As reported by Vesty.co.il, to admire the nature, reborn after the autumn rains, an Israeli does not necessarily have to spend much time on the road to the northern or southern part of the country. Only a half hour drive from Tel Aviv and Gush-Dan is the forest of Shoham. It is located east of road 444, in the industrial zone of the town of Shoham.
Forest plantations here began only 35 years ago, and the trees are planted at a fairly large distance from each other, so a thin forest has many green glades. In the season they grow different wild flowers. In November and December this forest is strewn with narcissus, and in January and February it is covered with white, pink and red anemones. They fill everything here, even the roadside leading to the forest from the industrial zone.
Among the trees in this forest, young silvery Arizona cypresses are particularly prominent. The form they resemble New Year trees. It is this tree that is grown on a special plot of the Jewish National Fund for distribution to representatives of the Christian communities of Israel, as well as for sale to all comers before Christmas.
By the way, Christmas tree markets in 2017 have already begun. As representatives of Christian communities, churches, monasteries and embassies, as well as foreign journalists accredited in Israel told Christmas, the Christmas trees are provided free of charge, and for private individuals the tree will cost 80 shekels for the holiday. Cypresses are grown for two years until they reach a 2-meter height. KKL's Christmas bazaars are open near Nazareth, in the mosh Beit-Lehem ha-Glili, as well as in the cypress grove of Givat-Yeshayagu in the center of the country.
But back to Shoham. In the center of the forest is the well-preserved mosaic floor of the Church of St. Bacchus, discovered in 1986 and open for visits in 2013. Three years ago, near this mosaic, a fragment of the mosaic floor of the famous Byzantine monastery in Madaba in Zaordanie was reproduced, where on the map of the Holy Land, along with Jerusalem, Modi'in and the settlement of Maglezios, where in the 4th century this church was built, are mentioned.
In the Shoham forest there is a convenient kilometer circular route suitable for families with children. At one of the high points of this route is a terrace for viewing the coastal valley and the mountains of Samaria.