The physician who wrote the first Hebrew survey of the Holy Land's geography
Estori HaParchi was a physician who, after being expelled from France in 1306, wandered through Spain and Egypt before settling in Beit She'an. There he did something no one had done in Hebrew before: in 1322 he wrote Kaftor VaFerach, the first Hebrew work devoted to the geography of the Land of Israel, walking the country and correctly identifying scores of ancient towns.
How we know
Ishtori (Estori) HaParchi (c.1280–1355), physician and topographer. Expelled from France in 1306; traveled through Spain and Egypt; settled in Beit She'an. In 1322 he completed Kaftor VaFerach, the first Hebrew work on the geography of Eretz Yisrael, identifying about 180 ancient sites, most later confirmed by modern scholarship.
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