Browsing Tag

Isreal

Destinations, Middle East

On the Road Again

March 5, 2009 • By

In our Hertz rental car, Jill and I headed along the Mediterranean Sea to Akko(Acre), a mix of Arabs and Jews and some Greek Orthodox. Akko is another stoned ancient city complete with a mosque, old city walls, a citadel and a fish market. Even though we ate an entire buffet at 9 am, it was nearly 11 am and time to eat hummus. Israelis insist SAID is the best and the fuul/hummus pickle mixture did not disappoint.

With our bellies very full, we ventured to Rosh Hanikra the last stop in Israel on the Lebanese border(not an open border). It’s an incredibly gorgeous place where the sea crashes against the mountains carving out these amazing water caves. The process has been going on for thousands of years. We took a cable car to the bottom of the mountain and walked through some of the tunnels. Inside the caves, we moved quickly not sure if the intensity of the waves would drench us or blow us to the ground.

We followed the scenic route along the Lebanese border to Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee. The rains from the last few days turned the landscape bright green and lush. We drove a curvy path up and down the mountain tops passing cute little villages along the way. It was completely safe but there were several cities we drove through that showed signs of war, damage and the loss of life. Finally, we reached our destination in Tiberias steps away from the Sea of Galilee. To my disappointment, I learned the Kinneret(the sea) is actually a freshwater lake fed by the River Jordan and natural springs from surrounding hilltops. Tiberias contains some of the deepest roots to Christianity in Israel. People from all over the world flock to Tiberias, the place where Jesus lived most of his life. It is believed that Jesus walked on water and assembled the 12 apostles on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. A few miles away on a mountain overlooking the water, Jesus delivered his famous Sermon on the Mount giving Christians the Beatitudes (Blessed are the poor in spirit; Blessed are the Meek, etc).

Jill and I hired a local guide to learn more of the area’s history. To say we received a religious tour is one thing; to say we learned the freaky side of mysticism is quite another. Don’t get me wrong, I learned some interesting facts but I am still trying to figure out what exactly our guide Mordechai showed us. I definitely learned some crazy shit about rabbis and even more about seeing beyond the words. Jill described Mordechai best. He is a California hippie type who likely grew up secular but became orthodox or “religious” later in life. People refer to that conversion as baaltschuva. It seems to happen to many Americans and Europeans who visit Israel. When Mordechai was 5-years-old, his parents moved from California to Israel. (He has dual citizenship). At 30, he is studying to become a rabbi and if I must add looking for a religious wife to settle down with and live the simple life.

Back in the rain, we walked through the narrow alleyways of Zefat. It’s a city set high in the mountains in Northern Israel. During the British occupation, Arabs and Jews fought over the city forcing the British to draw a line separating the two groups. Today, Zefat serves as an artists colony but it’s also widely known as a place to study the mysticism of religion. Mordechai showed us some amazing underground caves where rabbis wrote and studied. Legend has it St. Peter studied in one of the caves for seven years. The tour consisted of more ancient religious haunts then actual historical sites. We heard story after story of people having dreams and later the dreams becoming reality like a Rabbi saving his congregation from an earthquake or a man putting a wedding ring on a dead person’s finger not buried deep enough underground “six feet under” and later the woman coming back from the dead to marry the prankster. When I didn’t think it could get worse, a man from a kaballah center cornered us at lunch and explained to us how to slaughter animals properly. He went on to show us a kaballah book that illustrates how emotion and science can change water. I was too busy inhaling my chicken pancake thing to care what he was saying but afterward Jill stated the obvious,”that whole slaughter thing was a little weird.”

Our tour ended at Mt. Meron, where thousands of people celebrated the death of a famous rabbi by the name of Moises Rabanow(no idea how to spell). It was a crazy scene with people dancing and rejoicing in the pouring rain. Jill tried to explain the praying that I witnessed by saying the people were covering their eyes to be closer to God. I thought the incessant bowing and hip flexion reminded me of a spirit exhuming a body in some horror flick. The women (since we were separated) literally had their heads smashed into their prayer books. On the other side, the men’s area for prayer, there were three-year-old boys receiving their first haircut. Picture many bald babes walking around pulling on their parents. This rite of passage is a joyous occasion for religious Jews. As this was a orthodox group, the men were donning their black hats and women dressed in long skirts and covered their hair.

Jill wouldn’t let me laugh and I fully appreciated the experience but it was nothing less than a bit of a freak show to the outside observer.


Destinations, Middle East

Around Isreal

March 4, 2009 • By

Jill and I celebrated our version of the Sabbath by dining on hangover food at a Mexican restaurant. I know you are thinking I’ve now been in Israel two days and I’ve partied with an Irishman and now I’m eating Mexican but it had to be done. I like the Sabbath. It’s the only time it’s safe for me to go shopping. None of the stores are open. We walked some of the Tel Aviv neighborhoods and I found them to be just like any big city in the States with plenty of designer home and clothing stores and a cafe on every corner. After the Sabbath ended, we came alive again and headed to a fabulous yuppie restaurant on the Mediterranean named Montaray. Just as we arrived the hurricane wind and rain returned and we continued ordering course after course until it ended. Don’t worry should you think I was suffering the grouper and double fudge chocolate surprise with rum ice cream tasted amazing. Jill has visited Israel twice before so she mapped out an itinerary for the curious Christian. We rented a car and set off along the Mediterranean Coast to Haifa. The first stop proved to be an adventure as we ended up –on accident–in a kibbutz. A kibbutz is a community in Israel where everyone shares resources. It’s typically a private or gated community that produces some type of agricultural crop. It’s Israel’s answer to socialism. Once we followed a wayward bikers directions and found our way out of the kibbutz, we toured a sleepy yet romantic city called Caesarea located on the water. Today, ruins of its former occupants tell a story of greatness in the time of King Herrod to gloom and destruction during the crusades. Romans, Greeks, Christians, Jews and Arabs have all controlled Caesarea at some point in the city’s long history. Tourists flock to Caesarea to play golf and enjoy the beaches. It’s a beautiful break between Tel Aviv and Haifa. We stayed the evening in Haifa the third largest city in Israel. It most reminds me of San Francisco with Mount Carmel and the Mediterranean Sea being the vocal point of the city. Haifa is most known as a university town but it also maintains one of the country’s most vital ports. Made up of equal part Arabs and Jews, Haifa is recognized for its historic German Colony and the Bahá’ís World Center. The founder of the religion, Bahá’u’lláh, was imprisoned here by the Ottomans. The city is the perfect mix of history and culture with academia and religion. As an aside, we dined at a restaurant downtown in the German Colony called Fatousch. No one needs to eat 5 plates of food but was exceptional. I mean I totally understand the meaning behind the name. If you eat at Fatousch you will be its namesake….Fat! It was fabulous but again I must learn control and moderation.