Israel (1) | Surprising country

After our crossing from Turkey we extensively explore the north of Israel. What a surprising country, we go from one surprise to another, the enchanting landscapes, the rich history with the Biblical background, but especially the openness of the Israelis makes a deep impression on us.

Tel Aviv

We land in Tel Aviv on September 12 at 1 a.m. We drive to Nili and Hanan’s apartment by taxi. Nili is a friend of our Suzanne from her time in Tanzania. She offered us her apartment as accommodation in Giv’atayim, a suburb of Tel Aviv. Super sweet and nice for us. At 2am we can finally go to bed and tomorrow we will explore Tel Aviv and of course see Nili again since 2015.

We sleep in and then look for a place where we can charge the public transport card that we borrow from Hanan. After a lot of discussion in Hebrew, we finally managed to top up the card with 50 shekels. The ladies speak virtually no English, but luckily Carla is there. She is a customer, speaks good English and helps us figure out the route to Tel Aviv. She guides us to the metro station, which apparently opened only a month ago. Carla tells us that she has only used the metro twice. He also looks spic and span. This brings us to the old center of Jaffa.

Tel Aviv is barely a century old, the original Arab district of Jaffa or Jaffo is more than 3,000 years old. It is one of the oldest cities in the world and it is the oldest port city in the eastern Mediterranean. Jaffa has now been completely swallowed up by present-day Tel Aviv and is a district within the new city.

In Jaffa we agreed to have lunch with Nili and her family. How wonderful to embrace each other again after so many years! It was also nice to meet her husband Hanan and their 3-month-old baby Alona.

We can catch up extensively and it feels like we saw each other not so long ago. We enjoy the delicious hummus, falafel and salad. After a walk to the beach we say goodbye for now. We will definitely be back again soon. We walk together through the old town in the evening, have dinner at Urbano and take the bus back. All directions are in Hebrew and Arabic. Now we really experience how an illiterate person must feel.

Haifa

In Haifa we pick up our Milady Landy from the port, more details in this blog.

From Haifa we go to Akko. We buy groceries at the Rami Levi supermarket.

Later we find a nice place to spend the night near the beach of Akko. It will be a nice night’s sleep with the sound of the waves in the background. Tomorrow we will visit the old city.

Akko

This old port town has an oriental appearance with covered bazaars where we eat a delicious ‘namura’ with coffee/tea.

We also discover a shop here where herbs have been sold for 4 generations. Mr. Hamudi lets us smell and taste various herbs and also explains to us how they mix some herbs to give them a special aroma. Of course we can’t leave without buying some spices.

In Acre we see a large number of religious buildings, including several churches, mosques and some synagogues.

With 1 entrance ticket we can discover various sights in Akko. We visit the Templar’s Tunnel, a 350 meter long tunnel that leads from the fortress to the harbour. The Templar’s Tunnel Experience, with videos on the walls of the tunnels, gives us an idea of Acre during the time of the Crusaders.

In the Ramchal synagogue we get an interesting tour and explanation about this synagogue. The space of the synagogue is dedicated to the environment of the activity and life of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (Ramchal), who was born in the city of Padua in Italy (1707-1746). The medieval citadel, which the crusaders once built, is very special. The remains of this are largely underground and opposite the Al Jazzar Mosque is the entrance to the underground complex. We enter gigantic halls, such as the knights’ halls and the dining room with a 12-meter-high cross vault. Today, many discoveries and excavations are still being made.

When we exit the underground passages, we immediately go to the Turkish bathhouse opposite.

We finish our walk with a late lunch…

… and drive further to the Golan Heights where we want to camp for a few nights.

Katzrin

We received a tip from Hanan for a beautiful wild camping spot in the Golan Heights, near an old well. When we arrive, there are 3 cars and we consider what to do: stay or find another place.

The choice is quickly made because Shay comes to us and invites us to celebrate the ceremony of Rosh Hashanah with them. This is the beginning of the Jewish year 5785 and the celebration lasts until Sunday evening. When the sun sets, candles are lit and traditionally we get apples with honey. The apple is round and represents a new cycle (and therefore new beginning) of the year. You wish each other a good and sweet year. Then pomegranate seeds are passed around. These represent the commandments that Jews are expected to observe. It is believed that each pomegranate contains 613 seeds, which corresponds to the number of commandments. This family uses a type of tarot cards from which we can each take a card. We share our wishes for the coming year with the help of our card. Shana Tova!! The dinner we then eat together consists of various salads, hummus, baba ghanoush, rice, vegetable stew and challah bread. This braided bread looks like intertwined arms and symbolizes love. Three braids symbolize truth, peace and justice.

After dinner we sit by a fire together with mother Yaira, daughter Noga, son-in-law Arik and their children Nina and Refael and daughter Shay and son-in-law Nadav. Arik and Nadav play guitar and we listen to Israeli songs. What a beautiful evening, another one with a golden edge! The next day we rest, have interesting conversations, learn a lot about Israel and in the evening we cook and eat together with the family.

When it is Sunday afternoon, the family members go their separate ways again and we are left alone. What special days these were!