Jerusalem!

Apologies for the hiatus. We've had long days and I've been  too tired to write anything intelligible. Our trusty, dusty little car has inched up some serious hills so we could traverse the great Ramon crater, see Avdat--a Nabatean/Roman/Ottoman trading town on the spice route from Petra--and experience Masada.

I sorted through photos of the amazing landscapes and ruins and decided that you had to be there to appreciate the dramatic scenery and the ruined ancient splendor. Photos just don't do it. Still, I'll subject you to one shot of the huge wine press at Avdat. Those traders on the spice route arrived thirsty!

Masada just can't be conveyed by photo. Overlooking the Dead Sea, it seems like it's practically in the stratosphere, but is in fact below sea level. It's amazing to see how people lived up there, especially how they managed water.

And, of course, we couldn't leave the area without completing our most important goal: Getting Bob's feet into the Dead Sea. Mission accomplished! He has now stepped into every major body of water in Israel.

The day before yesterday we said goodbye to the herds of ibex roaming around Mitzpe Ramon, though we really wanted to bring one home.

 We arrived in Jerusalem on the Sabbath, so almost no one was driving and all the shops were closed. It was fun to stroll around and see everyone else outside enjoying the beautiful weather, gathering on public benches to chat, and generally hanging out on the quiet streets. We are in the town center, a Jewish neighborhood (as opposed to Arab or Christian) and it's amazing to see how many people here are orthodox or Hasidim. Compared to other places we've been, the religious presence is very dominant. They even have kosher McDonald's!

This morning we stuffed ourselves with shakshuka, a breakfast dish of eggs baked in tomato sauce, served with salad and brown bread. Thus fortified, we make our way to the gigantic central market, where you can go wild buying gorgeous fruit, vegetables, fresh-baked bread, pickles, pastries...everything. And we did. Here is a tempting spice and tea shop.

To make everything even better, we're staying in a 100-year-old stone terraced house down a teeny lane in the town center. It's completely charming and has everything we need to feel at home.

Later today we're going out to meet Bob's second cousin and her husband, who retired here in Jerusalem. The only language they have in common is German, but that doesn't seem to slow down the conversation!

The Negev desert!

I knew we'd reached the desert when I started seeing all the signs warning drivers to watch out for stray camels!

And before long I did indeed see camels, though they were fenced in on the edges of the shanty Bedouin villages, along with sheep, goats, and donkeys. And once we reached town, a remote hiking center called Mitzpe Ramon, we saw ibex (ibexes?) assessing the prospect of getting or stealing snacks from tourists at the Visitor's Center. (One guy with a minivan quickly closed the doors and back hatch as an ibex moved in for a meal.)

Mitzpe Ramon overlooks the so-called Israeli Grand Canyon, a huge eroded crater that's truly the desert. We have a very nice view of it from our apartment.

The crater is shared by hikers, bikers, rock climbers--and the Israeli military. This end of Israel is a sliver between Egypt and Jordan, the the military presence is everywhere. We drove through the crater, past observation posts, bunkers, firing ranges, etc. And armed soldiers are everywhere. 

Security is serious here. You have to pass through a metal detector and have your bags searched to enter the mall.

Kibbutzes are everywhere, too, and the local market has some amazing fruit and vegetables. Bob scored some wonderful fresh dates and figs to serve as snacks.

And, finally, no post would be complete without our latest accomplishment: Bob got his feet in the Gulf of Aqaba in Eilat, a bustling resort town across the water from Jordan. From the beach, we could see the city of Aqaba, where I once looked at Israel from the other side. Who knew that I'd one day be on the other shore!

Out and about in the Galilee

Another two days of excitement! We have been driving up and down the lower Galilee in our scruffy Fiat, which has the pick-up and suspension of a low-end go-cart. It's teeny, which is a great help for parking, but really struggles to go up the hills:

Here's the sad part of the story: Bob grew up speaking Yiddish at home, learned some Russian along the way when he was young, and studied Hebrew for a couple of years for his Bar Mitzvah. So here in Haifa, he's been having a great time swapping languages in conversations with the people we've met. Haifa has a lot of Russians. But he was looking forward to Tsfat, where the very religious Jews are said to speak Yiddish.

So yesterday when we arrived in Tsfat, he approached a young Hasidic man and greeted him in Yiddish. The guy gave Bob a sort of blank look and then replied in a Southern drawl. He was from North Carolina. So we sat down for coffee and were approached by another very religious guy, but when Bob spoke to him in Yiddish...he was an American, too. Finally, while we were looking at a map, a very nice woman asked us if we needed directions. She was from Washington, DC. So we had to settle for wandering around the very picturesque town, which is seemingly filled with Americans.

But today we accomplished at least one item on Bob's bucket list: He put his feet in the Sea of Galilee:

We also wandered around Beit She'an, the best preserved Roman town in Israel.

But we're reluctantly saying farewell to the north of Israel and driving south to the Negev tomorrow. There, Bob is hoping to complete his quest by putting his feet in the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Aquaba. And I'm hoping to ride camels out into the desert.

Ruins upon ruins

Thanks to jet lag and lots walking around under the hot sun, I was too weary last night to write, so settle in for a long post...

Yesterday we went north to the Crusader castle and fortifications in a town called Akko and today we went south to Roman/Ottoman/Crusader ruins in Caesarea, a town built by Herod. Here is a quick history: the Romans built lots of things until they got kicked out by the Turks who built more things until they got kicked out by the Crusaders, who built more things, etc. Each set of conquerors destroyed whatever came before and then built on top of it. The tradition continues. Here is a modern home in the Old City of Akko built directly on top of sections of the Crusader castle wall:

The ancient lanes have been retrofitted with homes, too:

Caesarea is purely an archaeological site, though one where people can run around on all the ruins. Here is all that's left of Herod's palace:

The square section in the middle is his swimming pool.

The hippodrome, where they had chariot races and pitted slaves against lions, is still there, though:

The past two days are big holidays here, so everywhere we went was filled with jolly families enjoying their outings. The historical stuff was fascinating, of course, but it was also a lot of fun to see the locals at play.

And another historical event: Bob achieved his long-held goal of putting his feet in the Mediterranean Sea:

After hiking around hot stones in the hot sun, we finished today on a nearby beach, where the ruins of a Crusader fortification have been adapted as part of a prison. But the tumbled-down fortifications were still evocative as the sun lowered on the day.

The Ups and Downs of Haifa

And I do mean up...and up...and up and down...and down...and down. Today I think we ascended or descended most of Haifa, starting with a hike up to the top of Mt. Carmel.

Haifa is a very congenial town, with the modest areas down near the harbor (where we are staying). As you go uphill, where it's cooler, the neighborhoods get increasingly affluent. And greener. Bougainvillea grow tall and lush in this climate:

Guided by Google Maps, we set off for the Bahai Gardens and the shrine of the founder of the religion, and soon found ourselves going the long, long way. A passerby told us it was too far to walk, but we eventually arrived and--by amazing good luck--arrived at the right place at the right time. The gardens and the shrine are incredible, for both the landscaping and the extraordinary views:

After the gardens, we walked down, down, down to the street you can see running from the shrine to the harbor. We were looking for lunch, but that main thoroughfare was too fancy for the likes of us, so we turned into the Arab quarter and--joy!--found a great Middle Eastern food joint that served amazing hummus, babaganoush, salads, etc. We pigged out, with great enthusiasm!

My friends who are tired of hearing me whine about the cold will be happy to hear that I'm hot (and happy). Our AirBnb rental is simple, but in the center of everything:

It was a great day. A perfect introduction to the trip. Tomorrow we--tremble--are going to rent a car. After seeing the driving--and even worse, the parking--in this town I'm madly screwing up my courage now.

Israel--at last

After talking about it for years, Bob and I are finally heading to Israel on Tuesday. This trip is courtesy of my heroic sister, Misty, and her husband, Jerry, who came all the way back from the remote mountains of Guatemala to keep an eye on my parents and the dog while we're gone. Stay tuned for more after we get to Haifa.

I'm off to California with Bob today--in the miserable rain! Watch this spot for updates on our adventures.