The Arbel cliff is beautiful, but also strategic in its position overlooking the pass into Galilee. This natural caves system was enlarged and used for inhabitation, first by Jews during the Hellenistic period, and later by Galilean Zealots fleeing Herod the Great. The basalt fortification seen today is the handiwork of a 17th-century Druze emir, built to protect the surrounding area. The Druze are a culturally Arab religious sect who reinterprets the teachings of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.