We recently took a 12-day walk through history! The land of Israel – smaller than the state of New Jersey — is a strategic bridge between three continents – Africa, Asia and Europe, and is the birthplace of the three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as others including Kabbalism and Baha’i.
The homeland of the Jewish people as the State of Israel since 1948, it offers more than 3,000 years of history. New discoveries come every day as archeological digs across the country continue to expose new layers that reinforce many written words found in both the Old and New Testaments.
Bonnie and Steve were fortunate to join a tour sponsored by ARZA – the Association of Reform Zionists in America, which touched many historic places. We had a fantastic tour guide: Muki Zohar is a Captain in the Israel Defense Force (IDF) Reserves with an incisive historical and political insight into the Israel of yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Our US dollar went a long way, converted to 3.6 New Israel Shekels (about 28 cents). Meals were fantastic, with bountiful breakfast spreads included at every hotel, and dinner entrees everywhere that were meant to be shared.
These highlights should encourage many of you to investigate your own visit to this “land of milk and honey.”
Day 1 & 2 – After an overnight flight from Tampa via Newark to Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport, checked into our hotel on theMediterranean Sea Promenade. We took a three-mile round-trip walk to Old Jaffa, with a stop at the Etzel Museum. Displays are a tribute to the Etzel (Irgun) underground forces that played a significant role in the years leading up to the 1948 Six Day War to establish the State of Israel. The walk also took us past the Tel Aviv Surf Club, celebrating its 60th anniversary as the first in Israel. Our lunch sitting on a roundabout bench in Old Jaffa was our first introduction to Falafel, fried balls of chickpeas and/or fava beans, served in a large pita with hummus, chopped lettuce and tomatoes, and spicy tahini sauce—topped with French fries! We met our group that evening at the Jaffa Overlook with a visit to a noted Sculpture Garden, and a welcome dinner at Moganda in the Yemenite Quarter.
Day 3 – A visit to Independence Hall in downtown Tel Aviv started with a short video of the 66 US and European families who pulled up roots and came to the desert to build the original city in 1909! A reproduction of the original room where the Israel Declaration of Independence was signed by the 27 Council members was highlighted by a recording of first Prime Minister David Ben Gurion reading the short document, patterned after our own US Declaration. After a visit to the downtown Open Market, we headed for Caesarea, the coastal city built by King Herod, with impressive ruins including an Amphitheatre that today hosts many music concerts, and a Hippodrome where chariots once raced and gladiators once fought. We ended at the impressive Kfar Blum kibbutz in the Northern Galilee, one of the wealthiest kibbutz communities in the country with its deluxe Pastoral Hotel and Olympic pool.
Day 4 –Our day began with a visit to the historic Tel Dan Nature Park, following a slippery rock-strewn trail to the headwaters of the River Jordan and the ruins of the ancient city of Dan. Archeologists recently literally “turned over a stone” to discover the first written proof that the House of King David actually existed. Next was one of real tour highlights – a jeep trip with former IDF soldiers as drivers and guides to one of the most northern outposts in the occupied Golan Heights – with Syria a stone’s throw away, and many still-active minefields fenced off with warning signs. Mount Hebron is viewed with some snow still at the top, where Israel’s only ski resort is located. On an afternoon visit to the Hula Valley Nature Preserve, a major migratory bird flyway, we saw such wildlife as Lutra, a Eurasian Otter invasive species; giant Catfish; and a small herd of Bison. Back at Kfar Blum, we had an impressive talk from the head of the Kibbutz.
Day 5 – Our busiest day began with a visit to Safed, the center of Jewish mysticism, and the studio of famous Kabbalah artist David Friedman, followed by the historic Ari Ashkenazi Synagogue and Caro Sephardic Synagogue. After a visit to some fine arts galleries, it was off to Rosh Hanikra at the northeast tip of Israel, with a cable car trip down to sea grottos at the border of Lebanon. Next came Akko (Acre), the historic Crusader city, with a walk through the underground series of “Knights’ Halls,” past Al Jazeera Mosque and a final low underground tunnel walk that led to the seaport and Templar Fort ruins. We ended the day at a Druze Village home with a lovely buffet meal and some insights from our host into the ancient Druze religion and rituals. Then it was on to Haifa for an overnight stay.
Day 6 – After an impressive morning overlook of the Baha’i Temple and gardens – host to the World Baha’i Conference that week, we took Highway Six south, going past the walled partition with the Palestinian West Bank. After a prayer at an overlook site, we entered Jerusalem and our first visit to the Old City, Our guide took us on an interpretive walk past the Al Aksa Mosque, through the Armenian Quarter into the Jewish Quarter, a historic Synagogue Map of the Old City in 1620, an underground walk past Roman and Byzantine columns into the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. We saw three crypts where Jesus was said to be first buried, the Christian, Armenian and Syrian, with many visiting pilgrims. Outside the Church is a ladder to the second floor, said to date from Mark Twain’s 1867 visit — to see its stained glass windows up close. A main highlight was a visit to the Western (Wailing) Wall of the first Temple built by King Solomon, one of the holiest sites for Jews, where everyone can put personal notes in cracks in the Wall. The day ended with a lovely Shabbat (Sabbath) dinner at Beit Schmuel near the historic King David Hotel, and a walk back to our hotel through the old Montefiore artists’ neighborhood past Israel’s only Windmill.
Day 7 – Our free day in Jerusalem began with a taxi (no buses or trains run on Shabbat) to the historic Tisch Family Biblical Zoo that dates to a small children’s zoo in 1940. Major feature is a Biblical Wildlife overlook boardwalk featuring many exotic animals from the Bible, many near extinct. One eclectic exhibit featured Rhinos, Oryx, Zebras, Giraffes, Nile Hippos, Ostriches and Maribou Storks, all in peaceful harmony. Another hosted a flock of African Penguins, cousins to our flock at the Lowry Park Zoo. We were then picked up by Arthur Spector, who designed the new Jerusalem Sports Arena, and took us to the site as Steve is doing a feature for his UK magazine, PanStadia & Arena Management. Spector’s firm also designed the Hadassah Hospital Complex, and the new National Library. Our final visit was the Israel Museum, including a special King Herod exhibit, the Dead Sea Scrolls building, and a scale model of the Second Temple grounds.
Day 8 – A full day in Jerusalem started with a tour of the underground tunnels three levels below the Western Wall. Herod the Great built streets, cisterns and a swimming pool; a special section of the lower Western Wall is reserved for prayers of women only; a special animated display shows how the original Second Temple Mount was built as a platform, first for the Temple, and then for the Dome of the Rock from where Mohammed is believed to have ascended to Heaven; and views straight down to many more levels going back 3,000 plus years of Jerusalem history. After lunch in the Arab Market, it was on to Yad Vashem, the new museum that is a “living” history of the Holocaust. Included are room to room exhibits from the rise of Nazi Germany and development of the “Final Solution” that exterminated six million Jews plus Gypsies, homosexuals and other “non-Aryan” races, and a Room of Witness Testimonials with a sampling of memories of those who survived. Perhaps even more poignant was the nearby Children’s Memorial, as an estimated 1.5 million Holocaust deaths were under age 18. Only five LED bulbs are mirrored to reflect “a million points of light” as the names of each lost child is recited on a 24/7 recording. Throughout the complex, visitors walk along the “Avenue of Righteous Gentiles,” with a tree planted and plaque noted for the many who saved the lives of Jews from the Nazis and their allies.
Day 9—Our first stop on the way to the Dead Sea was Genesis Land, where most of us experienced our first camel ride, with many laughs for getting on, staying on and getting off the “limousines of the desert,” and everyone got a “Camel Driver License.” Then it was on to Masada, the mountain plateau fortress that was built by King Herod as a summer palace, and is known through history as the site of the six-month battle with 900 Jews holding off a Roman Legion. All decided to die rather than become Roman slaves, with lots drawn for the last 10 men. History says two women and three children survived, the theme of Alice Hoffman’s bestseller, “The Dovekeepers.” Masada’s motto has become Israel’s battle cry: “Never Forget!” A cable car now goes to the summit, but a walking path is available that Steve took on his first trip in 1995. Our stop for a “swim” – actually a “float” in the Dead Seas as the water is 34% salt, included a very long walk down to the beach and then for an adventurous few, a black mud bath with supposed therapeutic values. After a shopping spree in the Visitor Center Ahava Shoppes, featuring the local Kibbutz’s world famous Dead Sea-derived cosmetics, it was back to Jerusalem. Our dinner adventure at Tmol Shilshom was an eclectic restaurant, bookstore and nightspot with local musicians.
Day 10—Our visit to Yad LaKashish was very moving, as the sheltered workshop provides 300 of Jerusalem’s neediest elderly, with the life-affirming feeling they are productive and equal members of society. We saw a labyrinth of workshops on four levels that included silk screening, papier-mâché, metalworking, jewelry, knitting and embroidery, with a wonderful gift shop of Judaica and other products that dedicates all proceeds to the project. One of the most interesting and stimulating stops on the tour was the Ayalot Institute near Rehovot, where from 1945 until Independence in 1948 more than 5 million 9mm bullets for the Sten machine guns were manufactured that enabled Haganah resistance against the British. It was all built underground below an actual working kibbutz, with a laundry and bakery covering access/exit at both ends. Only 45 volunteers on the kibbutz, sworn to secrecy, were involved in the project, which Prime Minister Ben Gurion called “one of the most important factors in our victory.” Then it was on to an active dig in the Beit Guvrin Caves National Park, dating back 2,300 years. Using small picks and trowels, we were able to uncover pottery shards, a camel tooth, small animal bones and the find of the day, wine pitcher shards. We left early with two other couples for a return to Tel Aviv for a flight to Eilat, the resort city at the southern tip of Israel and the Negev Desert.
Day 11—A visit to remember as we were dropped off at the Jordan border, where red tape took us two hours to get papers approved for the two-hour ride to the old Nabataean city of Petra. One of the Seven “New” Wonders of the Ancient World, it dates back 2,000-years plus to between the 3rd century BC and 1st Century AD. The carved tombs and temples, hewn out of red rock mountains and sandstone gorges, have amazed visitors since its rediscovery in 1812. Our local guide Zaid, born in Russia, was very knowledgeable about the ancient city and his adopted country’s history, and provided keen insight on our three-mile round-trip walk down a narrow sandstone canyon. We had to share the canyon with two-person horse-drawn carriages, horses, burros and camels—other visitor options! Among the most fascinating sights were the Treasury, featured in an Indiana Jones movie, with its rose-pink façade, sharply chiseled into columns, two half-pediments and sculptured horned capitals; a Roman-style amphitheater, scooped out of the mountainside and seating about 7,000 in 45 rows; and the Royal Tombs, built for Petra’s most wealthy citizens. Among the shops, we watched a local artist fill a small bottle with colored sand, creating a camel with a multi-colored sky that we brought home as a unique souvenir.
Day 12—After a flight back to Tel Aviv, we had our last full day with a long walk down historic Dizengoff Street (named after the first Mayor) and Rothschild Boulevard (named for the family that has contributed much of its fortune to building the Israel of today), past many upscale and eclectic shops. After a walk through city center, with its spouting fountain, we wound up in Neve Zedek, built in the 1880s as the first Jewish neighborhood outside Jaffa. A walk through flower-filled lanes and boutique stores brought us to the Pronto restaurant, where we had a great Italian dinner on our last night in Israel.
This was a trip we will never forget, and one that everyone should consider on their personal bucket list.
[Steve Traiman is President of Creative Copy by Steve Traiman in St. Pete Beach, offering freelance business writing services. He can be reached via email at straiman@mindspring.com.]
Story by Steve Traiman
Photos by Bonnie & Steve Traiman
Date: June 2013