Alexander River Report

On Saturday morning, July 18th, 2020, at 6:30 a.m. fourteen male cyclists (plus two female cyclists) arrived at the parking lot at the Alexander River Estuary. Welcome Fernando! A new cyclist joined us! Fernando has been following the group for some time now. Fernando, a Ra’anana citizen, is an optician, who arrived from France after 6 years there. The weatherman announced the previous day, that it would be get hotter on Saturday. I looked up to the sky and hung my hopes in the clouds piled up in the sky. The same clouds which later on helped us ease the heat load. We started the ride by bypassing the groundwork taking place in the estuary, in trying to expand and deepen it. The Alexander River Estuary which spills into the sea on the Beit Yanay Beach. The direction of the ride was from the sea to the east, up to a Nature Preserve and back, about 32 km in all. A lot has been said about The Alexander River. It is an overhead stream flowing from the mountains of Samaria to the Mediterranean Sea. It runs moistly in The Hefer Valley. The river is 32 km long. In its upper part it is a seasonal stream, because of the rocky earth through which the water seeps. In its lower part, it is an official National Park, serving as a home for soft turtles. The Turtle Bridge was erected on the river, which attracts many travelers, who come to watch the turtles. The Turtle Bridge There are two versions regarding the origin of the name of the river: one is named after Alexander Jannaeus, who was king in the Hasmonean Dynasty in the 1st century BC., and who conquered the area, in which the river flows. According to the second version, in the days before the establishment of The State of Israel, the Arabs in Israel used to call the river “Ixandir Wadi” (or “Axandura River”), named after Iskandar Abu Zabura, a rich landowner and a successful watermelon trader, who lived in the 19th century, exporting watermelons from Nablus to Egypt. He would cruise the watermelons with rafts that sailed along the creek to the Mediterranean Sea. Next to the current Mikhmoret Village, what was known as “Minat Abu Zabura” (The Abu Zabura Port), which he owned, from where he would send them by ships to Egypt. Starting in 1995, they began to rehabilitate the stream and the results of the rehabilitation are visible on the ground. However, according to a study conducted between the years 2014 and 2018 by researchers at the Ruppin Academic Center, it appears that there are over 50 different pollutants in the stream. In 2020, pollutants spilled from Qalansawa have severely damaged the stream. As mentioned earlier, in riding along the stream's route eastward, by the estuary of the stream near Mikhmoret, we passed by the Hofit Village via The Turtle Bridge. We continued by Kibbutz Ma’abarot. Most of the track in the lower part of the stream is paved and intended for pedestrians and cyclists. After passing under the Road no. 4 bridge, we started riding along dirt tracks full of pebbles, the road was full of potholes, all of which make this route muddy and full of puddles in wintertime. And so we made our way to the “Agami” Nature Reserve, which is full of birds, which start their migration in October, bringing to our country huge bands of cranes, pelicans, cormorants, storks and many other species of birds. They pass through our country’s skies on their way from Europe to Africa. In previous rides we held during the autumn and winter months we watched a great number of pelicans and other birds in the “Agami” Lookout. On Saturday, there was no one at the lookout, except for this incidental guitar player, who provided us with pleasant sounds of Pink Floyd songs. From The “Agami” Lookout we headed back. On the way, we climbed up to the Agmon Hefer Lookout, which we surrounded. Towards the end of the ride, we passed by the Mishmar HaSharon Reservoir, The Sirkin Junction, The Ma’abarot Cemetery. We stopped at the observation of the Turtle Bridge and returned to the car park. The look of the clean stream and its flowing waters, the great mood accompanying jokes and stories of friends while riding, especially when all this was conducted by the one and only “Fearless Rifer” Uri Nativ, who always leads us safely with a smile and some good advice. Thank you, dear Uri!!! So, who needs more than that? Those were 32 km of fun! I had a great time, although my quadriceps muscle betrayed me towards the end of the ride. If you don’t feel the same , stand up and say so! .

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