Neot Kedumim Park: 7 Facts About Israel's Biblical Landscape Reserve

Neot Kedumim, a Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel that is located halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, seeks to reclaim ravaged ancient landscapes and model them after Biblical and Talmudic accounts to offer visitors an authentic historical experience.

Here are seven facts about Neot Kedumim:

1. Neot Kedumim is the only Biblical Landscape Reserve in the entire world, according to its website.

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2. Dr. Nogah Hareuveni, the creator behind Neot Kedumim, won the Israel Prize — the State of Israel’s highest honor — in 1994 for his efforts, according to Jewish Action. The judges wrote that “Neot Kedumim ... is a unique phenomenon which fills a top priority national goal. It has created a framework which shows the nature and agriculture of the Land of Israel as it has been interwoven within our heritage ... Past, present and future converge with ancient landscapes to create a continuous web expressing the essence of our lives, in which the roots of the past are the growth of the future.”

3. The 625 acres of land upon which Neot Kedumim is built were once barren territory that served as an army training ground, according to The Jerusalem Post.

4. Nogah Hereuveni’s parents, Ephraim and Hannah, who established the Museum of Biblical and Talmudic Botany at the Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus, held the original vision for the Neot Kedumum’s creation.

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5. During the construction process, tons of soils were imported, thousands of animal and plant species true to Biblical and Talmudic accounts were brought in or planted, and wine presses, olive presses, threshing floors, and buildings were restored.

6. Many of Neot Kedumim’s landscapes were modeled and after and bear the names of landscapes referenced in the sacred texts, including the Forest of Milk and Honey, the Dale of the Song of Songs, the Fields of the Seven Species, and Isaiah’s Vineyard.

7. In seeking to reunite “text with context,” Neot Kedumim is a non-profit organization that encourages Biblical and Talmudic scholarship, zoology, botany, geography, history, and archaeology for its visitors to enjoy a very hands-on experience.

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