Ein Gev: Harbor, Fishing History and Culture

Before booking, you can consider whether you would like to include a museum, a creative activity or an excursion in the surrounding area in your travel plans. Susita National Park is nearby, opposite Kibbutz Ein Gev; Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo are part of the Northern District’s cultural context.

Fishing History on the Sea of Galilee

The House of Anchors Fishing Museum displays a collection of ancient fishing artifacts found in the area around the Sea of Galilee. It also tells the story of the fishermen on the Sea of Galilee over the past 3,000 years. The museum thus combines tangible finds with a broad historical overview of fishing on the lake. If you are interested in the culture of the lake, it brings together material evidence and the story of its fishermen under one theme.

Harbor Activities: Woodworking, Art and Play

At Ein Gev Harbor, Grampa Saba Yossi’s workshop offers the opportunity to work with wood. The “-200 art gallery” is also located at the harbor. For families, The House at the Harbor offers a wooden play area and creative activities. These options provide hands-on and creative activities, while the House of Anchors Fishing Museum focuses on fishing history and ancient artifacts.

An Annual Harbor Festival

The Ein Gev Harbor Festival takes place every year during Passover week. If the festival determines your travel dates, plan around this recurring week and check the specific event dates before booking.

Susita and Hippos Opposite the Kibbutz

Susita National Park is nearby, opposite Kibbutz Ein Gev. It preserves the remains of the ancient city of Hippos, known in Hebrew as Susita. Hippos and Susita refer here to the same ancient city. Alongside the harbor and fishing history, this offers another historical focus: the remains of an ancient city in the national park.

Route Planning Tips

A route described by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority on May 11, 2022, ends at the cemetery of Kibbutz Ein Gev; vehicles should be arranged for the return journey. If you take this route, plan for return transportation and check current route conditions before setting out.

Cultural Context in the Northern District

In the Northern District, Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo form a distinct archaeological context. Tel Hazor is a biblical tell with significant remains of a city associated with the Bible; the visit focuses on the upper city. Tel Hazor includes Solomon’s Gate, with six chambers and two towers dating to the 10th century BCE, as well as a Canaanite palace used by the kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The Late Bronze Age palace is considered the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most significant in the Levant.

Tel Hazor preserves significant remains of an underground water collection system, an ingenious feat of engineering adapted to the geographic conditions for storing water. An excavated shaft at Tel Hazor is 45 meters deep. In the water system, steps three meters wide are cut into the walls of the vertical shaft. Tel Hazor’s fortifications are considered the finest example of their kind in the area from southern Turkey to the northern Negev.

Tel Megiddo is also a biblical tell with significant remains of a city associated with the Bible. Its Early Bronze Age temple complex is exceptional in terms of the number of its temples, the continuity of cultic activity and the ritual activities documented there. Tel Megiddo’s orthogonal Iron Age city plan has few parallels in the Levant. The regional focuses therefore differ: at Tel Hazor, points of interest include the palace, fortifications and water engineering; at Tel Megiddo, they include temple history and urban planning.

Discover more destinations: Chorazin, Adi, Kiryat Ono, Kerem Maharal, Ne'ot Golan, Sde Tzvi, Alonei Habashan, Had Nes.

For the broader travel overview: Israel.