Exploring Tel Aviv-Yafo

Wednesday (Day #3) was dedicated to Tel Aviv and Yafo (Jaffa) so it was intended to be a somewhat relaxing day, free of transportation woes. What transpired was a long day of exploration and enjoyment, however there were transportation woes as well. I had in mind to join the free walking tour of Yafo at 10:00 AM but the bus that was supposed to take me there decided not to show… so my plans were changed. When I did make it to Yafo, my first notable stop was this marvelous antiques store, with so many things I wanted to buy (including a typewriter and a banker’s lamp):

Antiques for sale!

Beyond the store, heading for the Old City of Jaffa and the Mediterranean Sea, I came upon the Jaffa “flea market”. I don’t like that name – it was more like a “awesome old things market”. I did make a small purchase there, and received a cup of cold water as well.

The Jaffa ”flea market”

From the market I reached the famous clock tower, what used to be the centre of town, and took a few photos of it. It is interesting to note that there are a few of these clock towers all built by the Turks and scattered around Israel, one of them in Akko (which oddly never works no matter how often they try to fix it…).

Jaffa clock tower

Beyond the clock tower, on a little hill, is the Old City of Yafo. A picturesque little town, similar to Tzfat (Safed), offers extreme heat and humidty… and old buildings too, as indicated by this nice man:

Welcome to the Old City of Yafo

Having been in Be’er Sheva the previous day, the humidity levels were shockingly different. I was feeling assaulted by the harsh elements, as was, no doubt, everyone around me, so I took shelter in the visitor’s centre. This cannon, “parked” outside, is from the Ottoman Empire times, somewhere between 1515 and 1917:

Historical cannon

Here is a photograph of the peaceful side alleys of Yafo’s Old City, nearly identical to those of Tzfat:

Tzfat-like alleys in Yafo

After exploring the shaded alleys, I headed out to the port area and was greeted with more heat and humidity – but also great gusts of cool air coming in off the water. Here, taken beyond the port, rounding the corner of the “cape”, is Tel Aviv and the green-blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea:

The green sea and the buildings of Tel Aviv

Climbing back up towards the Old City, I found a place to do a short panoramic shot, which came out just a tad askew:

Short panoramic of the view from Yafo

Back on the road I came across something rather peculiar. It is a large abandoned building with arched ceilings and a large population of giant fruit bats. To add more peculiarity, these humanoid statues made from palm pieces… and weird sets of wings swinging from the ceiling. I was really curious, and wanted to go inside, but the gate was locked and the bats flapped and screeched out of my reach:

Mysterious…

As soon as I had seen just about everything there is to see in Yafo, I headed north and found the Etzel Museum. Dealing for the most part with the Jewish resistance and defence operations in the area in the late 1940s, the location of the museum directly ties into the stories and exhibits inside. The museum, built on ruins from a neighbourhood that was the site of the historical battle for control of Jaffa:

The Etzel Museum

Once inside, cool and refreshed, I indulged myself with historical data – the battles, the operations, the hierarchy and the strife with the other Jewish groups. Those times must have been quite trying!

An Etzel trainee

After the Etzel Museum, I found HaTachana, the really old train station that has been converted into a complex of restaurants, gift shops and exhibits – a popular place for tourists and locals alike. I prefer the historical aspects but they have been mostly redone and have lost some of their antique appeal. Built in 1892, the train station was the beginning of modern transportation in Israel.

HaTachana

After HaTachana I entered the chic Neve Tzedek neighbourhood and strolled around. I sat down on a bench and studied some maps, the sound of music emanating from a dance studio across the park. After a little while, duly exploring the area, I chanced upon this cute stencil graffitti. It reads, in English: “This is not you, it is me” spoken by the Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu, with a sly grin on his face:

Street art

My next stop was the Shalom Tower where, according to one of the information pamphlets I picked up, I could watch the sun set from an observatory. The guard informed me that the observatory has been closed for some time now and that I would not be able to watch the sunset from way up high. So, in a seemingly mindless manner, I found a redeeming feature in the tower – a photographic collection of the area in the 1920s and 30s (my favourite era). Here is a old photograph of the photographer, whose name slipped my mind, sitting on the beach with Yafo in the background.

The olden days…

After seeing the collection, a gem hidden in an obsure building, I headed for the water to see the sun go down. I found a pleasant area with rocks breaking the surf, and settled in for the show. Here, in the middle stages of sunset, a wind surfer takes to the waves, giving me a pretty nice picture:

Wind surfing at sunset

With the sun gone and the full moon making its presence, I took my travels to the Allenby and Rothschild streets – getting one of the last buses back to my hosts’ quarters in Ramat Aviv. All in all, a long and eventful day of exploration, research and travel – a success story.

Be’er Sheva

Today, the second day of my much anticipated trip, I headed way down south to the Negev city of Be’er Sheva. Having never been further south than Bet Shemesh, this was a true change is climate and landscape. When I got off the train and met my friend Ofir, who was my local guide for the day, I couldn’t help but notice the extreme dry heat that gusted from every direction like an oven. Outside, we passed by Bedouins, native of the Negev, who dressed very differently than the Muslim, Christian and Druze Arabs that I see all the time in the north. Sadly, I didn’t get any photographs of them. But I did get a picture of this street that, to me, was marvellously reminiscent of Miami – but in the old Turkish town area known as the Old City:

Street in the Old City of Be’er Sheva

As we walked through the Old City, the crumbling Ottoman-era stone walls visible on nearly every corner, Ofir pointed out all the places of interest, including this – water in the desert:

Running water in the desert city – the marvels of ancient engineering

After a little while spent roaming the streets in the blazing sun, with temperatures clearly surpassing 100° Fahrenheit, we ducked into a little café by the name of Lola where I ordered an iced coffee. It was fun because I never, ever, go to coffee-houses. Shortly after our coffee break we headed back outside and found ourselves in front of Beit Ha-Ful, a restaurant. Both of us hungry, we went on in and Ofir promised to get me this special food – I wasn’t quite sure what he intended at the time. The man behind the counter did some deft scooping and arranging-within-the-pita movements and then surfaced, asking me if I wanted lemon and charif (spicy – a generic term for something paste-like, spicy and made from peppers). He spooned in a little salt, much to my curiousity, and then added the lemon and charif. Next, to further propel my confusion and curiousity, he mashed up everything inside my pita. Then he asked if I wanted salads in my sandwich as well – I chose some chopped cucumber (somewhere along the line hummus was added in too). I took my completed sandwich from the man, waited for Ofir to get his and then took our mysterious culinary loot to our table. I examined my pita, noting the contents, and took a bite. What I was eating was beans and hard-boiled egg that had been mashed into one lovely, smooth, lemon-y and spicy entity. Here is what it looked like before I started eating:

Ful in a pita at Beit Ha-Ful

If you think this sounds kinda gross… trust me, it is remarkably tasty. Here my sandwich is again, in an advanced stage of its short life:

Partly devoured ful in a pita

After we finished our pitas and the complimentary falafel balls given to us, we took ourselves back into the afternoon sun and kept looking at cool things. The two museums in the area were both closed, in fact most things in Be’er Sheva worth visiting are being worked on now. But, the old WWI-era British cemetery was open. The final resting place for probably hundreds of soldiers who died for the British Empire is just smack in middle of a residential area in Be’er Sheva. I had fun imagining the British great-grandchildren of some of these fallen soldiers telling someone that his/her great-grandfather died during the Great War and was buried not in France or England… but in southern Israel. Makes for a great story, I suppose.

WWI-era British cemetery

After seeing the cemetery we went up to Ofir’s apartment for some cold water and relaxation in the coolness of man-made shade. Ofir checked the times for our next stop, the Israeli Air Force Museum “just outside” of Be’er Sheva and we headed out for the bus at the appropriate time. Getting off the bus in what would seem to be wilderness if not for the large presence of military buildings and the planes flying circles over our heads, we made our way to the museum.

Welcome to the Israeli Air Force Museum

Having paid admission, we were let in by the IAF soldiers and we started our exploration of the museum. Obviously revolving around aircraft, most of the museum is actually outdoors – parked planes “on the tarmac” or in open hangars. The “Old to New” jet fighter exhibit has 150 different warplanes order chronologically – from the WWII-era Spitfire which Israel used in the 1948 war to the modern-day F-15 which is still in use today.

An Israeli F-4 Phantom

Part of the experience outdoors, other than the relentless desert sun, was made 0h-so real by (1)the IAF training planes circling overhead, and (2)the IDF/IAF gunfire in one of the bases just across the main road. The sounds, together with the visuals, really helped create an experience – that and the fact that my friend is an avid plane enthusiast. Getting back to the aircraft, some of the stories behind the planes were known to me from books. This Syrian MiG-17 has a story which almost sounds too “unfortunate” to be true:

A Syrian MiG-17 which accidentaly landed in Israel

Accidentally landing in Israel and then having to surrender the plane must have been very nerve-wracking for the Syrian pilot. But then again, simply flying one of the older planes in the IAF’s history is probably nerve-wracking as well, presenting the biplanes of old:

Old propeller planes in a hangar

Some of the planes, a very small percentage, are open for sitting in but the ones that looked interesting had long passed by when I noticed the discreet ladders offering their services at the sides of the planes. Blame it on the heat and the sun. I did, however, sit inside the helicopter that hosted Begin and Sadat, leaders of Israel and Egypt respectively, as they flew to a military command centre in Be’er Sheva to sign the peace treaty in 1979. That was interesting.

Old Israeli fighters that have been decommissioned

On of the other interesting findings was the hang glider that was used by a Syrian-based terrorist to fly into Israel, in the Golan, and raid an sleeping army base in the dead of night. I had read the story in the book I bought from the Navy Museum in Haifa back in February (as can be seen here, in this old post: Haifa Again). Now knowing the story, it was both fascinating and chilling to see the exact hang-glider sitting in a hangar seemingly detached from the blood-drenched history that it helped make. If only aircraft had the power of speech…

The bulk of the aircraft on display

Towards the end, we climbed into a dormant Boeing jet and watched a short film about the history of the IAF – with the comforting air conditioning cooling down the plane’s interior. It also should be noted that this museum offers extremely cold water on the far end of the main display lot so, should you go visit, you’ll know ahead of time to be liberal with your water. So, after about two hours of so, we had seen all the aircraft there was to see and had read about more incidents then we could remember and so we headed out, back out to the main road. The training planes had ceased for some time, and apart from the sporadic staccato of gunfire, it was hot and silent in the great desert expanse. Back in Be’er Sheva, I said my good-byes and thank yous to my friend, Ofir, and continued on to the train station where I boarded a train for Tel Aviv. As a parting shot, the perfect indication of a day growing old, here is sunset from the train, hastily photographed as the well-tended crops below whip by the windows:

Sunset from the train

Now that was a nice day trip. It’s good to have finally entered into the vastness of the Negev, if only just to see a city. Hopefully one day I will visit all that there is to be seen way down there (including the famous Ramon Crater and Eilat) but for now I have Tel Aviv to focus on. Until tomorrow!

O’ Jerusalem

Yesterday marked the first day of my little trip down south, a four day excursion to see new things and do new things – at least while I am still a civilian. The day’s destination: Jerusalem! However, getting to Jerusalem is a journey in and of itself – the early waking, the peach cobbler breakfast, the train ride to Tel Aviv, the getting situated, the train (or bus, I usually take the bus) to Jerusalem, etc. I reached Tel Aviv in good time, as indicated by this dingy clock in the train station:

Dingy railroad clock

As soon as I boarded the Jerusalem-bound train in Tel Aviv, I leaned back and peered out the window, ready to see what I’ve been missing each time I chose the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem bus line instead. It was the tumultuous rise and fall of the mountains just outside of Bet Shemesh, and the Soreq River that runs beneath the train, crossing under a sturdy bridge. It was truly scenic. The only downside to the train ride was that I ended up in somewhere known as “Malcha Mall” (the official name to the mall is Jerusalem Mall) – in southwestern Jerusalem. The biggest mall in the Holy City, Malcha has tons of places to shop in and eat at but it is not near any of the places I initially wanted to visit. So I bought my falafel lunch, ate it and hit the road, heading for the Central Bus Station. The first thing I did was buy a ticket to the Jerusalem Light Rail, the electric train that runs through some areas of the Holy City. This was my first time riding it… and I rode it to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City.

The Jerusalem Light Rail passing by the Old City walls outside of Jaffa Gate

There, approaching the Old City I couldn’t help but lose myself in a photographic frenzy – I snapped and snapped, this is the best that came out (I’m not sure why the sky looks so grey):

The majestic walls and towers of the Old City

Once inside the Old City I headed for the Israel Ministry of Tourism information office and was directed to the correct location to purchase a ticket to walk the ramparts. Something I’ve always wanted to do, the Ramparts Walk turned out to be very rewarding but at the same time, very tiring. I climbed the stairs with excitement and began my walk – a totally different perspective on the Old City unfolding before my eyes.

Walking the narrow ramparts

As the city walls continued, the walk became harder and harder – the uneven surfaces and the intense stairways not helping much. The soldiers who historically roamed the walltops, throughtout the generations, must have been made of sterner stuff. Regardless, the views from the wall really does change how the Old City looks (click on: map). Here, just above the Damascus Gate, I sit and observe:

Sitting in a defence niche just above the Damascus Gate and the Arab peddlers below

All this was just the northern side – the Ramparts Walk is actually comprised of a longer northern walk and a shorter southern walk. At the end of the northern walk, where the Lion’s Gate on the eastern wall is, we (I had picked up some fellow wall-walkers along the way and impressed them with my “knowledge” in the tourism field) reached an observation point – the end of the line. To our surprise and enjoyment, the muezzins started up and pretty soon there were fasting Muslim men and women making their way to the mosque, urged on by the song of the muezzin. Here is a short video clip of the experience:

After watching for a few minutes we turned back and descended all the way back at the Herod’s Gate (be sure to consult map). With my water bottle long dried up in the hot Jerusalem sun, I advanced on a peddler/shopkeeper who sold large bottles of water. The Arab merchant informed me that since I do not speak Arabic… he cannot sell me anything. Fun!

One of the many Arab souks in and around the Old City

After finding an alternate water source and parting ways with my new companions, I headed for the second half of the Ramparts Walk, the southern side. Here, just at the beginning, the Tower of David:

The Tower of David

And here, just a little bit along the way, a pictorial show-piece, looking more like old time Bavaria than the Old City:

A peculiar section of the Old City

After descending at the Dung Gate, basically having done 80% of the total wall walk (all that was offered) and taking somewhere beyond the three-hour mark, I headed inside the City for an obligatory visit at the Kotel. Here, in all its splendour and glory, the Kotel:

The Kotel

After the Kotel is when things started getting hairy. With the sun setting rapidly, a few friends of mine wanted to meet up closer to the “centre of town” so I was determined to hop on one of the buses and meet them there. In spite of my iron resolution, no buses seemed to come – and even the taxis became elusive as the mainly-Muslim drivers wanted to head home to eat their Ramadan dinner. Finally, after some thirty minutes of waiting and meandering from bus stop to bus stop, a bus – no, THE bus – came. I was oh-so fortunate to be included on the bus, albeit the guy who has to watch out that when the doors open he doesn’t fall out. I felt like I was on those crowded Indian trains where the passengers hang from wherever they can.

A sea of black hats separated me from the bus driver

As I made my way out of Jerusalem, after some quality time with my old friends, I snapped this shot of the Jerusalem Bridge of Strings where both people and the light rail make use of the arc over the traffic. (Sadly, night-time photography is usually ill-received by my camera):

The Jerusalem Bridge of Strings

Back in Tel Aviv, nearing midnight, I happened to have missed the last bus offered to the area I needed and was then forced to share a taxi with some other Tel Avivians to get back to my hosts. Always an adventure!

Saslove Winery

First and foremost let me apologise for being negligent in my blogging – nearly two full months have gone by empty of interesting content. I hope to remedy this with a post about a lovely little boutique winery that I had the pleasure of touring, thanks to friend Dovid Bloom who works with the bottling crew. Here is Mr. Bloom, presently a freshly bottled sample of Aviv 2011 Shiraz:

Dovid Bloom – striking a silly pose

The winery featured today is the Saslove Winery, founded by Barry Saslove (formerly of Canada). The production and bottling is done in Zuriel, just minutes away from Ma’alot – within eyesight even. However, the vineyards are mostly on the other side of Mount Meron, in the Eastern Galilee, where the air is dryer and the climate is more suited for fruits of the vine, all at an average of 800 metres above sea level. Here is a photo of one of the vineyards, at Kerem Ben Zimra:

Saslove Vineyard (credit: saslove.com)

Getting back to the Western Galilee, we drove along the windy highway and arrived at the winery, greeted by Dovid Bloom. He began by taking us inside and showing us the bottling, explaining the steps as the bottles trudged past on the conveyor belt. First, of course, someone has to load the empty bottles into the machine:

Loading the empty bottles into the machine

The bottles are then rinsed and nitrogen is shot into them, then the wine is piped in. In an adjacent building the wine is stored in huge metal vats (it should be noted that the top-of-the-line Saslove wines are aged in wood barrels), here is an unglamourous glimpse:

Huge metal wine vats

After the bottles are filled, a cork is pneumatically forced into the open neck of the vessel. Dovid opened the doors so that photographic efforts would yield a more favourable result. Yes, there is no flash reflections disturbing the shot but I’d still say it is a mess of glass, metal and wine. The bottles in the background are those attached to the wine-spouting nozzle, the bottle headed to the right in the foreground is about to be corked:

The inner workings

After the corking comes the labeling and boxing. The labels are particularly beautiful at this winery although it seems as though every winery and brewery I visit has a great sense of style (Malka Beer and Adir Winery come to mind).  Just look at this label!

Aviv 2011 Shiraz label

And after the bottles are boxed and those boxes are sealed, a pallet of full boxes is brought back into the warehouse containing the wine vats and joins the others, ready for shipping. At 2,000 bottles an hour, if I remember correctly, this was just the start (we visited in the morning):

Waiting to be shipped out

Just after photographing the pallets as seen above, the proprietor and winemaker, Barry Saslove, began talking to us. He went into great depths explaining how the climate and geographical location of the Eastern Galilee made it, in his opinion, one of the best places in the world to grow grapes. Being an expert in the field, knowing that the fertile low mountains would yield great crops, Barry staked his claim and now runs a distinguished boutique winery. A French wine authority named the Saslove Winery one of the top 100 wineries in the Mediterranean, of just three in Israel.

Barry Saslove speaks to us

Eventually, as all impromptu tours go, we broke apart, thanked the correct personages and made it to the car. Due to the fact that we visited the factory, and not the visitor centre which is in another village. we didn’t do any tasting or buying. Maybe one day… But as we leave, one last parting shot:

The ”factory” of the Saslove Winery

Visitor Centre info: http://saslove.com/en/visitors_center.php

Industry in the Galilee Panhandle

Sunday the 20th of May was a big and important day. For all of us in Israel, Sunday marked “Yom Yerushalayim” – a day celebrating our re-conquering of the Jordanian-occupied Jerusalem back in 1967 – and less importantly, it was the day we took a trip to the Galilee Panhandle. The sole purpose of our trip (“our” being my parents and I) was to procure some shoes at the Naot factory store. However, thanks to some advertising cards we found, our trip was expanded to a full-blown day of exploration. First, the factory:

Teva Naot factory

It was a lovely day and the shoe selections were also good. I was not looking for shoes so I browsed and then took my browsing skills outside. I wanted to look inside the factory but only one door was open. The entry was filled with boxes so there wasn’t much to see. I decided to play it sneaky and followed a forklift. He headed for the other entrance, one blocked with those thick plastic flaps, and I attempted to get a picture. My efforts weren’t really paid off so I had to slip my camera between the flaps and take a discreet photograph, “point-and-shoot” at it’s truest form. Not a great shot but here it is:

Sneaky picture of the factory floor

What makes this humble factory so interesting is that Teva Naot is Israel’s biggest exporter. Making over a million pairs of shoes every year, some 3,000 every day, with sales in over 6,000 locations around the world it is a fair chance that you have footwear from this very factory. Teva Naot’s product line includes the iconic Teva sandals, Naot shoes (very similar to Birkenstock) as well as Source sandals – very popular in Israel. Tons of people make their way up north to shop in the factory store, including us. But our adventures didn’t stop at the Teva Naot complex, after we bought the shoes we needed we picked up some advertising cards and saw two interesting sites that were in our return journey’s path. The first one was the low-key Derech HaTavlinim (Spice Trail) store:

The spice store

When we entered the store we were greeted by lovely smells and began to look around. We were handed a basket and a marker to properly label the spices we were to pick out. With over 200 types of spices and blends, there was much to see. Some of the most interesting products included the “schwarma” made out of apricot paste and walnuts. The girl behind the counter shaved off some for us to try – I didn’t fancy it too much.

Apricot and walnut ”schwarma”

The halva beside the “schwarma” was magnificent – all four varieties: chocolate chip, coffee, vanilla and pistachio. One of the workers approached us with little cups of apple cinnamon tea which smelled delicious. Here is the rest of the tea, just look at those little cubes of dried apple:

Tea for the customers

From the hawaij to the Sicilian onions mix to the assorted fruity teas, there was so much to see, so much to smell. The first thing I sampled from the stock was this very unique black sea salt:

Black sea salt

There was also lemon sea salt and smoked sea salt but the black one was the weirdest to eat. As I stood there I imagined I was eating coal and that amused me. After more tea was drunken and more halva was sampled, we gathered up our purchases and headed out. Our next stop was the Meister Vineyards, of Rosh Pina. As we left the highway and maneuvered through the dirt roads that skirted the vineyard, we approached an interesting cluster of building and equipment. This huge dog was standing guard and greeted us peacefully:

Sentinel

We looked around but the only signs of life were of the canine variety. Apparently they closed prior to our arrival so we had no choice but to turn back. But all was not lost, upon crossing the bridge that connects the vastly different Upper Galilee and Galilee Panhandle, we stopped the car and got out for a look. Here it is, the beautiful Kinneret with the mountains and trees surrounding it:

Looking down at the Kinneret

And here is the bridge behind us:

The bridge that spans a change in the land

And of course, a panoramic of the beauty (click to enlarge):

From the golden hills of the Panhandle to the forest near Tzfat

An adventure well done!

Namer Caves

This morning my father and I took a trip to the Namer Caves, just a short distance from Keshet Cave (covered twice now in this blog). The Namer Caves and the Namer Stream are named “namer” (Hebrew for “tiger”) due to the numerous stories of tigers roaming the area back in the early 1900s. We parked at the lower parking area for the nearby Keshet Cave and slipped into the wooded hillside on the opposite side of the Namer Caves. The trail down was marked in green and it headed for the dry Namer Stream (also known as Wadi Namer). The walk down was pretty but we were walking in the wrong direction, the trail markings not guiding us the right way.

One of the caves, but not the one we were headed to

At some point walking downhill we noticed a strange white man-made structure off in the distance on the riverbed. I suggested it was a tent but when we finally hit rock-bottom and we walked along the river, still headed the wrong way but following the trail markers, we saw what it was. Scattered over the riverbed were crushed cars, a bunch of them, some in worse shape than others but all were old and abandoned. We didn’t, and still don’t, know why they are there or from whence they came, but here is one of them:

One of the crushed cars

Whilst walking we realised that we were heading further and further from where we wanted to be, so we took a left swing and started up the mountain. For some reason there was a trail marking indicating that we had stumbled into a valid trail but we soon lost the “official” trail and began to do our own trailblazing. The hike uphill wasn’t too bad – except when I grabbed a slim tree trunk and felt unseen thorns entering and exiting my skin. I gave a gasp and examined my hand, sure to find beads of crimson blood, but there was none. Eventually, we reached the ridge of the mountain alongside the one with the caves, opposite of where the car was parked.

Looking East from the mountain ridge

It was beautiful, breezy and fun walking along the ridge, making our way to the caves. My father repeated “Trails are overrated” several times and we just happened to see another, faded, trail marker. I’m not sure if they changed the trail’s route but where we were looked very unmarked. There were rustlings in the bushes and birds of prey, eagles and kestrels, wheeling both above us and below, predatory eyes hunting the riverbed.

Making our way through the rocks

At last we reached a place where we could see the caves, their wide mouths gaping open. We tried to map out a way to the caves, with little luck.

Trying to descend to the caves

We ended up turning back a bit and dropping down on the rocks, working carefully from rock to rock. Thankfully, the rock was of a volcanic nature and thus provided sharp edges but incredibly grippy surfaces. Finally, we reached one of the caves:

The cave with the bats

This cave contained fruit bats, lots of them, but historically it was rumoured to be used by Byzantine monks as a place of seclusion – we only saw bats. When we entered the cave the bats began to fly around and make loud noises (for echolocation and communication purposes, no doubt). Here is a short 14-second video of them flying about and “squeaking” (with some human audio thrown in as well):

 

Suddenly one of the baby bats plummeted downward and landed near us, his small furry body shivering and squeaking rapidly. We felt pity and assumed he was going to die where he fell… but he didn’t, and he won’t.

Fallen baby fruit bat

I seized the moment and got a plastic bag out of the backpack. I lifted him up, his wings and feet gathering in the bag (and my fingers) and attempted to release him on a rock overhang. It took some work and some encouragement but before long his little feet and wing claws were fastened to the rock and immediately, his future looked brighter. Here are some pictures of the rescue operation:

Putting the baby fruit bat back on a bat-surface

Baby fruit bat awaiting its mother

There was a flurry of wings and his mother, I presume, flew right past him. She was homing in on the baby’s squeaks and made repeated passes until she pinpointed his location. In a valiant swoop she found the baby and grabbed the wall below it. She hustled the baby onto her stomach and, once the baby was secure, took flight and returned to her roost at the cave ceiling. I saved a bat – does that make me Batman?

After more cave exploration and not finding anything else interesting, definitely not the stalagmites and stalactites that were supposed to be in the Namer Caves, we headed back down the mountain/cliff. We reached the river and began our tedious, rocking-hugging ascent to the road. Once we did that, and I finished the last of my water, we began the walk back to the car, having made a huge circle – going up and down mountains most of the time. We reached the car and helped a couple from Beit Shemesh figure their Keshet Cave trip out. But, before this blog post ends, here are two panoramics of the lovely scenery: The first is from the road looking at the bold cliff face that we walked over heading to the caves on the left side of the far mountain. The second was taking from the ridge right above/beside the bat cave, looking at the road and the lovely Western Galilee (click to enlarge).

Panoramic of the cliff face

Panoramic from the cave cliff

Next time I do hope I find the cave with the stalagmites and stalactites!

Pesach (Part 1)

This is the first of two blog posts about the week of Passover (Pesach) that just passed us. Pesach started on Shabbat but the blog-related fun began during Chol HaMoed, starting with Sunday. Late Sunday morning we headed out to Keshet Cave, found along the Israel-Lebanon border and just a few minutes away from the Mediterranean Sea. I’ve already been to Keshet Cave, and even wrote a small post about it, but this time we went as a whole family. To reiterate, the Keshet Cave is actually a large natural arch over a shallow cave and dropping down cliff-like to the forested land below.

Keshet Cave's natural arch with the rappel rope dangling

Both times we saw Extreme Israel groups doing some sort of rappelling action. They have the easy drop to the cave floor and the scary swing under the arch rappelling which we did not get to see – had we gotten there some thirty minutes earlier we would have seen screaming people as they swung under the arch. Other than the great view and hiking trails down below, there is not much to do up on the arch, unless you are doing extreme sports – but there were tons of people. Here is a panoramic from the cliff edge – looking down on the lovely green forests:

Panoramic from the cliff edge

On Tuesday we took a longer and more extensive trip, to Haifa, with the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art as our first and foremost destination. Part of Bank HaPoalim’s subsidized Pesach trip plan, the Tikotin museum was just one of the many museums and attractions free for all to come and see. So, along with thousands of other Israelis, we took to the road and sought out free attractions. I didn’t think that the Tikotin museum would be very populated, mostly due to the fact that it is a specialized museum and isn’t a hotspot for children.

Inside the Tikotin Museum

But I was wrong, the museum was pretty full and there were even free tours being assembled (in Hebrew) for further explanation and description of the museum’s collection and history. In my opinion, the samurai sword collection was by far the most interesting exhibit in the museum, the paper fans, prints, paintings, ceramics and artwork were less interesting but displayed elegantly. The museum itself was partly designed by a Japanese architect with shoji screens as walls and doors leading to the outdoor garden courtyard. Interestingly enough, the Tikotin museum is the only Japanese museum in the entire Middle East, with a collection numbering over 7,000 pieces. There is also an extensive Japanese library but that wasn’t open during the time we were in Haifa. After our museum visit, we walked over to the Louis Promenade (just minutes from the museum) and basked in the glorious view. But our experience was hindered by a suspicious package that made the police shut the area down. We had to wait for the bomb-disposal team to come out and secure the suspicious package. It wasn’t long before the expert verified that the package was simply an abandoned backpack and the area was reopened to the public. Here are two pictures of the ordeal – just look at that view!

Police removing suspicious package

Bomb disposal one-man team

After we finished at the Louis Promenade we continued on over to the Haifa Zoo, another place I have already been to (and wrote about) but for the family it was new and special.

A coati in the Haifa Zoo

The zoo was far too populated to properly view the animals in their habitats but we tried and covered about 40% of the zoo, passing through the throngs of joyous people, some clutching children, some clutching lunches and some clutching the cages, trying to coax the animals into action. When I took my solo trip to the zoo back in January the zoo was nearly desolate but I had missed one area and that was the waterbirds:

Haifa Zoo waterbirds

As we tried to make our way to the exit, escaping the milling, exhausted crowd, we happened upon the Bank HaPoalim mascot. We saw another one at the Tikotin Museum but this individual was more willing when it came to photography.

Posing with Nissim and the Bank HaPoalim mascot

After the harrowing escape from the zoo we headed back to the car and enjoyed some lunch: rice cakes with cheese, honeydew, potato chips, Coca-cola and popcorn. That is a concise summary of our first two outing days. The next post will address Wednesday and the experiences had on that day.

Mount Bental

The third leg of the day’s adventures in the Golan with Boruch Len: Mount Bental. Following our fun back at Nimrod Fortress and the waterfalls of Banias and Sa’ar, we turned South and drove through some Druze and Jewish villages. We spotted the wind turbines which have now become a sort of landmark in that area of the Golan. At one point we stopped the car and got out to capture pictures of the majestic Mount Hermon, Israel’s highest peak. Here is my shot:

Mount Hermon from the road to Mount Bental

The drive up the mountain was far shorter than I had thought it would be and before long we were just minutes away from Coffee Anan (which really means both Kofi Annan the UN Secretary-General and “Coffee [of the] Clouds” – I don’t know if they had both in mind when naming the cafe). Along the way there were some interesting Dutch sculptures of welded metal and a section of a bunker. On the peak of the mountain we had an incredible view of the whole Golan from Mt. Hermon (which had gotten an inconvenient cloud-wrapping during our ascent) to the Hula Valley to the Israeli-Syrian frontier. Here is a panoramic shot of the valley area stretching out to Syria (click to enlarge, as always):

The valley all the way to Syria

Mount Bental was the site of an important battle when conquering the Golan from the Syrian forces. Today, the bunkers atop the mountain have been mostly cleared out but are accessible to all. We ventured on in, glad to be wielding flashlights, and had a look around the deep old bunker. I was really fascinated by the bunker’s corridor walls which are strikingly similar to those in the Israeli movie Beaufort which was actually filmed at the Nimrod Fortress.

Underground bunker corridors

There is nothing cooler than walking through something that has been definitively used in a war for Israeli freedom – I just love it! And to see the bare wooden beds still left inside… and the old batteries left behind… and the old communication equipment – fascinating! When we emerged on the other side of the bunker area we saw these metal soldier silhouettes, a 2D representation and reminder of what this mountain once was and what significance it held:

Mountain-top bunker

So after we absorbed the blood and tears of history we waited a short while for the clouds to pass over Mt. Hermon. But they were stubborn and thick and refused to leave, so we left instead. We drove to the far side of the mountain-top parking lot and rejoiced in the setting sun. When the clouds permitted us, we tried doing trick photography but the wind was also out to get us. As I would pose I would be blown over by the fierce, freezing blasts of cold air that reign dominant on mountain-tops. This is the best we got of me trying to hold the sun:

Trying to do trick photography with the setting sun (courtesy of Boruch Len)

But with a setting sun comes a sunset (obviously) and sunsets are quite often remarkably beautiful. Looking out from Mount Bental, the low, fertile Hula Valley down below, the sunset was just breathtaking. The colours in the sky were to be envied upon! Here is a panoramic I shot of the gorgeous sunset, with photographer Boruch Len on the very far right side of the picture, doing the same thing I was:

Sunset over the Golan

And so concludes an amazing day – a day action-packed with history (both ancient and recent), adventure, scenery and natural beauty. But of course, I was still way out in the Golan, nowhere near home. It was another two hours (by car, taxi, bus and feet) until I was home. That was a day I’d love to re-experience!

The Sa’ar Falls & Banias

Continuing on after the previous stop at the Nimrod Fortress with my photographer friend Boruch Len, our next stop on our little tour of the Upper Golan was the Sa’ar Falls. We sought it out after seeing a picture of it posted on the Tourist Israel Facebook page (here), and eventually found what we were looking for. We parked the car and got out, asking an ice cream vendor for popsicles and directions. To our surprise, the paradise from the picture was just minutes from the road – by foot. It is actually possible to drive off the bridge and into the river… and then down the waterfalls.

Sa'ar Falls (courtesy of Boruch Len)

We stood on the bridge and watched the first waterfall, our popsicles not quite melting in the warm Spring weather. I was impressed with the torrid rush of cold water that misted daintily up at us but I knew from the roar that there was something even better below us. So we walked away, got into the car and parked on the other side of the bridge where a full view of the three falls was available. I watched the water for some time as Boruch fiddled with his camera, walking from place to place trying to get perfect shots (like the one above). I was content with snapping just a few, knowing that in truth, you need to actually be on location to truly appreciate it. But of course, I took a short panoramic, encompassing the Nimrod Fortress, Mount Hermon, the low mountains and hills leading up through the wilderness and fields to the jagged Sa’ar Falls:

Small panoramic of the falls with Nimrod Fortress on the left

And Boruch, with his professional CS5 photo-stitching feature, created this narrower panoramic of the Sa’ar Valley looking North (this was photographed not at the Sa’ar Falls but on a road heading South):

Sa'ar Valley (courtesy of Boruch Len)

After spending a nice, leisurely time skirting the falls’ cliff-edge and watching the scores of tourists and school-children enjoying the same beautiful spot, we got into the car and continued on to Banias. We pulled into one of the Banias park entrances and got out to see Pan’s Cave, ruins of what once was a large Greek temple complex built in honour of Pan. Today not much remains of what once was the Temple of Augustus, the Court of Pan and the Nymphs, the Temple of Zeus, the Court of Nemesis, the Tomb Temple of the Sacred Goats and the Temple of Pan and the Dancing Goats. But what lasted was the name of Pan: “Banias” is an Arabic corruption of the word Panias or Paneus, referring to the Greek god Pan.

Pan's Cave

While we were “shooting the cave” we were disturbed by loud wailing and chanting. I set off to identify the source of this loud noise and found a group of Japanese men and women seated on the ground in some little piece of land right at the banks of the Hermon Stream. I couldn’t figure who they were at the time but I did film their strange behaviour. They started to draw a small crowd, and a tour guide waved me over. He explained that they are disciples of Juji Nakada, a Japanese spiritualist who had a strong belief about a connection between the Jews and the Japanese. Nakada “saw the Jews as mystical saviors whose redemption would ensure the political and military, as well as spiritual, salvation of the Japanese.”

Japanese group - healing and chanting on location

We then continued on to the Roman Bridge and the old flour mill, only minutes away down the Hermon Stream. It is truly amazing to see such history all over, even the ancient flour mill which still stands today and is theoretically fully operational. There is a Druze pita stand just outside the mill but apparently the flour comes from a more commercial source.

Old flour mill

After the flour mill we turned back and made our way to the car. We hit the road and found the park entrance that is beside (and above) the Banias waterfall, the largest waterfall in Israel. There we were to make our way down a gorge gashed into the lush green land and find the roaring white Hermon Stream as it pounds its way down from Hermon mountains and to the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee).

Banias Waterfall sign

The walk down was beautiful, affording me a great panoramic of the land which was so nice and green after so much rain this winter. Here it is:

Panoramic of the Banias forest above the waterfall

The way down to the waterfall is exceptionally clever. They built a suspended bridge along the basalt and travertine stone walls of the gorge leading down to the water. While we walked on the platform the white water below us crashed and roared. As we approached the waterfall we saw what we had come for. The waterfall is 33 feet high and buried deep within the rocky gorge, the fast-flowing water forced to spray the thrilled viewers. Within just a few seconds I was in danger of getting really wet. Boruch went down on the rocks at the edge of the stream and shot this great picture:

Banias Falls (courtesy of Boruch Len)

Soon to be posted: Mount Bental

Nimrod Fortress

Yesterday, I went, for my very first time, to the Upper Golan. I accompanied Boruch Len, a master of photography, and we set forth to explore (and document) some of the Golan’s grandeur. The first place on our list was the huge Nimrod Fortress, an old castle built over a 46-year span in the mid 13th century by the local ruling Arabs (construction was started by the nephew of Saladin – the arch-enemy of the Crusaders). The Nimrod Fortress happens to be the largest Crusade-era fortress/castle in Israel and was used in the filming of the Academy award-nominated film Beaufort, replacing the actual Beaufort castle which is in Lebanon, out of reach for Israeli filmmakers. Just to point out, this was a trip heavily influenced by photography – however, the weather made consistent photography tricky. The clouds and sun played their games throughout the day and so the following pictures will appear as if taken on separate days but have really been simply subjected to finicky weather.

The West portion of the fortress

We started the tour just minutes after a large group of school-children so we decided to circle the fortress in reverse. That decision ended up reaping rewards as each place we went to was even more fascinating than the last. In the first hour or so, we walked up from the West side (where parking is) to the East side – the higher but less intricate section of the castle. The East side was the part first built and gave us a great view of the high mountains surrounding, and obscuring, Mount Hermon. Here we saw a glimpse of Hermon, the snow already melting:

The highest part of the fortress with the snowy Hermon in the back

Descending to the “dip” of the fortress, we found a few interesting rooms, each one better than the next. The old, thick stone outside walls had tons of “archery ports” – with those slits for shooting down on invaders. We spent many minutes snapping pictures of the various angles, trying to capture the best photo possible – each with our respective cameras (Boruch Len – fancy SLR with multiple lenses / me –  run-of-the-mill-but-kinda-heavy-on-the-features Fujifilm digital camera).

Boruch Len "on the job"

So, you can imagine the amount of pictures that were taken, with all the beautiful stone walls, doorways, columns and arches. But the coolest photography we did had little to do with the actual location. In the grand ceremonial hall, found in the Keep on the Western side, we did something called “light painting.” What it is: With the fancy SLR camera, the shutter can be left open for some time and through a process of photographic magic, only some things are retained in the final picture. One of those things is light. So, Boruch whipped out some flashlights and we took turns writing our names/initials in the air with the light. I tried over and over but my first attempt remained the best, here it is:

Painting my name with light in the ceremonial hall (courtesy of Boruch Len)

As can be seen in the picture, the camera retained two ghostly appearances of me. I’d have to be constantly moving for the words to appear without my body showing as well. Nonetheless, it was great fun and it made me want to buy an SLR camera. Maybe I will one day… Returning to the fortress, the ceremonial hall was not the only thing interesting on the West side. Soon we came across the Large Reservoir, alive in a flurry of chirping and cooing birds.

The Large Reservoir (courtesy of Boruch Len)

Again, we spent a very long time, photographing the birds and the room. On our way out of the reservoir, I spotted a lone koi fish, swimming sadly in the green water. I wonder how it got there – some prankster? Another cool place was this tiny spiral staircase that was blocked off with rope. We hopped the rope and ventured down, the end result wasn’t too exciting but the stairs were neat. Naughty, I know – but Boruch has a press pass of sorts so we had a partial reason to be there. On our way back up to the towers on the West side of Nimrod Fortress, we found ourselves with more grand views. Here is a panoramic that I took, facing the towers on the West side (click to expand):

Panoramic looking West

And before I end this post, the first of three that will cover this exciting day, here is a picture of me posing in a beautiful stone doorway – a proof that I was there:

Me in a doorway (courtesy of Boruch Len)

Soon to be posted: Banias & the Sa’ar Falls