Discover Yarka: Art, History and Spices

Yarka brings together themes of art, Druze religious history and traditional spice-making. If you are looking for a hotel in Yarka, these different features may play a role in your choice of destination: an exhibition brings together art forms by artists from the village, while the spice factory combines production and a shop with everyday practice. The Centre for Druze Religious Studies adds a historical and architectural dimension.

Art and Group Tours in Yirkā

The permanent “Art and Faith Alleys” exhibition is located in Yirkā’s old village center. It features paintings, poetry, photography and sculptures by artists from the village. The different forms of expression are presented side by side: alongside paintings and photographs, the exhibition also includes texts and three-dimensional works. Check the exhibition’s status before visiting. Groups planning a tour of “Art and Faith Alleys” can get in touch by phone. Check in advance whether a tour is available on your preferred date and whether the contact details are up to date.

Spices, Coffee and a Shop in the Village Center

The Yirkā spice factory is located in an old house in the historic village center and is owned by the Abu Rish family. In this small, traditional business, the women of the family grind spices and roast coffee. Women from the village come every day to grind spices for their own kitchens. In this way, the work at the factory and the spices’ use in home cooking are part of the same story. The business also includes a shop selling fresh spices and coffee, tahini, olive oil, herbs and Oriental sweets. If you plan to visit the spice factory, check its current operating status beforehand.

Druze Religious History and Architecture

The Centre for Druze Religious Studies was built in 1927 on the mountain known as Har HaTashuka in Yirkā. The religious leader Muhammad Muadi is named as its patron. The center takes the form of an Al-Biyadeh Khilwa, a white prayer house. The site thus combines a specific building history with a religious function; the name Har HaTashuka refers to the mountain.

Archaeological Sites in the Wider Destination of the Northern District

In the wider destination of the Northern District, Tel Hazor offers an archaeological highlight. This biblical tell preserves significant remains of a city with biblical connections; the visit focuses on the upper city. Tel Hazor includes Solomon’s Gate, dating to the 10th century BCE, a gate with six chambers and two towers. The Canaanite palace is also part of the site. The kings of Hazor used it in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The Late Bronze Age palace is considered the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most important in the Levant. The fortifications are considered the finest example of their kind in the area stretching from southern Turkey to the northern Negev.

Tel Hazor’s water system includes significant remains of an underground water-collection system. It represents sophisticated engineering, adapted to the geography, for storing water. Steps three meters wide are cut into the walls of the vertical shaft; the excavated shaft is 45 meters deep. Tel Hazor National Park can be reached from the north and south via Route 90 toward Ayelet Hashahar. Check your navigation before setting out.

Tel Megiddo is also a biblical tell with significant remains of a city with biblical connections. It is one of three tells that preserve such remains and are closely associated with events from the Bible. The Early Bronze Age temple complex is exceptional in terms of the number of its temples, the continuity of cultic activity and the documented ritual practices. Another highlight is the orthogonal city plan from the Iron Age, which has few parallels in the Levant.

Discover more destinations: Hashmona'im, Kfar Kisch, Kahal, Beit Alfa, Hila, Chadera, Jisr az-Zarqa, Amuka.

Go to the wider travel overview: Israel.