Jarkon Afek National Park

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“Concrete House”, the first reinforced concrete building in Palestine

The Yarkon Park is located in Israel at the headwaters of the Yarkon and is a popular relaxation destination for the agglomeration of Tel Aviv . It contains several historical and archaeological attractions.

building

"Concrete House" and "Stone House"

Tel Afek

Here is the first reinforced concrete building in Palestine , which was built in 1912 and in which a pumping station operated until the 1970s. Another building is the "Stone House", the ruins of a plantation owner's villa with a pump house next to it. Farms and plantations located directly on the Jarkon have had the right to draw water for irrigation directly from the river since the Ottoman rule. A total of 18 pumping stations existed along the Jarkon, like this one at the “Stone House”.

Kasar farm

The Kasar farm only exists in its foundation walls . It is named after Salim Kasar from Jaffa , who ran a sugar cane and citrus fruit plantation here on Jarkon in the 19th century . The farm building was a pumping station, where groundwater was pumped into an above-ground basin with a Göpel wheel and a chain , and from there through channels into the plantations . In 1895 Kasar sold the economically unsuccessful farm to Baron Rothschild , who made it available to the residents of Petach Tikwa . The new operators converted the farm into an experimental farm for the further development of seeds .

Al-Mir Mill

Mill ruin

Near the Kasar farm are the remains of the Al-Mir flour mill, which was built during the Roman period and was in operation until the Ottoman period. The elongated building had a large arched ceiling, and two millstones were housed under each arch. At the height of the mill, 13 pairs of millstones were in operation. Presumably, an extension of the building reached over the Jarkon so that the mill also served as a bridge over the river. The water for the mill operation was dammed further up the river and brought up in canals. The mill is named al-Mir from a small village that once existed nearby.

Tel Afek

Antipatris

Next to the Yarkon spring is Tel Afek, an ancient settlement hill with a fortress from Ottoman times that controlled the transition from the coastal plain to the Judean hill country and the ancient Via Maris from Egypt to the north. Excavations brought to light the remains of settlements dating back to the fourth millennium BC. Go back BC. Already in the third millennium BC The settlement had an urban structure and a fortification wall. At the time of the judges Tel Afek was a base of the Philistines in the fight against Israel, in the course of which the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant. Tel Afek, however, is not the same as the Philistine camp at the battle in which King Saul and his sons died; the army camp was at En Afek in northern Israel.

Herod the Great built here in the first century BC. The city of Antipatris , named after his father Antipatros . Antipatris later became the seat of a bishop. A Roman cardo from this time has been uncovered and can be viewed. After the Roman period, Tel Afek gradually lost its importance as a place of residence, but it retained its military and strategic importance. In the Ottoman period, for example, the fortress Pinar Başı (dt. "Head of the spring") was built on the foundation walls of Antipatris. The ruins of this fortress still dominate the valley today.

fauna and Flora

In an artificially created pond right next to the Al-Mir mill, which is fed by Jarkon water, the University of Tel Aviv, together with the INPA , is running a reintroduction project for Acanthobrama telavivensis . This fish was once widespread in Israel's coastal rivers. Today, the fish is almost extinct due to water pollution and lack of water. In the pool, the fish is protected from natural enemies and can reproduce in a natural environment. The fish cannot reproduce in the river itself, the pond is used to investigate the causes with the aim of successfully reintroducing the fish.

The yellow pond rose thrives in the spring basins and ponds above the regulation dam . Further down the river there are also the blue pond rose and pondweed . Since these aquatic plants are sensitive to pollution, the large fields of pond roses are an indication of the successfully restored high water quality. Along the banks of the thriving cattail and reed , Cyperus papyrus and various Rubus -Gewächse. In the immediate vicinity of the river there are willow and eucalyptus forests , in which the common purple loosestrife blooms.

Web links

Commons : Jarkon Afek National Park  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Bible, 1 Samuel 4
  2. ↑ Bible, 1 Samuel 29

Coordinates: 32 ° 6 ′ 23 "  N , 34 ° 55 ′ 48"  E