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Druze villages
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Peki’in
The picturesque Galilean village of Peki’in, lying by the top of the eponymous mountain, lies 3.7 miles east of Ma’alot and west of Rama. The village is situated more than 2,000 feet above sea level and is spread on both sides of the main road linking it with Rama, Safed and Karmiel. The village is home to 5,400 members of four nations. Three-thirds of the population is Druze, 22% are Christian and a further 3% are Muslims, while a handful of Jewish families make up the remainder. The Druze name for the village is al-Buqei’a is derived from the village’s location within a valley encircled by mountains (Arab. and Heb. Biq’a). The many springs in the area are mentioned in historic annals along with abundant gardens and orchards that still surround the village. The village nucleus is Ein al-Balad, which has long served as the hub of village life. The spring’s location right at the heart of the village has been commemorated, together with the village itself, by the Bank of Israel on the NIS 100 note. The ancient mullberry tree, a relic of the village’s thriving silk industry during the 17th and 18th century, is also depicted on the note, as are the cave of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai, the carob tree and the ancient synagogue.
The spring has given rise to numerous legends. One of them tells of two local shepherds who went up to the fountainhead at Mount Meron where chance had them stumble across the Ottoman tax collector - a much hated individual who terrorized the villagers. The shepherds, seeing the tax collector sound asleep at this serene spot, quickly hurled him down into the cave. After initially rejoicing over their success they discovered the enraged tax collector waiting for them at Ein al-Balad, whence he ended up after floating down from the fountainhead. Local excavations, the most important of which was conducted at Rabi Shimon Bar-Yohai›s cave, indicates that the history of Peki’in goes back to the Copper Age, at around 4500 BC. During the time of the Mishna and the Talmud Jews settled in the village. Christians followed during the Byzantine Period, and after 638, when the Land of Israel was made sacred to Islam, adherents of this new religion began to arrive. Later, during the 11th century, Druze began settling there as well. Evidence dating back to the Crusader and Mamluk periods attest to the village’s uninterrupted existence from as early as those times.
Until the 1960s the Druze of Peki’in lived mainly on agriculture, oil pressing, wine-making and wheat cultivation, as evident by the village mill. Until 1942 residents stayed mostly in the village, having little contact with the outside world. That year a road leading eastward was constructed and was followed by other roads. This encouraged villagers to make their livelihood outside the village. During the 1970s and 80’s the number of residents working outside the village grew, leading to a building boom and a gradual decline in the size of agricultural land (barring the olive orchards purposely protected by village authorities). Today most Peki’in residents are salaried employees, while many own small tourism and commercial businesses or work for the armed forces.
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