Around Beit Guvrin

About 22km east of Ashkelon, Kiryat Gat is easily accessible by bus from Tel Aviv (#369, every 15-2Omiii.), Jerusalem (#446, every 20-40min.), and Ashkelon (#25, every 30min.). This small, industrial town is the capital of the Lakhish region-a network of 30 villages established in 1954-and the jumping-off point for exploring several interesting sites. Tel Gat, the hill to the northeast, was formerly believed to be Gath, one of the five major Philistine cities and the birthplace of Goliath. Excavations, however, have failed to unearth any evidence of an ancient capital, Beit Guvrin, a modern kibbutz, was built in 1949 on the ruins of the deserted Arab village of Beit Jibrin. The surrounding region is characterized by huge outcrop-pings of cacti and fig trees, which hide some 3000 caves. Some were carved naturally as water eroded the soft limestone.

Phoenicians carved the others as they scooped limestone out of gigantic holes in the earth for use in the construction of their great port at Ashkelon. As a result, many of the caves have vast bell-shaped rooms with sun roofs. The caves later became natural sanctuaries for hermits and monks of the Byzantine period. St. John and others came here seeking solitude, and often carved crosses and altars into the walls. Modem carving, mutilation, and havoc-were wrought here during the filming of the postmodern epic Rambo III The site is well-tended with marked trails and some facilities.