More Tsfat!

It was really fun walking around the beautiful city of Tsfat, with its narrow cobblestone streets lined with knickknack souks and local artists’ shops.  We toured many old synagogues that each told its own amazing story.  The synagogue of “the Ari,” which means “the Lion” in Hebrew, was my favorite.  The ark was ornately designed with flowers and fruits, which I believe I read was a traditional Sephardic/Mediterranean design.  There was a large antique chair hidden in the back for Elijah and our guidebook said local lore is that if a Jewish couple sits in the chair, they will have a son within the year!  I asked Jeremy if we can try it!  Like the responsible fiancé he is, he said we don't want to have a child a few months before we're married.  I said, “But what if we don’t and we prove it wrong?” and Jeremy said, “Do you really want to disprove a legend like that?!”  I guess not…  We’ll have to come back!  The funny thing is…later that night, out of nowhere, a man at our hotel started telling us our future using Numerology and he said we must get pregnant in the next year!  Ooooo……creepy…..what a coincidence!

The synagogue of the Ari was hit by shrapnel during the 1948 siege, when it was full of worshippers.  It’s said that the worshippers were all bent in prayer, so the shrapnel flew over their heads and lodged in the central platform, sparing anyone from injury!  So, now you have a little taste of the magic of Tsfat!

Jeremy and I at the synagogue of The Ari.

Some interesting tidbits about Kabbalah… The Ari (aka Rabbi Yitzhak) was a major figure in the Jewish community in Tsfat and a major figure in furthering Kabbalistic studies.  He meant for Kabbalah to be more of a higher form of study, for only the most devout students of the Torah.  He probably wouldn’t be cool with Madonna doing whatever she’s doing.  She’s probably not meeting all 613 commandments!  Also, the Ari introduced the Kabbalat Shabbat, which is still customary to perform on Friday nights even today!

We explored sites presently being excavated, which reveal ancient ruins!

We looked out to Mt. Meron, a two-humped mountain, which a celebratory procession flocks to on the holiday of Lag B’Omer.

The sun shining through the clouds over Mt. Meron seems very fitting in the land of milk and honey!

Jeremy also took me to a really awesome candle shop, renowned in the region, called Safed Candles (Safed is the English spelling of Tsfat). 

A wax sculpture of Noah's Ark, complete with our favorite cartoon animals!

Angry birds ala wax candle!

We followed the signs through the winding streets to find Kadosh Zefat Cheese and met the brothers who had inherited the business which I believe they said has been passed down for 8 generations.  They invited us in and gave me delicious, spiced coffee to drink (Jeremy doesn't like coffee).  We tasted their delicious cheeses and halva and had a snack of their dolmas.  Their honey, cashew halva is sinful….SO amazing and so much better tasting than the nasty stuff I bought at Whole Foods.

It was a very picturesque and unique city with some of the nicest people we’ve met so far on our trip!  Here’s some more magic we witnessed in Tsfat….

Magic chair!

What's this bird sitting on?!

Tsfat

Tsfat is one of the holiest cities in Judaism.  It is the center of Kabbalah, Jewish Mysticism, and a really cool city on a hilltop.  The streets are pedestrian only and curve and meander around.  There is the Synagogue Quarter and the Artists' Quarter.  The historical synagogues are very beautiful and have fascinating histories.  I really enjoy the feel of this old city and have been making phone calls trying to volunteer doing construction maintenance, painting, anything at some of these amazing, old synagogues.

Above, in the synagogue Abohav. 

I was here two years ago and still remember some of the shopkeepers from then (Samara can't believe I remembered 3 shop keepers from 2 years ago).  We hunted for one orthodox scribe who paints and writes Ketubahs - the Jewish marriage contract.  I found him and asked him if he used to be on the other side of the street and he said that he just moved one month ago since the prior building owner raised the rent on him.  We got info from him about our Ketubah for when we get married next year.

Samara surrounded by the traditional blue color of Tsfat.

Also I had been telling Samara about this restaurant that is run by a Yeminite Jew and serves Yeminite pizzas.  He basically makes a crepe and then fills it with your choice of cheese and other toppings.  It was as good as I remember.  No, it was better!  He also makes mint-lemonade.  So refreshing.  We ate there at lunch and then after touring all day stopped by for another helping before leaving town.

Jeremy wearing a traditional Yeminite hat and doing a Kabbalah hand sign.

Walking around the city, there are remnants of Israel's struggle for independence.  

We came around a corner and heard entrancing music and decided to find where it was coming from.  A trio of Orthodox Jews were performing traditional music for a tour group.  The instruments look similar to modern day instruments but slightly different.  One of the performers said his instrument was the great grandfather of the piano (the instrument in the video below).  The music was so good we bought their cd and listened to it on the drive home.

Driving home in our rental car we saw a Hasidic man on the side of the street hitchhiking.  After passing him, I told Samara I wish I stopped for him and she said, "Why didn't you?"  We decided he was the safest hitchhiker one could ever pick up.  U-turn!  I came back and asked him where he wanted to go.  He wanted to go to Tiberias, where we were heading.  He spoke little English, but we communicated back and forth well enough.  When we dropped him off near his destination, the tomb of Rambam, he thanked me and asked my name and mother's name because he wanted to pray for me!  Not a bad trade.

More Tiberias

In Tiberias, we have the ability to rent a car for really cheap and drive to see the sites, which is easier (and sometimes more affordable) than trying to take a bus or taxi.  The country is small enough, it only takes 30-60 minutes to get to most of the major sites in the Northern region.  Tiberias is a beautiful town and definitely caters more to tourists, as opposed to Haifa which is mostly an economic center of the country.  In our small hotel room, we have a big balcony overlooking the beautiful Sea of Galilee!

The weather here feels hotter than Haifa, but up in the mountains it's cool and very pleasant - it feels like spring in Seattle.  I LOVE LOVE the weather, but the trade off is the bugs!  One night I was attacked by a freakish looking spider in bed, so I couldn't sleep the rest of the night for fear that I would be attacked by more scary bugs!

Tom's friend Daniel with a praying mantis!  Scawy!

Tiberias is one of Judaism's holiest cities.  The mishna was compiled here and it is also the home of the tombs of the 'tzadiks,' highly respected Jewish philosophers and thinkers.  We were very grateful to visit the tomb of Rambam, Rabbi Maimonides.  We've studied many of the writings of Rambam, so it meant a lot to visit his tomb.  People pray at the tombs and become very emotional, it's very moving.

The tombs of the tzadiks is marked with the artistic red monument behind me.

Jeremy and I visited the tomb of Rabbi Meir Ba'al Hanes, a 2nd Century rabbi who helped compile the Mishnah.  The white dome is Sephardic and the blue dome is Ashkenazic, though when we went inside only the Sephardic dome was open.

Tiberias is rich with Jewish history and the history of other peoples who have lived in the land as it has changed hands.  As we walked around the city, we walked a few kilometers to some Roman ruins.  There was a fence around the ruins and a sign in Hebrew.  It probably said no entry, but since our Hebrew isn't very good yet it didn't say much to us, so we went in anyways!

The other thing we LOVE LOVE about Israel is the FOOOOODDDDD!!!!

We almost died the first night here...from overeating!  Seriously, it was painful.  We've learned our lesson now and only order one entree and share it!  Falafel, kebabs, eggplant dip, hummus, tahina, pickled vegetables, olives, spicy tomato dip...and pita, pita, pita!  Do pickled veggies still count as healthy?  We're still on the fence about it!  If we get beef at a restaurant, we won't see cheese, since it's not kosher to have at the same time.  So many choices though, I think we'll manage!

At the outdoor market, buying fresh fruit and vegetables!  Yummy!

Tiberias has an outdoor water/light show on the waterfront that we went to see.  It was really cool!  They have music and water fountains and they reflect lights and images on the water.  It was basically like watching a movie on a screen of water!  Who knew?!

Hiking around in Tiberias we found an unearthed amphitheater, most likely from Roman times since it's visible from the other Roman ruins maybe 100 yards away.  Since Jeremy and I are going metric, we'll say about 91 meters away. 

The amphitheater behind me and further out is the Sea of Galilee!

We hiked up into the hills surrounding the Sea of Galilee and we could see all of Tiberias... and beyond!

The forest around Tiberias.

Our room was one of 2 balcony rooms in Hotel Panorama!  We loved the fresh air!

So, Jeremy and I went to the shared balcony at our hotel and started doing our Crossfit workout.  A group of young guys vacationing for the weekend thought we were pretty entertaining.  Every time we did a push-up or a sit-up they would count for us, "Hep, hep, hep..." and then they joined us...!

They thought they were so funny when they tried to do jump rope double-unders like we do, until the found out how difficult it is and how painful it is when the jumprope whips you!

Tiberias on the Galilee!

We arrived in Tiberias by bus, dropped off our bags at our hotel and immediately left to go meet one of my Israeli friends, Tom.  I met Tom when I went on a free trip to Israel 2 years ago, called Taglit (which I recommend every Jewish 20-something goes on this trip).  Tom is an Israeli soldier who was accompanying our Taglit group.  Tom and several of his friends picked us up and drove us to an awesome house on the North end of the Sea of Galilee.  The house had a pool, tons of rooms, cool outdoor furniture, sound system…very nice!  

Tom (left), Shemesh, Jeremy with Goldstar Israeli beer

The pool felt so refreshing now that the days are getting hotter, usually between 80-90 degrees!

We LOVE pita and hummus!

They BBQ'd meat and we ate it with pita, hummus, and some new vegetable sauces we've become acquainted with.  We even tried chicken heart!  I thought it was actually pretty good and tasted similar to beef, but Samara wasn't a fan.  For breakfast we ate Shakshouka with eggs, eggplant, cucumber, onion, and spices.

Here I am, taking my first bite of chicken heart!

Such a great time getting to know everyone, really nice house, lots of relaxing - we were sad to leave when it was over.  We hope to see our new friends again later in our journey.

Samara had the idea to rent bikes and bike all the way around the Sea of Galilee, also called Lake Kinneret.  The lake is 33 miles or 53 km around.  Its 13 miles long and 8 miles wide.  It’s the lowest freshwater lake in the world, and the second lowest lake in the world behind the Dead Sea (uber salty, and also in Israel).  Just to give you perspective, the Kinneret has a surface area of 64 square miles, while Seattle’s Lake Washington has a surface area of 33.8 miles.

We both haven't ridden bikes in YEARS, nor have we ever ridden over a few miles!  Recipe for extreme soreness!

We started at about 8:30 am, before it got hot and started riding from Tiberias heading North.  We were told this way had more hills and it's better to do this end while you’re fresh.  We rode a ways, past Capernaum, past churches, past the not-so raging Jordan River at the north end…and got an early lunch.  We felt strong. 

In front of the Jordan River

After lunch it was getting hotter and we started working our way back South.  We got most of the way to Ein Gev before both of our rears started to get incredibly sore.  I had to walk the bike up some of the big hills while Samara was a trooper and pushed on.

 

At Ein Gev, we were spent.  We had been riding for 6 1/2 hours, we didn't need to ride around the whole thing!  We had proven to ourselves that we would be master cyclists if we had more substantial hindquarters!  We tried to get on the ferry back across the lake.  No luck, we missed the last one.  Catch a bus?  Nope, it was Shabbat and no public buses were running.  No taxis in sight.  Finally we found a tour bus, full of paying tourists, who offered us a ride to within 5 km of our hotel for a little less than $20 and we gave in.  But he dropped us off about 10 km from our hotel and said he couldn’t go any further.

At the harbor at Ein Gev, trying to hitch a ride home

Begrudgingly we got back on the bikes and kept going.  Ass aflame and quads acramping, I refused to get back in the saddle and walked the bike the last couple km.  Samara rode the whole way though.  It was difficult at the end, but we're very happy that we undertook the challenge!

 

Total distance – approx. 25 miles.  

Haifa and Akko

Beach day!  We followed some poor directions and took a bus that meandered through the city for an hour and half before dropping us off at Hof HaCarmel beach.  Our ride back on the proper bus took about 30 minutes.  Haifa’s beaches are really nice and fairly clean.  There's a promenade along the beach with restaurants you can grab a drink at.  The sand is real, unlike Seattle beaches!  This one had volleyball courts and workout equipment right by the water.  Jeremy got a workout on the equipment and we watched local teens and 20-somethings doing gymnastic type moves on pullup bars.  A fun relaxing afternoon and evening. 

Getting some pull-ups in at the beach!

Doritos!

Another day, we traveled North to Akko, also known as Acre.  It was mentioned in Egyptian texts as far back as the 19^th century BC and has been a harbor and port for Alexander the Great, the Assyrians, the Romans, Arab armies, and grew largest under the Christian Crusaders.  We explored the courtyards, subterranean streets, halls and a Crusader tunnel that brought supplies underground from the port to the citadel during warring times. 

Jeremy put on his headlamp, exploring some tiny tunnels we weren’t supposed to go into (later we found out these were ancient sewers).  Only stopping after he came to a tunnel so tight that if he crawled down it he wouldn’t have been able to turn around and would have had to crawl out backwards, the way he came.  Meanwhile, Samara was freaking out about getting arrested!

Not the greatest video, but you get an idea of how adventurous Jeremy is vs. how cautious Samara is!  Pretty funny!

We walked along some of the seawalls and when we came to a lighthouse, Jeremy again proposed to Samara, as he has done several times since the real proposal, which was next to a Portugese lighthouse in Lagos last summer.  Samara said she'll always say yes, but he can feel free to propose over and over, even after the wedding! :)  

The mosque in the old city.

The sea wall behind me and you can see 3 fisherman standing on underwater wall remnants, very small on the right behind me.

The lighthouse is behind Jeremy, where he proposed again.

The 3 fisherman standing on the old citadel foundation.

Here's the citadel foundation under water.

We saw souks or markets for the locals that paled in comparison to the Moroccan souks.  We couldn't believe we saw a restaurant named “Sons of Ezra.”  In Hebrew, Jeremy’s last name, Benezra, means Son of Ezra.

After much hunting online we finally found somewhere to rockclimb!  An indoor climbing gym called Boulder, situated in East Haifa.  We brought most of our climbing gear – rope, helmets, climbing shoes, harnesses, carabiners, and climbing anchors.  But most of the climbing sites are in Hebrew and our Hebrew, while improving daily, still is pitiful.  We got a good workout at the gym and made some Israeli friends who have given us much needed info on how to get to the outdoor climbing.  Indoor climbing gyms are fun, but they are just practice for cliffs, boulders, and crags outdoors.

We have just arrived in Tiberias, on the western shore of the Sea of Galillee.  There is lots of hiking in the area and the town has an old city, which we look forward to seeing.  In many European cities, the old city is inside of castle walls and was the extent of the town at that time.  Later, when populations grew, the boundaries of the cities were expanded.  In Jerusalem for example (which we will eventually see as we make our way South) there is the ancient old city inside the castle walls.  Streets were made for pedestrians or carts and are narrow and winding.  Outside that you have the modern city with skyscrapers, shopping malls, and wide, straight streets you are used to driving down.  Much less exciting than the old stone buildings that are inside the old city and full of stories and history.