June 7-8
Off we go on another day of discovery. First stop Greek orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Deep within and still running is the spring where Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to have a son... The vault going into the well is crusader; the church old and charming with frescos, iconostasis and old lamps and chandaliers.
On to Tzapori- archeological site 1st and 2nd C-abundant mosaic floors in quite good shape for their age! On top of hill is a crusader fort-1200-withe expansive rooftop views. A small Roman amphitheater lies to the side.
Lunch- we visit a cooperative farm and have a chat with owner Ehud and his wife Shoshi who has us make our own pita to go with her exquisit lunch. We learn the very interesting story of how his family came to start up this enterprise and how they made it work with cooperation and new ideas. He has changed with the times and now the business is quite different; they specialize in olives and are starting to incorporate more tourism.
On to Zefat (the town of many spellings- Safed, Tsfat, Zfat, Safad, Safes, Safet, Tzfat). - 3200 feet above sea level in the mountains of the Upper Galilee, the highest town in Israel. The city flourished in the 16th century, when many famous Jewish religious scholars and mystics moved to Safed after the Spanish Expulsion. Safed became the spiritual center where the mystical Jewish Kabbalah practiced. Safed is one of the four holy cities in Israel, also Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias. The old part of town has narrow cobblestone streets and alleys with artists' galleries, medieval synagogues, and houses. We went to a Sephardic and an Ashkanaze synagogue- both blue to ward off evil spirits.They opened the cabinet for us to view the ancient Talmud. Then we walked though the artist community where they live, work and sell their art. We talked with several artists and did a little shopping.
We dropped down to the Sea of Galilee- 600 feet below sea level. We went to a Kabbuz where bombing had occured in 1967 during the 6 day war with Syria. We saw a movie about it which was mad in this Kabbutz- they make other movies and do all the subtitles for Israeli movies.
Not far away was the Kabbutz wa re staying at for the next 2 days- our cabin is right on the Sea of Galilee, where we sit with our wine and our new friends to see the sun set. This night though is a little scary as the wind is howling like a hurricane!
Breakfast arrives in a huge basket- a selection of breads and pastries, juice, coffee, tea, yogurt, salad, olives, pancakes, eggs, apples and oranges. In the center of the canyon is a large outcrop that looks like the hump of a camel, thus it is called Gamla. The town was attached twice and finally destroyed by the Romans and the women and children threw themselves off the cliff rather that being captured.
During the day we drive near Lebanon & Syria and could see Jordon only 30 miles away. We stop for a view and meet some Druze who are easily identifiable with their big mustaches, big white skullcaps and baggy black pants. We go on to the village- Majdal Shams-right on the Syrian border- where we have lunch in a prepared for us by a Druze woman and her sister in law, who serve us a delicious feast on a tablecloth on the floor. There is a pt bellied stove in this room and also in the next room which also looks like a family room with low couches and pillows along the walls. Both speak Hebrew and Syrian and one of the women speaks some English. They tell us about their family and a bit about their beliefs although much of it is secret. It is interesting that they never intermarry although their children all seem to travel quite a bit and have the option to become religious or not.
We stopped on the way back to our cabins for a wine tasting and I bought some wine to drink- it is quite good.
Off we go on another day of discovery. First stop Greek orthodox Church of the Annunciation in Nazareth. Deep within and still running is the spring where Gabriel announced to Mary that she was to have a son... The vault going into the well is crusader; the church old and charming with frescos, iconostasis and old lamps and chandaliers.
On to Tzapori- archeological site 1st and 2nd C-abundant mosaic floors in quite good shape for their age! On top of hill is a crusader fort-1200-withe expansive rooftop views. A small Roman amphitheater lies to the side.
Lunch- we visit a cooperative farm and have a chat with owner Ehud and his wife Shoshi who has us make our own pita to go with her exquisit lunch. We learn the very interesting story of how his family came to start up this enterprise and how they made it work with cooperation and new ideas. He has changed with the times and now the business is quite different; they specialize in olives and are starting to incorporate more tourism.
On to Zefat (the town of many spellings- Safed, Tsfat, Zfat, Safad, Safes, Safet, Tzfat). - 3200 feet above sea level in the mountains of the Upper Galilee, the highest town in Israel. The city flourished in the 16th century, when many famous Jewish religious scholars and mystics moved to Safed after the Spanish Expulsion. Safed became the spiritual center where the mystical Jewish Kabbalah practiced. Safed is one of the four holy cities in Israel, also Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias. The old part of town has narrow cobblestone streets and alleys with artists' galleries, medieval synagogues, and houses. We went to a Sephardic and an Ashkanaze synagogue- both blue to ward off evil spirits.They opened the cabinet for us to view the ancient Talmud. Then we walked though the artist community where they live, work and sell their art. We talked with several artists and did a little shopping.
We dropped down to the Sea of Galilee- 600 feet below sea level. We went to a Kabbuz where bombing had occured in 1967 during the 6 day war with Syria. We saw a movie about it which was mad in this Kabbutz- they make other movies and do all the subtitles for Israeli movies.
Not far away was the Kabbutz wa re staying at for the next 2 days- our cabin is right on the Sea of Galilee, where we sit with our wine and our new friends to see the sun set. This night though is a little scary as the wind is howling like a hurricane!
Breakfast arrives in a huge basket- a selection of breads and pastries, juice, coffee, tea, yogurt, salad, olives, pancakes, eggs, apples and oranges. In the center of the canyon is a large outcrop that looks like the hump of a camel, thus it is called Gamla. The town was attached twice and finally destroyed by the Romans and the women and children threw themselves off the cliff rather that being captured.
During the day we drive near Lebanon & Syria and could see Jordon only 30 miles away. We stop for a view and meet some Druze who are easily identifiable with their big mustaches, big white skullcaps and baggy black pants. We go on to the village- Majdal Shams-right on the Syrian border- where we have lunch in a prepared for us by a Druze woman and her sister in law, who serve us a delicious feast on a tablecloth on the floor. There is a pt bellied stove in this room and also in the next room which also looks like a family room with low couches and pillows along the walls. Both speak Hebrew and Syrian and one of the women speaks some English. They tell us about their family and a bit about their beliefs although much of it is secret. It is interesting that they never intermarry although their children all seem to travel quite a bit and have the option to become religious or not.
We stopped on the way back to our cabins for a wine tasting and I bought some wine to drink- it is quite good.
sounds like a really cool place to stay! also sounds like good stuff to see-- good days
ReplyDeleteI finally had time to catch up with your posts. What an interesting cross cultural tour. Enjoying the pictures a lot. Thank you for taking the time to share and write out the details.
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