Midrakh Oz: Trails, Landscape and Culture

Midrakh Oz has a short walking path along Nahal Midrakh; the regional Megiddo Trail also passes through the moshav. From Midrakh Oz, views extend across the fields of the Jezreel Valley and the Menashe Heights. The name of the place also refers to biblical tradition. If you choose your stay based on walking opportunities and cultural history, the local trail options are clearly distinct from the archaeological sites in the wider Northern District destination.

Trails and practical information

The Megiddo Trail is a regional hiking trail for pedestrians and is marked with purple markings along its entire length. At the Midrakh Oz junction, it crosses Route 66, enters the moshav of Midrakh Oz, and immediately turns right. There is a water tap in the small park to the left of the trail.

A short walk runs along Nahal Midrakh. The path is about 700 meters long and accessible to strollers. There is a pleasant, shaded seating area at the entrance to the promenade along Nahal Midrakh. This offers two distinct options: a regional hiking route and a short local path.

Public transportation runs several times a day between Midrakh Oz and Afula, and between Midrakh Oz and Yokneam. Check the current schedule before traveling.

Landscape and place name

Views from Midrakh Oz extend across the fields of the Jezreel Valley and the Menashe Heights. The moshav’s name comes from the Song of Deborah in the Bible, which contains the verse “Tidrĕkhi nafshi oz.” The description of the place thus combines landscape references with a specific cultural note about the origin of its name.

Cultural sites in the wider Northern District destination

Tel Hazor and Tel Megiddo are part of the wider Northern District destination and are distinct archaeological highlights there. Tel Hazor is a biblical tell with significant remains of a city associated with the Bible; visits focus on the upper city. Its underground water-collection system is an ingenious, geographically adapted engineering achievement for storing water. Steps three meters wide are carved into the walls of the vertical shaft; the excavated shaft is 45 meters deep.

Tel Hazor also includes Solomon’s Gate, a six-chambered gate with two towers dating to the 10th century BCE. The Canaanite palace was used by the kings of Hazor in the 14th and 13th centuries BCE. The Late Bronze Age palace is described as the most elaborate in Israel and one of the most significant in the Levant. 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 one of three tells that preserve significant remains of cities associated with the Bible and are closely linked to events in the Bible. The Early Bronze Age temple complex is exceptional because of the number of its temples, the continuity of cult activity, and the documented ritual practices. The orthogonal city plan dates to the Iron Age and has few parallels in the Levant. The finds at Tel Megiddo thus include evidence from different periods.

Discover more destinations: Yizre'el, Gescher.

View the wider travel overview: Yizrael.