Eilat to Jerusalem

Purim Sameach! I know I am a few days late (Shabbat was the actual date of the holiday) but Jerusalem is still celebrating. Matter-of-fact, I hear fireworks as I am typing.

 On Wednesday morning we set out from Masada and started out on our long trek to the southern most tip of Israel: Eilat. We passed through miles and miles (or kilometers and kilometers) of desert wasteland, often times with Israel on our right and Jordan on our left. Of course we were always in Israel. We spent around three hours getting down to the city, during which many of us turned to our electronic devices, considering the landscape was generally unchanging you really cannot blame us.

 

 We found the hostel after a while of confused directions, and dropped off some of our luggage (it was too early to check in - it was one o'clock and we couldn't check in until three o'clock-) before going out to explore. Eilat is quite the place, it's been called the Los Vegas of Israel, but it was nicer than I was expecting it to be. We drove down to the Egyptian border (or close enough) and it was super cool because we could see three countries at once. The distant mountains of Egypt, the Israeli city of Eilat, Jordan's city, and Saudi Arabia's mountains. Also, we walked around the touristy part of town, past all the shops and along the beach. Got some delicious ice cream, who can go wrong with Passion fruit sorbet and Rum Raison? Not together of course.

Three Monkeys

The city at night.

Eilat with the mountains of Jordan behind.

 The next day Abba, Henny, and I got picked up at nine in the morning to go driving in the Red Sea, while Saba, Auntie Coco, and Sarah went and chilled on the beach. Literally. It was probably the coldest day Eilat has seen this winter. Anyways, when our dive guide pulled out the 5mm wetsuits, hoods, and booties, we were certainly rather skeptical, despite the weather. In Caesarea we had only used wetsuits, and the water was much colder. Oh, how I wish we had photos of the neon fish, colorful coral, and amazing underwater life. We did two dives in the Bay of Eilat, which for some reason isn't considered part of the Red Sea by divers, probably because of the difference in underwater scenery. Some things we had the privilege to view include: Blue-spotted stingrays, a baby frogfish, stonefish, numerous lionfish, a huge moray, a giant pufferfish, and a giant clam (which wasn't as big as one might think by the name, but beautiful). Sure enough we ended up glad for all the warm garb we had been required to wear. Overall it was a super cool experience, and someday I hope to dive along Sinai, but due to current tensions that is no time soon.

 We hooked back up with the other half of our group afterwards, and we all hung out, walked around, did some school, and finally went out to dinner at a Boston restaurant. It was a good night overall, but by the end no one wanted to do anymore walking. :)

 

On Friday, after a seven o'clock hostel breakfast, we threw all our bags into the back of the car and got rolling again, this time our final destination was Jerusalem. Our original plan was to drive "up" to Jerusalem, but the Lord put a stop to that. Once we reached near where we had stayed along the dead sea, we found the road closed, probably do to rain and water on the roads. Due to that event, my dad choose to drive to Tel Aviv to drop of the car first, then catch a taxi to Jerusalem. And so that is what we did. At the airport we jumped in a Shurot (a van/taxi thingy) and it wasn't long before we were dropped of at our next temporary home. We found out that it was really good that we didn't drive up along the dead sea and have Abba return the car in Tel Aviv after dropping us off in Jerusalem; because the traffic was very extreme, and he wouldn't have returned until well after Shabbat started.

A huge raincloud that poured a tropical downpour on our car.

 Our first stop was the market, which was (and is) only a few blocks from where we were (and are) staying. It was unlike anything I had seen in America, but then again I haven't been to much open markets. Bread, pastries, meat, dates, nuts, and most any kosher food that you can think of was laid out in the stands for us to drool over, and it was very crowded with the pre-Shabbat rush. Everyone was hurrying to buy food before the appointed time arrived, which made it hard to walk very fast. I have sense found that large, slow moving crowds are commonplace here, but of course I haven't been to many cities and I expect that most contain crowds like that.

 Auntie Coco, with a little bit of help, prepared a wonderful Shabbat meal for us, with plenty left over to get us through the following day as well. If only Abba, Saba, Sarah, and I hadn't eaten that falafel right beforehand, we could've enjoyed it more fully.

 It was truly surreal to be in Jerusalem, on the eve of Purim, and celebrating the Shabbat dinner. What an amazing thing.

Sunrise over Jerusalem

 Our Shabbat was a truly relaxing day. We spent some time walking around and looking at the closed shops in our part of the city, and then we walked over to the Old City and explored parts of the Jewish, Christan, and Armenian Quarters. Everything was so interesting. Also, you could tell which shops weren't Jewish (despite their often Jewish wares) by who was open and who wasn't.

 

 

And that was that!!! I dearly hope I shall have time to update tomorrow, but my Abba warned me that we shall have a busy day. It is late here, almost midnight. I don't understand why I make everything so last minute!

Shalom everyone, and Shevuah Tov.

Ella

Catching Up

 We have left the beautiful and lush North for the wild, desolate South. But I shall get to that in a minute. On Sunday we had quite the amazing Israeli breakfast like the one shown in the previous blogpost, and afterwards drove to the south end of the Galilee to hang out with Mr. Joe and his kids. Hamat Gader was our destination, a mixed zoo/alligator farm and hot springs. On our drive there we were very close to the Jordanian border. Abba got really confused because we were going south and the border was on the wrong side of the road, but we figured out that it was correct. I'd say we were within ten feet from the fence at points.

Alligators

A friend :)

 Anyways, it was a fun day. The water was very hot and reminded me of a giant hot tub. I think I prefer cold water to hot, but it is nice to relax every once in a while. My head felt like it was going to explode when I was swimming underwater though, but of course I had to swim as far as I could, no matter the temperature. :) Afterwards we threw around a plastic football and headed for some Falafel. By that time it was pouring rain, something Israel really hasn't had enough of this past winter. We had to say goodbye to our friends there, and headed up to Sarona for a one night stay at a guesthouse.

 The place was no doubt highly rated because of the guy who gave us a bottle of wine and cookies, and plus the breakfast was decent the next morning. Also, they had a ping-pong table, on which Henny, Sarah, and I tried to teach ourselves, and on which Saba and Abba played a few fast paced games. Then Abba and Saba helped to teach me how to hold the paddle and such, which was fun. :)

After the ping-pong, we all hopped in the car and started to drive to Tel Aviv to pick up Aunt Coco. We didn't need to pick her up until after four, and so took our time in getting there. One of the stops we made was Megiddo, also known as Armageddon. The archeology there was super cool, with some very old parts dating to the biblical Israelites. There was this super cool tunnel that we walked through, which was used to get water. It was very impressive, I must say, especially to have been made during the time of Ahab (I think). Another stop was Beit Shearim, Jewish catacombs with many sarcophagi within them. The sarcophagi were massive and made of huge blocks of stone, and every one that I saw had been broken into. The bones were long gone. The tombs are from the 2nd century to the 4th century CE.

At Megiddo

Down to the tunnel

A carved Menorah in the tombs

 

It was a long drive to Tel Aviv and we had to wait a while once we got to the airport, but I spent the time in Narnia, thanks to a movie. ;) Finally Auntie Coco was off the plane and we were able to continue our driving. It was getting dark by that point, and after a stop at a rest stop for some falafel, Abba drove us all the way to Masada, near the Dead Sea. There was much conversation in the car, considering Auntie Coco had joined us and we don't see her that often. It was fun taking the sharp turns in the dark as we headed down to the lowest spot on earth.

 

 When we pulled up to the youth hostile, we were greeted by what seemed like a thousand kids (aged middle school to high school). Many were dancing wildly to loud music, which looked rather fun to me, besides the fact that I didn't speak their language and they seemed crazy. They were all very, very loud. It didn't get quiet until midnight, but thankfully I fell asleep well before then. Abba didn't though.

 

 We were up early the next morning, 4:30 to be exact. Everyone got dressed and grabbed some water and headlights: we were going to climb Masada. We started up the Snake Path at five, and I'd say the sun rose at about six or so, give or take thirty minutes. (I'm not the best at estimating time). There was 800 stairs to go up on our climb, and that certainly wasn't easy, especially considering we (I speak mainly for myself, but I'm sure at least half, if not all, of the others wouldn't disagree) haven't been keeping in the best shape over the winter. We went at a pretty slow pace, but Auntie Coco and Henny had to keep a slower pace and so they arrived at the top a while after us. Abba went down to walk with them. I'm certainly impressed that Auntie Coco and Saba made the climb!

 The sunrise at the top was beautiful; though it had been light for a long time before we saw the sun appear above the jagged cliffs of Jordan. Then we explored Masada until eight, reading about the massive fortress and palace Herod had built, and about the many hundreds of Zealots that committed suicide before the Romans had built a ramp and had burned the gate. At 8 o'clock, everyone but Abba and I took the cable car down. Him and I hiked back down and saved some shekels.

 

 Then we went to Ein Gedi and did the little hike up to the waterfalls. We were evading masses of kids that had come from the hostile. At David's waterfall you weren't allowed to swim in the pool, which was very sad to us, especially to Abba, who had been looking forward to that. To try to make up for it, him and I hiked back down the stream, getting our feet wet and rock hopping. :) That was fun, but it certainly is a small stream and very simple to go down. 

 

Smaller Waterfall

After some ice cream we headed over to a Dead Sea beach I cannot remember the name of. The water was so crazy! Water isn't suppose to act like that in my book! So strange, being able to float without a problem. It was impossible to sink. All the cuts on my body sure stung, but poor Sarah, she had some fresh ones from our hike. I'm sure it helped heal them, though.

 

 Back at the hostel we had dinner and then headed up to bed, thankfully there were less kids and they weren't half as loud as the night before. So that was yesterday! Now I can say I've climbed Masada and floated in the Dead Sea. :) Yay!

View from Hostel

Back at Arbel. Ella and Henny trying a sip of this lemon/hard alcohol/sugar stuff. The amount in the glass was the original amount given. The faces certainly describe our what our reactions were. ;)

God Bless and Shalom,

Ella

End of Week One

The weekend has ended, and our second week in HaAretz is already well begun. How quickly the time has left us, the long days are gone too soon. But this is life. Anyways, Thursday was more of a relaxing day, which included a lot of driving. We drove through Tsafat (Safat) but didn't get out. The place was CROWDED and my dad pointed out that everyone had pants and long sleeve shirts. Even the men were wearing pants! We could've made do with some scarves and whatnot, but it was hot and we didn't really feel like shopping anyways. (Though I'm sure Sarah would beg to differ).

 Saba wanted to stop at the Mt. of Beatitudes, and so we did. We didn't go into the little Catholic church thing (the gate was closed and some lady in a car gave Abba a stare-down) but walked around and saw the view that Yeshua saw when giving his most famous sermon. Then we went to Capernaum, where we encountered an abandoned tourist place down one road, and a bunch of people down the other road. No shorts were aloud, and that applied to most of us, including Abba. It was certainly cool walking were God as a man had walked 2000 years ago. The Sea of Galilee is very low this year, by the way.

We stayed at a bed and breakfast near the cliffs of Arbel, a wonderful little place. Of course we went to take a quick look at the cliffs before checking in. The cliffs are very beautiful despite their brutal past. Herod had people of his army lowered down the cliffs in baskets to exterminate the Zionists hiding in the num

 

 One of the workers at the guesthouse, “Grape”, pointed us in the direction of some old synagogue ruins. I almost stepped on a turtle on the way there. Henny occupied herself by searching through some pottery, and the rest of us marveled at what else could be buried beneath our feet. The arch was made of one single giant stone.

Turtle

  

  That, along with a hearty dinner, pretty much sums up that day. The next day, Friday, our first stop of Beit Sha’an, the largest archeological sight in Israel. It was incredible and massive, I see why Abba has always wanted to take us there. I really thought the tell was cool, which included 20 layers of different civilizations. That was where Saul and his sons' bodies were hung on the walls of the city by the Philistines.

Israeli Breakfast

View from the tell

After that we headed over Gan HaShlosha, three pools fills with spring water. The water was an exceptional blue color and a refreshing 82 degrees. It was so nice to just swim again, especially after being away from Hawaii from so long. When I was swimming with Abba, Henny, and Sarah, we put our feet down in a shallow area, and soon there were cries of "Something touched me!" We soon found out that the little fish love to nibble on people's feet. Henny and Abba were pretty much the opposite of fans. I actually liked it, after I got over the tickling factor. I have heard that spas in Asia have fish pedicures, because they remove the dead skin. Now my feet are nice and clean. :) Just kidding, not about the nice and clean part, but attributing it to the fish. Who knows! Anyway, it was super beautiful and fun.

 

That evening Shabbat started, which we welcomed by the breaking of bread and a hearty dinner.

For Shabbat we drove all the way over to Haifa to go to our friend Mr. Joe's congregation. The service was great and, as to be expected, in Hebrew (I was the one sharing a transator with Sarah, which made understanding the message a great deal harder). As with the other congregation we had visited the week befoe, it really was encouraging to see believers in The Land getting together for a service. Afterwards we went to this really sweet older Romanian couple's house for lunch. The man is an opera singer, and his wife is a pianist, but we didn't get to hear her play because it was Shabbat. They had many miraculous stories of people being saved.
 She first served us a tomato stew. Henny, who doesn't like tomatoes, was able to secretively swap bowls with Abba. Abba and Saba didn't realize that the soup wasn't the main course, and were surprised when potatoes with chicken and salad was brought out. Yum!

 Afterwards Abba, Saba, Henny, Sarah, Mr. Joe, and I hoped in the car and drove to where Elijah called down fire from heaven. The Carmel Forest was beautiful, and we were able to see where the wildfire had destroyed so much not too many years ago. It is already green again. That was very cool, and after dropping Mr. Joe back off we took the long drive back to Arbel. It was a wonderful Shabbat, full of fellowship and relaxing.

 So, if you are wondering why there is a lot less photos on this post, there an explanation. I regret to inform you that I lost my IPod (or it was stolen) on Sunday. I had just bought it a couple weeks before this trip, and one misplacement has caused me to loose all the pictures I took. :( Another thing to note is that back when we were in those Druze villages (or more of outside), some of us almost died. A massive truck wasn't pulling back into his lane and Abba had to scrape the guardrail to avoid an impact that could've killed him and Henny, if not all of us. There was less than six inches between us when he passed! Baruch HaShem that we didn't become Just a Dead Family.

 I will try to find time to write about Sunday, Monday, and now Tuesday! Keep your eyes open for the next post.

Ella

The Amazing North

Shalom!

 On Tuesday morning we set out from the lovely town of Akko and started to head up the coast. The first place we stopped was actually the farthest north you can go on the coast of Israel, Rosh HaNikrah. We took "the steepest cable car in the world" down the cliffs to sea level, but it only lasted about two minutes and was going at a very slow pace. When we went down in the Grottos, caves carved out by the sea, and the water was beautiful. Abba, Henny, and I all wanted to jump in that beautiful water, but it was a little ruff, plus it was restricted waters.

 

In the "Grottos"

Then we hit two more stops, the Ghetto Fighters museum and Yeheyam Castle. The museum was a holocaust museum, which was very sad and interesting. They had a whole exhibit dedicated to the warsaw ghetto fighters, which I had not known about at all. Only so few of the millions of Jews actually resisted, and they met horrible ends. I certainly respect the memory of those men and woman. Abba, Henny, Sarah, and I got trapped in a small exhibit dedicated to those who hid Jews by a group of 30 or so Israeli school children sitting on the floor, and it was at least 15 minutes until we decided to stop waiting and just go through them.

The only picture we took, a letter of a man captured after helping Jews.

 Yeheyam (I do not know how to spell that) was very cool, an old crusaders castle.

I don't know how Henny ends up in all my photos :)

View from top

 

 

 After that, Abba drove us on a very beautiful road that curved among the north side of the country. We were very close to the Lebanese border, so close that at one point the border fencing was just on the side of the road. The mountains were very dramatic; deep ravines, steep slopes, many trees, and the color green was abundant. The roads were also steep and had many sharp turns, some of them hairpins. Israelis like to drive fast and dangerous.



Hardly distinguishable mountains

 

 

 

 



We ended the day down right below the Golan Heights, after stopping for some falafel. As you might have figured out, we have been eating a LOT of falafel, but who can blame us, it is delicious!

 

The next day, Wednesday, was also very full. Our first stop was Nimrod's castle, which is the most impressive castle ruins in Israel that we have visited to date. If you haven't figured it out already, I absolutely LOVE archeology. I just want to continue to excavate all these places, and we know there is more to be discovered in so many places. The scale of the castle is just huge, and I loved going down the spiral staircases to where the archers would be.

 

 

 

 

 Then we managed to get lost driving in two Druze villages, and were just driving through them aimlessly. My sisters were much too scared to stop out for food, and I wouldn't be surprised if we missed the best food in Israel. Ah well.

All the women were dressed like this, and there was a whole lot of them.

 

We headed over to the Banias falls area, where many tour groups were and Israeli school kid field trips. The first part led by a place Yeshua went (some Roman area) and the foresty area reminded me of a hotter northwest. There we found some orange trees, but the orange tasted more like a lemon and was full of seeds. Perhaps that's what a non-genetically modified orange tastes like. Also, apparently the tribe of Dan had some settlements there, near the springs.  

 At the second hike (Henny and Sarah stayed up at the parking lot because it was too hot) we went down to a simply gorgeous river. Abba and I so wanted to jump in and swim or go up it, but it wasn't allowed! The clear water was just sitting there, torturing us by not letting us join in its beauty. Or that's how I felt. The waterfall was cool though.

The only picture I took, which barely shows the beauty at all.

 

 So ended our day out and about! This was quite the long blog post, and kudos if you were able to read this far!!! I just want to mention that Henny and Sarah have been having to treat me like a four year old child. They are constantly telling me to "Don't climb up there!" "Ella, you can't go there!" "Stop it!" "What the heck are you doing?" because I am often climbing up into places in castles, or jumping down to investigate holes and what not.

 To summarize, Saba has seen enough ruins for a lifetime, my family cannot get enough of Archeology (I even dreamed I was unearthing the bones of a sabertooth cat), and the North is simply beautiful and lush.

 

Shabbat Shalom,

 

Ella