May 27, 2015

Israel 2015

Israel Road Trip

Israel Road Trip – Day 1 – 6th May – Caesarea and Nazareth
We picked up the car and got on the road mid-morning, heading north along the coast to Caesarea. This ancient city and harbor was built by Herod the Great about 25-13 BC. There are remains from many periods, including a complex of Crusader fortifications and a Roman theatre. Other buildings include a temple dedicated to Caesar and a hippodrome (for chariot racing and other forms of brutal entertainment) which was rebuilt in the 2nd century as a more conventional theater. One of the most impressive parts of ancient Caesarea was its harbor, Sebastos. At the time it was built in the 1st century BC, Sebastos Harbor ranked as the largest artificial harbor built in the open sea.

We continued on to Nazareth, where we spent the night at the Nazareth Hostel just above the old city market and along the “Jesus Trail”. Beautiful stone stairs took us down to the city center and narrow alleys turning this way and that ensured that we would get lost (even equipped with GPS!)

We walked around the first evening, got lost, got lost again, then found our way back for the evening.

Israel Road Trip – Day 2 – 7th May – Nazareth and Tsippori
We began with the hostel’s Arabic breakfast, which was simply wonderful! They served warm pitas with fresh hummus dip and a plate of “labaneh”, a light fluffy mild spreadable cheese topped with a bit of olive oil, and then more pitas freshly baked in their oven. One had a mix of spices (thyme, sesame seeds and salt) and the other had some sort of melted feta cheese. They also served us fried eggs. We liked the location and the Brekky so much that we decided to stay another night there and use Nazareth as a base of operations to tour more of the city as well as nearby Tsippori (or Zippori).

We toured the Basilica of the Annunciation, the site where Mary received the message that she was to bear the son of God. There are two levels to the church… the lower is the original place thought to be home of Mary and Joseph, and the upper level, where the newer church was built with its modern architectural style.

We headed out of Nazareth after lunch to visit Tsippori, an archialogical site also previously known as Sepphoris. It is believed that the parents of the Virgin Mary, Anna and Joachim, were natives of Sepphoris. The town was also a center of Jewish religious and spiritual life. The Roman influence with its beautiful mosaics is impressive, with the famous “Mona Lisa of Galilee”.

We returned to Nazareth at dusk and then set out on foot for some dinner. We walked to St. Gabriel’s Church of the Annunciation, where I had Falafel’s at the Falafel Abu Hany Jabali (recommended by our hosts) and Roger had a Shwarma across the way. We happened upon a shop next door with homemade ice cream and they had coconut… it was amazingly good!

Israel Road Trip – Day 3 – 8th May – Akko and route 899 to Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee
After a second wonderful Brekky at the hostel we packed up and headed up to Akko on the coast. A quaint little town with citadel, fortress, a great street market, and even a small marina. We didn’t have a lot of time to visit here and decided that $15/pp to tour the museum, Templar tunnels and the Citadel was a bit much, so we skipped it. That might have been short-sighted, so we’ll do that if we come back to Israel for the winter. We did enjoy the walk around and the market. We bought nuts and what is said to be the best hummus in Israel (from Humos Said). The line was out the door in front and we were directed to a window out back for take-away, which was equally packed.

After Akko we drove up the coast to the Lebanese border and a magnificent view above the sea. From there we turned inland and drove route 899 through the hills and forest. We drove through Safed, though we didn’t stop to walk around as it was getting late. We arrived in Tiberius on the Sea of Galilee and checked into our lackluster hostel, which was still pricey though one of the least expensive options. It was clean, had a good shower and a little ‘fridge, so we were content.

Since it was Shabat, most everything was closed. In fact, it looked like Tiberias was deserted. We didn’t want an expensive tourist restaurant meal and were looking for a local shwarma place. We came across a mini local version of a 7-11 with a shwarma stand and one table. A couple were sitting there waiting for their sandwiches and we struck up a conversation. Andrew and Wendy were originally from Auckland and now live in Perth, AU. We decided to eat there with them and then found out they were staying at the same hotel, so we met again the following morning to have brekky, which we fixed in the communal kitchen.

Israel Road Trip – Day 4 – 9th May – Circle the Sea of Galilee, Golan Heights, North Jordan River Valley
We drove around the lake, stopping for a picnic on the eastern side. We drove inland from the south side of the lake to hot springs, but at $25/pp we needed to either continue our drive or spend the whole day there… we drove on.

Up through the Golan Heights and to the far northern reaches of Israel where it meets the borders of Syria and Lebanon. We pulled off the road at a rest area to admire the view. In the distance we saw a UN compound and some smoke further afield, which we were told were rebels fighting (though not the IS, which are inland even further). A young couple pulled into the parking lot and asked if we would like to try some local Druze (sp?) food. They were trying to earn a bit of money by selling homemade vegetarian dishes prepared by their mom. We had just finished eating, so weren’t up for a real meal, but we tried a bit of their lentil dish, with salad and bread spread with herbed labaneh (cheese). It was good. Ah, trusting tourists that we are… we were eating from the trunk of a foreign car on the side of the road near the Syrian border. No ill effects to report, happily. J

Along the drive west we encountered the Nimrod Fortress National Park. We saw the ruins from the road and went to explore. It is located on the slopes of Mt. Hermon atop a ridge at an altitude of 815 meters. The fortress is magnificent, though much of it was destroyed in an earthquake in the 8^th century.

We arrived back at our hotel in time to Skype with the MomCat and then head out for dinner. Tonight we were going to have St. Peter’s fish (aka tilapia), a specialty of the Sea of Galilee. It was expensive and full of bones, but it was not over cooked. We treated ourselves to coconut ice cream afterwards, which was much better than the meal.

Israel Road Trip – Day 5 – 10th May – Bet She’an, Dead Sea (view), Ashkelon, Ashdod and home
Roger wanted to visit the Vipassana center, newly opened last year, just south of the Sea of Galilee. It is located on a Kibbutz with many old students living in the area. After we toured the facilities, we continued on to Bet She’an national park. The park includes the ancient city of Bet She’an – Scythopolis and Tel Bet She’an. Excavations of this area only started in the 1900’s, with major excavations beginning in 1989. There are Roman bathhouses, long colonnaded streets, temples, shops and a very well preserved Roman theatre.

We drove down the west bank and around Jericho to the northern tip of the Dead Sea. We caught a glimpse of it but didn’t have time to stop there as there weren’t any reasonably-priced accommodations. We might come back when we visit Jerusalem. We headed on towards the coast to Ashkelon, where we wanted to check out the marina and see whether they might have a place for us to stay for the winter. Unfortunately, they didn’t seem too optimistic about having a place for us. We decided to check out Ashdod, which was less than 20km further north and that seemed like a nice marina too. We’re trying to get in touch with them, but haven’t heard back yet. Finally, we made it back to Herzliya, happy to be home and able to sleep in our own bed again.

Jerusalem – Day 1 – 13^th May
We caught a bus outside the marina to the train station and then hopped on a direct train to Jerusalem. The bus schedules and journey planners online took a bit of navigating themselves, but we were able to get the routes sorted and arrived near the old city without any mishaps. We stayed at the Jaffa Gate Hostel just across from the Tower of David. The location was superb and they gave us a room with a view over the city… probably the best room in the hostel. That offset the fact that the floors weren’t too clean. It had a rustic air, with arched window and rough open stone wall at the head of the bed. We had a fridge in the room and a kitchen across the hall, so we were set for fixing Brekky in the mornings. At $66/night this was a bit on the expensive side for a hostel, but compared to the prices of surrounding accommodation, it was our best bet and worth it to stay inside the old city. We dropped our bags off and headed out to get a bite to eat before joining the 2PM free city tour. Sadem at the reception desk gave us a good recommendation for shwaerma outside the Damascus gate.

*View from our room at the Jaffa Gate Hostel*

The free tour gave us an overview of the four quarters of the old city, Armenian, Jewish, Muslim and Christian, as well as the main highlights of the Tower of David, the Western Wall and underground tunnels, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

After the tour, we took a little rest and then walked back through the alleys in the city to the Western Wall, with a beautiful view of the temple mount, the mosque and the mount of olives to the east.

We walked outside the old city up the light rail pedestrian mall for dinner and found a place that made awesome gourmet pizza. We stuffed ourselves and enjoyed every last bite!

Jerusalem – Day 2 – 14^th May
We slept in a bit and woke up to the beautiful view of the old city. We went to the church of the Holy Sepulcher, where Christ was crucified and buried. This church is managed by seven different religious groups, each of which have specific responsibilities and areas for worship.

We then walked to the Jewish quarter to make reservations for the tunnel tour in the evening and headed to explore the Church of the Dormition, where Mary “fell asleep” and rests eternally (she apparently didn’t actually die), the tomb of King David and the room where the Last Supper took place.

We went back to the Jewish quarter to grab a bite of lunch and return to visit the Church of the Dormition, as it was closed for service when we arrived. Throughout the Jewish quarter there were parades of Bar Mitzvah celebrators, as the Torah is opened in the synagogue on Mondays and Thursdays only. The place was packed with school kids and we took a corner seat outside in the “Shwarma Bar”.

In the afternoon, we walked along the Via Delarosa, the path Christ took from being charged and condemned to death, walking carrying the cross, falling, meeting his mother Mary, etc. until he reached Golgotha, location of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, where he was crucified, died and then buried. Along the way, while checking our location on GPS, we met Omar in the Muslim section. Omar’s father owns a small café and we spoke with Omar about life in the old city, getting just a glimpse of the tense situation between Palestinians and the Jewish population. Jerusalem day was coming up in two days, an Israeli national holiday commemorating the “reunification” (for some, and “occupation” for others) of Jerusalem and the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City in the aftermath of the June 1967 six-day war.

e then turned back to the Jewish quarter where we took the guided underground tunnels tour, which was excellent. We had no idea how much was built under the current streets and buildings of the old city. Herod built a large temple on the site of the temple mount and first temple, with advanced Roman architectural techniques. The size and placement (without mortar) of the huge stones at the foundation is incredible.

We would have liked to spend an additional night in Jerusalem, but we realized that there was no public transportation on Shabbat (Friday afternoon through Saturday evening) and we didn’t want to be there on Sunday for Jerusalem Day, with the crowds and possible friction. So we had only Friday morning for museums before catching the last train out of the city.

Jerusalem – Day 3 – 15^th May
We didn’t have enough time to do the two museums on our list, so we decided on the Tower of David museum instead of the Israel museum based on convenience. It is an excellent museum and we didn’t have enough time to cover everything fully, which was a shame. It is very well done, guiding you through each of the periods, from the first and second temple periods, to the Hellenistic and Byzantine periods, the Ottoman period and the British Mandate period. We could easily have spent another two hours there.