded on the north by the Nazareth mountains and Mount Tabor, on the east and south by Mount Gilboa and the mountains of Samaria respectively, and on the west by Mount Carmel .

The passes through these mountains have been significant in world history, emphasizing Israel’s role as a bridge linking Africa, Asia and Europe.  Ancient caravans bearing merchandise and the innovations of far-off cultures, and the armies of antiquity passed this way, as attested by the famed ruins of some 25 cities at Tel Megiddo, Tel Jezreel and other antiquities sites.