Yarkon River in the context of "Gush Dan"

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⭐ Core Definition: Yarkon River

The Yarkon River, also Yarqon River or Jarkon River (Hebrew: נחל הירקון, Nahal HaYarkon; Arabic: نهر العوجا, Nahr al-Auja), is a river in central Israel. The source of the Yarkon ("Greenish" in Hebrew) is at Tel Afek (Antipatris), north of Petah Tikva. It flows west through Gush Dan and Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park into the Mediterranean Sea. Its Arabic name, al-Auja, means "the meandering". The Yarkon is the largest coastal river in Israel, at 27.5 km in length.

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In this Dossier

Yarkon River in the context of Geddes Plan for Tel Aviv

The Geddes plan for Tel Aviv was the proposal of Patrick Geddes presented in 1925. It was the first master plan for the city of Tel Aviv. The Geddes Plan was an extension to the north of the first neighborhoods of the city (now in the southern part adjacent to the Jaffa) reaching to the Yarkon River.

The plan refers to the area known today as the "Old North," where the eastern boundary of the plan is Ibn Gabirol Street and the western boundary is the Mediterranean Sea. Patrick Geddes envisioned public gardens surrounded by residential blocks and small streets, with main roads crossing the city from east to west and south to north.

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Yarkon River in the context of Sharon Plain

32°24′00″N 34°52′59″E / 32.400°N 34.883°E / 32.400; 34.883

The Sharon plain (Hebrew: הַשָּׁרוֹן, romanizedHaSharon; Arabic: سهل الشارون, romanizedSahl al-Shārūn) is the central section of the Israeli coastal plain. The name Sharon is derived from the Akkadian word "A-Sharanu" which literally translates to a "thick forest," which the area was until its deforestation in the late 19th century. The plain lies between the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Samarian Hills, 15 km (9.3 mi) to the east. It stretches from Nahal Taninim, a stream marking the southern end of Mount Carmel in the north, to the Yarkon River in the south, at the northern limit of Tel Aviv, over a total of about 90 km (56 mi). The level of the Sharon plain is connected to the level of the Mediterranean Sea by the Sharon Escarpment.

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Yarkon River in the context of Via Maris

Via Maris, or Way of Horus was an ancient trade route, dating from the early Bronze Age, linking Egypt with the northern empires of Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia – along the Mediterranean coast of modern-day Egypt, Israel, Turkey and Syria. In Latin, Via Maris means "way of the sea", a translation of the Greek ὁδὸν θαλάσσης found in Isaiah 9:1 of the Septuagint, itself a translation of the Hebrew דֶּ֤רֶךְ הַיָּם֙.It is a historic road that runs in part along the Israeli Mediterranean coast. It was the most important route from Egypt to Syria (the Fertile Crescent) which followed the coastal plain before crossing over into the plain of Jezreel and the Jordan valley. Other names are "Way of the Philistines", "Great Trunk Road" and "International Coastal Highway."

Together with the King's Highway, the Via Maris was one of the major trade routes connecting Egypt and the Levant with Anatolia and Mesopotamia. The Via Maris was crossed by other trading routes, so that one could travel from Africa to Europe or from Asia to Africa. It began in al-Qantara and went east to Pelusium, following the northern coast of Sinai through el-Arish and Rafah. From there it followed the coast of Canaan through Gaza, Ascalon, Isdud, Aphek avoiding the Yarkon River, and Dor before turning east again through Megiddo and the Jezreel Valley until it reached Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Again turning northward along the lake shore, the Via Maris passed through Migdal, Capernaum, and Hazor. From Hazor it crossed the northern River Jordan at what later became known as Jacob's Ford, then climbed sharply over the Golan Heights and wound its way northeast into Damascus. Here travellers could continue on the King's Highway as far as the Euphrates River or proceed northward into Anatolia.

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Yarkon River in the context of Antipatris

Antipatris /ænˈtɪpətrɪs/ (Hebrew: אנטיפטריס, Ancient Greek: Αντιπατρίς) was a city built during the first century BC by Herod the Great, who named it in honour of his father, Antipater. The site, now a national park in central Israel, was inhabited from the Chalcolithic period to the Late Roman period. The remains of Antipatris are known in Modern Hebrew as Tel Afek (תל אפק‎), and in Arabic as Khulat Rās al-‘Ayn ('castle of the head of the spring'), after the nearby riverhead of the Yarkon. It has been identified as either the tower of Aphek mentioned by Josephus, or the biblical Aphek, best known from the story of the Battle of Aphek. During the Crusader period the site was known as Surdi fontes, "Silent springs". The Ottoman fortress known as Binar Bashi or Ras al-Ayn was built there in the 16th century.

Antipatris/Tel Afek lies at the strong perennial springs of the Yarkon River, which throughout history has created an obstacle between the hill country to the east and the Mediterranean to the west, forcing travellers and armies to pass through the narrow Afek Pass between the springs and the foothills of Samaria. This gave the location of Antipatris/Tel Afek its strategic importance.

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Yarkon River in the context of Yarkon Park

Yarkon Park (Hebrew: פארק הירקון, Park HaYarkon) is a park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually. Named after the Yarkon River, which flows through it, the park includes extensive lawns, sports facilities, botanical gardens, an aviary, a water park, two outdoor concert venues and lakes. The park covers an area of 3.5 km². At 375 hectares, it is slightly larger than Central Park in New York and double the size of Hyde Park in London.

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