Location: Near Nir Am.
Description: A wooden stairway ascends to the top of the hill. Just before the summit there is a thick metal silhouette portraying a rider on a horse with a dog in front of him. The sculpture commemorates Yaakov (Yanchik) Gavri, a member of adjacent Kibbutz Nir Am, who was mukhtar of the area for 40 years. Gavri, a famous cowboy, would ride across the fields on his horse accompanied by his faithful dogs. On top of the hill are two large pine trees planted by Yanchik, with a bench in their shade. Columns honoring the donation of the Friends of KKL-JNF in Italy complete the picture.
The hill affords an excellent view of the area of Ashdod and Ashkelon, Netiv HaAsara, the dunes of the northern Gaza Strip, Beit Lahiya and Beit Hanun. The northern neighborhoods of Sderot can be seen to the east. Yaakov Gavri’s family have planted a small orchard on the western slopes of the hill.
Directions: Drive south on Route 34 from Yad Mordechai. About 3 km after the entrance to Kibbutz Erez a solitary hill ascends to the right of the road; on its summit are two pine trees and next to them a silhouette of a rider on a horse. At the Delek gas station, turn right and continue straight ahead. Cross a new bridge over the railroad track and immediately afterwards turn north onto a good dirt road. The road reaches the bottom of the hill after 400 m.