Catching up

It's been a very busy 10 days ...

This is our 4th extended trip to Israel. We've had company from the States each time, but this was the first time we've had a group. It was a great experience for us and for them.

My close friend (and first sister in law) Linda and her brother Denny arrived on Wednesday, February 8. We met them at the airport and headed straight to the Galilee for a 2 night stay. It was already dark when we left the airport so we missed the scenery along the way, and the ride took about half an hour more than usual due to traffic. We stayed at Ohalo Manor, which sounds more like it should be in Hawaii than the southern tip of the Sea of Galilee at Kibbutz Kinneret. Fortunately they were awake enough to go to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Ein Gev, which stayed open just for us. Then, a well-deserved good night's sleep.

We spent Thursday doing a circuit around the Galilee. The first stop was Magdala, located near the modern city of Migdal, overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The site was discovered by accident in 2009, when construction began on a hotel. As often happens here, ruins were uncovered as the ground was being excavated for the foundation. Turns out this was the location of the ancient city of Magdala, a fishing village that is very important in Christian history as the home of Mary Magdalene. What makes this place unique is that it was covered by mudslides (only 10 inches deep) but never built over, as most places were, and the remains of the city were well preserved. We had a remarkable docent take us thru the ruins and the modern additions to the archaeological park which include chapels with amazing mosaics. The hotel that started the whole thing will be open some time this year.

We continued to Nof Ginossar, the kibbutz that has a 2000 year old fishing boat on display. Popularly known as the "Jesus Boat" it was discovered in 1986 when the level of the lake dropped to a record low following years of drought. The film showing the boat's rescue and preservation (after being covered with mud for two millennia) was as fascinating as the boat itself. We followed that with visits to Kfar Nahum (Capernaum) and Kursi, another relatively recent site (discovered in the course of building a new road) on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee. 

That was plenty for the first day. We went back to the kibbutz for a short rest, then had dinner at the Pagoda, our other favorite local restaurant. 

Friday, being a short day, was limited to one spectacular site, Caesarea. This was a very important city and seaport two thousand years ago. It's a large and well preserved site, and you get a good sense of how vast, wealthy and significant the city was during Roman times. From there we got to Jerusalem in record time, dropped Linda and Denny off at the apartment they rented and rushed home to get Shabbat dinner ready. The directions I gave them to walk to our apartment were right on, and the four of us had a very nice and relaxing dinner together.

The London Three (our niece Jenny, her husband Dave and their friend Georgi) arrived the next day. We took a walk to the Old City and the Western Wall via the Armenian and Jewish Quarters. It was the first time Sid and I had gone there since we arrived. It was Dave's birthday and we wanted to do something special that evening so I scouted out restaurants (specifically hoummous restaurants) that were open on Saturday night. We went to Hatzot, where Sid and I had gone a couple weeks before, to celebrate, and took a short walk thru the night scene at the shuk on our way home.

On Tuesday the 7 of us squeezed into an SUV and headed south to the Dead Sea. We stopped for a hike at Ein Gedi, where there was more water than I've seen in the past, and continued to the Ein Gedi spa. One of their objectives was to float in the Dead Sea. Sid and I knew better - it's very cold at this time of year. We stayed in the spa with the warm mineral pools while they went down to the beach which unfortunately has retreated nearly 1/4 of a mile in the past several years due to the lowering levels of the sea. Yes, it's a big problem. 

The goal for Wednesday morning was to walk up the Snake Path at Massada to see the sunrise. (Jenny's idea of course. Ever since I took her to Paris and we walked to the top of every single monument, she hasn't stopped climbing.) We stayed at the Massada youth hostel Tuesday night, which was surprisingly comfortable, had surprisingly good food and was very crowded with groups of Israeli high school kids and German tourists. We (everyone except Sid who had the foresight to sleep in) got up and met in the lobby at 520AM. When we got to the entrance of the Snake Path we were informed by a very apologetic gatekeeper that the path was closed because of a minor rock slide during the night that made the path unstable. (Someone from the National Parks authority has the unenviable job of walking up the path every morning to make sure it's safe.) By way of compensation he comped us for the cable car, which was actually quite generous since it saved us about $18 each. So we went up the old fashioned way, by cable car. We were disappointed, but it leaves something for us to do the next time.

The weather during their trip was mostly cold and rainy. This impacts on plans, especially when most of the sightseeing is on foot. The big decision that had to be made, and soon, was when to go to Tel Aviv. With considerable deliberation they decided to go there on Friday, which left Thursday open for a rainy day activity in Jerusalem. They started the day by going to the Temple Mount for literally 5 minutes, then met us at the Israel Museum. Sid and I hadn't been through the museum for a very long time, and a lot of it has been very nicely redone.

On Friday they went by bus to Tel Aviv; actually they started in Jaffa which has reinvented itself over the last few years. They met Dori at Abu Hassan, which she says has the best hoummous in the entire country. After all, one of the goals of their trip was to find the best hoummous in Israel, so this was as much a research project as a lunch stop. They spent some time in Tel Aviv proper before returning to Jerusalem. And they all (Dori included) came for dinner Friday night.

We gathered one last time on Saturday night at a restaurant called Kadosh in a relatively new restaurant row near the Mamila Mall. The food scene in Israel has grown by leaps and bounds, and in Jerusalem it seems to have migrated from Emek Refaim to the Mamila neighborhood.

We all had a great time, and hope this will turn out to be the first of many visits to come.

                                                At Hatzot celebrating Dave's birthday.