Kibbutz Degania

Continuing with the adventures of May 3rd, following a few hours spent at the Hamat Gader resort, this post focuses on Israel’s first kibbutz, Degania. Founded in 1910, the kibbutz celebrated its 100 year anniversary just two years ago. That was the year I first visited Degania, on a Yeshiva trip. So I returned to cover it for Tourist Israel and to catch up on my lacking historical knowledge in regards to the early days of Israel’s rebirth. Here is the first house of Kibbutz Degania where everyone lived together in the early 1910s:

The original first house

My adventures first started at the Gordon House museum where I was greeted with locked doors and nobody around (kind of like a “Twilight Zone” episode). I read online that the museum was open until 3 PM but that website was last updated in 2001 so the information was outdated. I was crushed and decided to find someone who could open the museum for me, at least for a few minutes. At last I found living people and I asked them for help. They gave me a phone number to call and after a confusing conversation the woman agreed to come open the museum for me. I explained that I was a journalist and she gave me a tour, and didn’t even charge me admittance.

One of the Gordon House museum buildings

The most interesting of the three separate exhibitions of the Gordon House was the Natural History exhibit. The others were the History of Kibbutz Degania and the Ancient History of the Lower Kinneret Area. In the Natural History exhibit there are tons of stuffed and preserved animals ranging from birds to snakes and to a leopard skin that once belonged to a leopard which was killed nearby after eating one of local’s sheep. Here is a diorama of the wildlife found in the Lower Kinneret area:

Kinneret diorama

We continued on through the exhibitions, going from building to building. There were all sorts of interesting pictures from the early days when they worked the fields and had guards riding around on donkeys or horses to protect the workers and the crops. At first, in the earliest stage, the kibbutz was just a large house where everyone lived in together (some 10 people or so), a series of small building holding sheep, cows, chickens, supplies and a blacksmith workshop all build in a square and enclosed by a wall and then there was the dining room and kitchen in a separate building. The kitchen area is now converted into another small museum which just covers the history of Degania. Here is an old photo of the early settlers building the stables and cowshed:

Building the stables and cowshed back in the early 1910s

Today, the main house is now an office of sorts (all I saw was lots of paperwork) and the other building which once hosted livestock now contain various other offices and even a nice light restaurant. I had a few minutes until I had to find my bus out on the main road so I went in and bought a Coke, in a glass bottle. I sat outside and sipped, batting flies away as I listened to two couples (one local, one tourists from Spain) and their cheery banter. It was a lovely place to sit and relax and I was reluctant to leave. But the bus waits for no man so I gathered up my belongings and bid farewell. On my way out of the kibbutz I took this picture, the old farm equipment which once conquered the land now rests on display, the would-be rusty parts now decorated with paint:

Old farm machinery

I then exited the kibbutz and sat down at the bus stop across the road. It was a hot afternoon and the flies seemed to swarm relentlessly. The cars and trucks whizzed by and a young corporal sat down across from me, her large suitcase gleaming in the sun. I asked her if she too was headed for Teverya (Tiberias) and she was. Her reply was in English and before long I was privy to the facts that she was Canadian, a lone soldier and living here in Kibbutz Degania, not far from the original “plaza.”  Eventually our bus came and we parted ways, I headed for Tzfat and she for her army base down in the Negev. It was a long and quite enjoyable day but I was pleased to finally arrive home.

Shavei Tzion

Today’s adventures landed us in the small, old moshav of Shavei Tzion, just minutes from Nahariya. We were headed for Regba, a shopping centre where we usually find clothes, and decided to visit the Mediterranean Sea briefly. We drove through Shavei Tzion and got out of the car to walk along the beach, pretty sure this was all we were going to do there. But we were wrong, we ended up finding all sorts of interesting things! But first, the beach:

Interesting beach

Tiny shellfish

To find the reported mosaic excavation which we had read about some months back, we had to leave the beach and ask around. After questioning a bunch of people, and getting wildly conflicting answers, we finally were pointed in the right direction. It was to be found along the beach, 100 metres or so from the waterline and just a little further north than where we parked originally. Returning to the beach, we walked along a very nice path, the sandy area blossoming with wildflowers:

Wildflowers at the beach

At last we found the mosaic, a reconstruction of what once was a Byzantine church built some 1,500 years ago. The mosaics were uncovered and reconstructed in 1955 and to this day remain open and unguarded.

Restored mosaic part

Close-up of the restored mosaic

And there were other levels of the old church, apparently built in two stages, which were in a greater state of disrepair. Here is a photo, the weeds fighting for space among the tiny colourful stones:

Mosaic ruins

After we picked through the wildflowers and examined the stone mosaics, we got back into the car and headed out of the moshav. On the way we stopped so that I could take a picture of Shavei Tzion’s first building – a guard tower, which is now used for storing local archives:

The archives building

As I examined the building from the outside I saw an elderly man reading a piece of mail. I approached him and asked if the building was now a museum of sorts. He answered that the building now held the archives of the moshav and if I wanted, he could open it up and show me around. I had no idea what to expect but usually good things come to those inquisitive and patient so I waved the car over and introduced the old man, Uri Gefen, to my family. He opened one of the doors and showed us the old photographs and the old maps of the moshav. He explained to us that Shavei Tzion was founded by a group of Jews who fled from Rexingen, Germany during the turmoils of Europe in those days. The brave group established the collective moshav in 1938, just minutes away from another German settlement, that which is Nahariya. Uri Gefen went on to tell us how he came to Israel back in 1943. He was a child in Poland and when the Russians conquered his area, he and other children fled south to Uzbekistan and Afghanistan. They then made it to Tehran, Iran and were therefore known as the “Tehran Children.” Leaving Iran they travelled the Indian Ocean until the made their way up the Red Sea and to the Suez Canal. From there they took a train through Sinai and made it to the Holy Land, safe and sound. In today’s world, such a long and winding journey would be ridiculous – after all, Israel just a flight or two away from everywhere!

Uri Gefen, the local archiver

Uri Gefen told us something fascinating that I must share. As I mentioned earlier, the Jewish settlers of Shavei Tzion were from the German city of Rexingen, they lived there for hundreds of years, among the local Christian population. During one of the Crusades, many of Rexingen’s Christians headed south to the Holy Land to free it from the hands of the Muslims, as everybody knows. Not every Crusader came back, many fell in battle and many left marks wherever they went. Fast-forward to the 20th Century when the Jewish inhabitants of Rexingen headed south to the Holy Land, to settle it, they found themselves in the Galil, an area much influenced by the Crusaders so many years ago. During excavations, the Jews previously of Rexingen found Crusader ruins and remains, and those Crusaders were from none other than Rexingen as well! “The finger of G-d,” said Uri Gefen. I’m inclined to agree.

After much talk we bid the helpful archiver farewell, thanking him over and over for his interesting insights into the history of Shavei Tzion. But before we left, we stopped at the old Bet Knesset (Synagogue) – a building duplicated from the settlers’ counterpart back in Germany. Sadly the door was locked… but redemption came in the words of an Arab cleaning woman. She told us where to find the keys and then reminded us that we needed to return them when we were done. We assured her we would and opened the synagogue. Here is what we saw, definitely of Germanic design:

Bet Knesset (Synagogue)

It was an amazing little trip, from the raw beauty of the beach to the poignant stories from the archiver, but the clock was ticking and we had shopping to do. We got into our car and drove away… but as new people, with new thoughts and perspectives on the incredible miracles that have happened throughout the generations.

The Bahai Gardens & Madatech

On Monday I went, once again, to Haifa for my Tourist Israel gig. I had two big destinations, the Bahai Gardens and Madatech National Science, Technology and Space Museum. I had to drop off a letter at the City Museum so I made my way towards the gardens going up the German Colony. I feel like I know that particular area of Haifa better now that I may never get lost there again – getting lost can have its upside… Anyhow, I found a hapless pilgrim of the Bahai faith and mercilessly interrogated him on the bus routes to the main gate where the Bahai Gardens’ official tours are given. He gave me what I needed and I released him. I waited at the bus stop for what seemed to be an eternity, constantly checking the time because the last tour is at 12 o’clock noon and it was already 11 something.

Bahai Gardens - Shrine of the Bab

At last the bus pulled up and I climbed aboard. I settled down and noticed a couple holding an English Haifa city map so I asked them if they were tourists. She was, he wasn’t. They told me that they too were headed to the Bahai Gardens to I told them that I’d tag along. On the bus the young woman, a Brazilian visiting Israel with an Israeli male companion, decided she’d have a little snack. She took out a nut with shell intact (not sure what type of nut it was but it had a pretty tough shell) and placed it on the floor of the bus, then she stepped on it. The crunch was loud and her male friend look horrified as everybody watched her messy up the floor with shards of shell and crumbs of nutmeat. She later resorted to manual cracking of the nut and was thus spared of any further embarrassments. When we reached the upper section of the gardens, where the free tours are given, we got off out bus and took pictures at the upper observation terrace. Turns out that when I was on the Louis Promenade some weeks back I was only several hundred feet from the Bahai Gardens’ main gate. Here is a panoramic picture I took of the bay and land down below (click to see it enlarged):

Panoramic from the Bahai Gardens

After the picture taking and the gazing-out-at-the-view-whilst-chatting, we headed over to the tour group gathering area and were signed up and checked for weaponry. I was included in the young lady’s party so the guides think I am from Brazil and the couple thinks I am an undercover journalist – whatever! We started the copious walking that is the tour while stopping every once in a while to listen to the guide tell us about the Bahais and the gardens that was built on the land bought by the early Bahai followers. Today there is an amazing 7 million Bahais and they aren’t even allowed to live in Israel, their holiest place on Earth. The good thing about the Bahai is that they are respectful of the wishes of Israel, knowing that Israel doesn’t allow missionaries and thereby forbidding it amongst themselves. That’s a kind gesture in the world we live in today. Anyway, on the tour we passed by the large and impressive structure that is the Bahai Archives Library, I was wondering what these buildings were when looking down at them from the Louis Promenade – now, thanks to the tour guide, I know.

Bahai Archives Library

After the 45 minute walking tour there was a 20 minute video offered but I declined. I had to leave my new friends behind as they stayed for the video. I then exited the gardens, following the guards directions, boarded a bus and got off near my next destination: the Madatech National Science, Technology and Space Museum.

The Madatech building

The Madatech building is what used to be the old Technion building, built sometime in the 1910s. Even Albert Einstein came to visit back in 1923 and planted a palm tree which is still outside the building to this day. In the 80s the museum was established in the building and it is a magnificent structure. However, once inside, I was a bit puzzled about the Madatech Museum. The bottom floor exhibitions, just beside the front desk, seemed lonely and small. I couldn’t help but wonder why the admission fee was so steep (75 shekel for adults – but just 10 shekels for olim chadashim within their first year in Israel) for such a museum. However, when I continued on up to the first floor I was pleasantly surprised to find much, much better exhibits. One of my favourite on the first floor has got to be the Einstein Hall (Ilan Ramon Exhibition) where personal belongings of Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut, were found after the tragic disaster of the Columbia space shuttle back in 2003. Included in the finding were CDs given to him by local Israeli artists, remnants of his Israeli Air Force flag, a page of his diary which miraculously survived and other small items. Another notable room on the first floor is the Green Energy exhibition where pressing buttons turns on solar power, wind power and water power, each activating its perspective energy source and illuminating small lights to show how the power is generated. The second floor was even better with exhibits such as Magical Science – scientific breakdown of classic magical tricks (yes, I enjoyed having my weight distributed on a bed of nails), the Optical Illusions room and the Aviation Hall. Here is part of the Aviation Hall:

Madatech - Aviation Hall

The Dark Room was also of particular interest to me because I found the phosphorescent wall and the plasma ball to be exquisitely entertaining. And of course, who can resist the mirrors in the Mirrors Hall? After some two hours spent inside I found out that there was an outdoor area as well. I had not been mentally prepared for this museum’s enormity as I thought it was supposed to be “not as big as one would hope.” Needless to say, it was plenty big for me. Once I’d made my way to the outside Noble Energy Science Park I found several interesting items. One was a retired Israeli Air Force F-21 Kfir warplane, another was a helicopter-like creation that requires pedaling and pumping to “take flight.” I was a tad too large to comfortably pedal – my knees were trying to crush my rib-cage. But shortly I was assisted by a worker of the museum who showed me his “flying” skills and then led me to the next activity. This one was called the Boyo – a human yo-yo – and he showed me how to hold on, pull while dropping to one knee, stand up and let the recoil of the rope pull one up. I attempted to reach the 4 metre (13 feet) launch but I wasn’t experienced and I landed on an angle, losing the necessary force to reach the top. I tried over and over and he tried helping me but my arms got kinda sore so I gave up.

Boyo (Human Yo-Yo)

The museum guy also took me to another of Madatech’s features, the Sports Science building with all sorts of energy-sapping activities to be experienced. There I karate-chopped a foam block measuring the speed of my chop. I got 90-something kilometres per hour but I’m guessing I could have gotten more but my arms were a tad sore from the Boyo bouncing. I also raced wheelchairs but the empty seat beside me put no effort into the race so I stopped racing and relaxed instead. When I was done in the Sports Science building I realised that I was at Madatech for nearly 3 hours and wondered why there wasn’t anywhere to nap… After leaving I meandered around the area, dropped some change into a street musician’s case as he broke out into a oldies (1920s-40s) tune – putting a skip in my step, and then boarded a bus to the Cinemall where I got a falafel and a train to Nahariya. At Nahariya I hopped on a bus and arrived home. To Haifa again next time, or elsewhere?

(Thanks again to Boruch Len of Legacy Photography for Adobe CS5 picture touch-ups!)

Haifa

Today I had the obligation of being in Haifa, at the beckoning of the IDF. I left my house, travelled to Haifa via bus and train and attended my meeting. Afterwards, I decided to go on a little adventure… Here it is, a textual and pictorial account of my small journey down Mount Carmel. First, the bustling Haifa Port as seen from the Memorial Park next to the Iriya (City Hall) and the IDF Recruitment Centre:

The Port of Haifa

After snapping some shots of the park and the port down below I popped on over to the Iriya. There I was told to head West down the mountain if I wanted to see museums and such. I did so and on my way, walked by the old District Courthouse of Haifa established back in 1932:

The old District Courthouse of Haifa (1932)

From there I continued westward, slowing going down the the mountainside. After exploring a small “artists house” filled with modern-day small-time local artists’ work, most of them paintings, and then finding a historical house called the Gefen House, I found this unique act of nature:

A tree growing out of a wall at the Gefen House

Continuing on my way, I noticed a beautiful little garden with a bunch of small orange trees filled with bright oranges. I was wondering why there was a tiny little garden midst the large urban area and then, some twenty paces later, I saw the rest of the garden… the famous Baha’i Gardens. I figured I’d venture over and have a look so that’s exactly what I did. This marble fountain was quite peaceful and I knelt (oops) to take a picture of it:

Baha'i Gardens marble waterfall

As I went up to the next terrace I found a disappointingly tall metal fence with a locked gate. I waiting until one of the guards came up, with a tourist in tow, and unlocked the gate for her. I asked the guard if I too could explore the locked area and he said no, you are not a pilgrim. And no, I am not a pilgrim, so I left… but not without taking a picture of what the pilgrim what going to see:

Baha'i Gardens looking up from the lowest terrace

I then found the Tourist Information Centre and went inside, eager to learn more about the places available to a casual tourist like myself. There, a kind middle-aged woman helped me map out the next part of my journey and, after extensive talks, gifted me with an oldish map of the Coastal Region from Binyamina to Rosh HaNikra. The map was printed in 1990, the year I was born, and it reminds me of an old National Geographic in style and colour tone. After I had thanked the lady, having a definitive route penned out on another map, I headed down the long Allenby Street. After buying a water bottle, I passed by this interesting building, obviously quite a modern one:

Interesting building with Canadian and British flags waving outside

From that building onward there was not much to photograph, save the oddly placed red VW Karmen Ghia with the special licence plate and an “auto” sticker from Denver. Twenty to thirty minutes after I had left the Tourist Information Centre I reached my destination: Elijah’s Cave (the cave that Eliyahu HaNavi hid in and used during his “duel” with the worshippers of Ba’al). Unbeknownst to us at the time, we had been just minutes from the cave when we visited to wonderful National Maritime Museum sometime two years ago. Here is one of the welcome signs, this one situated on the road where a series of staircases takes one up to the cave:

Welcome to the Cave of Eliyahu Ha'Navi

When I had reached the complex of old stone buildings built in and around the cave I was greeted by a kind old man who blessed me. I then went into the cave where donors have turned the place into a special location for prayer:

A section of the cave

After exploring the cave I turned around to leave and this is what I saw, a wonderful view and even better in person:

Looking down from the cave to the Mediterranean Sea

And here is more of the complex, exactly what is in the buildings eludes me:

More of the Cave complex

Descending the mountain, the Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum’s outdoor displays become more and more visible. Here is a small ship retired from the Israeli Navy (the ship is open for touring within the museum – admission free for olim in their first year):

An old Navy ship from the Clandestine Immigration and Navy Museum

I then headed for the water and walked along the Bat Galim Promenade enjoying the damp sea breeze and the hot Mediterranean sun. Of course, as have been evident in most of my recent blog posts, there was a feeling of need for some panoramic footage. Here are two panoramics, taken as I stood in one spot, looking from side to side of the visible Mediterranean Sea (click to enlarge):

Looking West

Looking East

On the rocks that form a mini-seawall stood fisherman with immense fishing rods. I had the pleasure of watching one of the fishermen catch a fish, the myriads of huge beach cats lounging around just waiting for a snack. Here is one of these fishermen, sadly he did not catch anything while I was there:

A man fishing with the huge cargo ships in the distance behind him

When I had left the Promenade I continued to hug the coastline, walking along the beautifully shaded streets, and came across the official land entrance to the Haifa Port. Here it is, in all of its humble importance as the main gateway to the Holy Land by sea, the Haifa Port entrance (where a guard carrying an automatic rifle whistled sharply at me to not take any further pictures):

Welcome to Haifa Port

When I had successfully snuck away, camera in hand, I tried to find the Bat Galim train station to get back home. I ended up going the wrong way, consulted a passing soldier as to the current route and was shown, with much enthusiasm, the right way to go. I made it to the train station where I sat and “bugged out”, waiting for the train. In my idleness, I decided to snap a picture of the train on the other side of the tracks, being boarded for a Southbound journey, and to claim this as my train that I took (creative licence being taken advantage of here):

Taking a train home

The ride was pleasant and before too long I was home. ‘Till next time!