Galil

Maalot Hills, Yodfat Kitchen, and Beit Keshet

Maalot hills behind sunflower fence
In June 2024 we visited the Galil (Galilee in English), the region in the north western part of Israel, west of the Golan Heights. Some of the places we visited were Beit Keshet, Tsefat, Tiberias, Yodfat, and Maalot. Pictured above is the illustration of the view from my friend’s house in Maalot.

Maalot steps, watercolor
In Maalot my friend and I went on an Maalot sketch crawl. Maalot is hilly. The name Maalot means “steps.” We walked down her block and stopped at some long steps, a common scene in Maalot. The jacaranda tree was in bloom, so I was attracted to that spot. I drew first with my black uniball pen. Next I added some color.

Hills of Maalot, watercolor
This is another scene of Maalot. The hills around were peaceful and calm.

kitchen, Yodfat, Northern Israel
Yodfat is a small community on top of a hill. Historically, it is famous for a Roman siege of Yodfat that took place many years ago. We stayed in a house with many amenities, especially in the kitchen. When I woke up in the morning, I went for a walk all around the village. After a while, it started to get hot, so I came into the air-conditioned kitchen, took out my paints, and began to draw. I drew a corner counter with some windows. I added the ballpoint pen marks later.

pots and pans in a kitchen, Yodfat, Galil, Israel
Pots and pans are a lot of fun to draw and paint.

paints in Beit Keshet, Galil, Israel
I spent the early morning in Beit Keshet with my paints and the Galil scenery.

sketchbook on a table
The Beit Keshet cottage had a lovely back porch with an amazing view. I loved the little table in the corner.