Hurfeish: Druze Culture and History

Hurfeish can be explored through specific cultural themes: Druze traditions, traditional crafts and a special invitation to a meal are among them. When looking for hotels in Hurfeish, you might consider whether you are particularly interested in religious history, village traditions or the Druze food served by Safta Maha.

Village Life, Crafts and Druze Traditions

By prior arrangement, the Amir Ghanem Druze Museum offers a guided tour through the alleyways of Hurfeish. The tour covers old houses, local folk tales and the village’s Druze prayer house, the Khalwa. The walk brings together the built environment, oral traditions and a religious site. Be sure to arrange the required appointment with the museum before the tour.

The Hurfeish Center for Traditional Crafts is located in a 250-year-old house in the heart of the village. At a gathering, visitors can listen to a talk about the position of women in the Druze community and watch women embroidering and knitting. The conversation and handicrafts offer different perspectives: one concerns the role of women in the community, while the other showcases textile techniques that you can observe directly.

Another way to explore the culture is through religious tradition and pilgrimage. Nabi Sablan (Abu al-Khayr Salama ibn Abd al-Wahhab al-Samri) is considered the fourth of the five prophets of the Druze; his tomb in Hurfeish is a pilgrimage site. The Al Amir Museum is dedicated to Druze heritage and displays various old agricultural tools. While the tomb is a religious focal point, the tools draw attention to agricultural work. Before visiting, it is advisable to check the Al Amir Museum’s current visiting arrangements.

Druze Cuisine and Personal Encounters

Safta Maha welcomes guests to her home in Hurfeish for a Druze meal. It includes dishes such as Shulbato, mansaf with beef or chicken, stuffed vine leaves, stuffed cabbage, maqluba and mughribi; Druze breakfasts are also available. This offers a specific insight into Safta Maha’s own offering, not a general statement about the village’s cuisine. Contact the host to make arrangements for the meal.

More Cultural Themes in the Wider Northern District Destination

In the wider Northern District destination, another cultural focus is the archaeology of Tel Hazor. The visit centers on the Upper City. Topics there include Solomon’s Gate, with six chambers and two towers dating to the 10th century BCE, and the Canaanite palace from the Late Bronze Age, used by the kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The excavated shaft is 45 meters deep, with steps three meters wide cut into the walls of the vertical shaft. The remains of the underground water collection system illustrate sophisticated engineering adapted to the geography for storing water. The palace is described as the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most significant in the Levant.

Tel Megiddo is also among the biblical tells in the wider Northern District destination: it preserves significant remains of a city with biblical connections and is closely associated with events in the Bible. The Early Bronze Age temple complex is exceptional in terms of the number of its temples, the continuity of cult activity and the documented ritual practices. The Iron Age orthogonal city plan has few parallels in the Levant. These archaeological themes offer a different historical perspective from Hurfeish’s focus on Druze traditions, pilgrimage and crafts.

Discover more destinations: Menara, Afikim, Shefayim, Evron, Ein Kinya, Gornot Hagalil, Kfar Baruch, Ramat Gan.

To the overall travel overview: Israel.