Day 68 - Keshet Cave

This time last week,  I was attending the Bat Mitzvah of one of my former religious school students.  I was her Grade 5 teacher.  Chloe did a wonderful job, making her mom, dad, teachers, and congregation very proud.  One thing that is especially unique about this young lady is her Hebrew name, which is "Keshet", which means "Rainbow".   I recently came across a tourist attraction in Israel that bears the same name, so I thought I would blog about that today.

Keshet Cave is a large cave located in Northern Israel, in the Upper Galilee area.  The reason the cave got it's name is because of  it's shape - a rainbow or arch.  Apparently, the structure took on this shape after part of the cave collapsed many years ago.

Archeologist have excavated the cave and discovered many artifacts that date all the way back to the Neolithic.  They say that they area was an ideal location for prehistoric man because of the nearby natural resources - shelter and water.  In addition to prehistoric artifacts, archeologists have also come across pottery that dates back to when the Israelites first entered the land - under the leadership of Joshua.

Today, Keshet Cave has become a popular place for rappelling.  There is a company called "Israel Extreme" that provides tours:

You can rappel off the mammoth natural stone arch bridging the mountains, sailing through the air with an amazing panoramic view surrounding you. It’s a marvelous experience. We use cables to take the adventurous 25-minute beautiful hike back up – often accompanied by many curious mountain goats.

While this does sound pretty cool, I have to admit that I don't think rappeling is my thing.  I have a terrible fear of heights and doing things that are "fast".  Which is why I am one of the only people I know in Utah that doesn't ski or snowboard.  However, I think that visiting an "arched cave" may remind me of my home state, so I think that a visit to Keshet cave is worth checking out.

One thing that I found to be terribly sad is that there is a memorial near the cave.  It is a tribute to two Israeli soldiers that were kidnaped and killed by Hezbollah in 2006.  When I come across things like this, I am reminded that as beautiful and peaceful a location may look - in a blink of an eye it can be transformed to a landscape of  terror.  Moral of the story is that one must always have their wits about them in Israel.