Haifa, Israel

Haifa, Israel - Our first stop on our 6-month journey!  I still can't believe we're here for 6 months, it seems unreal!  Haifa can kind of be our home base for visiting many of the cities in Northern Israel.  It's supposedly 80 degrees F here, but the breeze and the lack of humidity make it seem like very pleasant springtime weather (doesn’t feel anything like 80 degrees in Seattle).  Haifa is the 3^rd largest city in Israel and one of the economic hubs, behind Tel Aviv.  The city is very hilly, which is uncharacteristic of the rest of the country.  Some say it’s similar to San Francisco (on a much smaller scale).  My initial reaction to the city is good.  The streets are clean, there are children riding the city buses alone and running along the streets, people have nice clothing and drive nice cars.  These all seem like good signs to me!

In our first few days here, we’re recovering from travelling (48 hours without sleep).  We’re staying in an apartment on Mt. Carmel (pronounced Car-mel), which is a very nice area and very historically significant.  Though, I’m figuring out that every city in Israel is historically significant in one way or the other!  Our apartment is a small studio – now we know what it’s like to live in New York, in a tight space but great location!  

This is the view from our apartment, looking downtown and at the port.

Samara's new favorite dish - Shakshouka!  In a frying pan (I think they bake it in the oven like a frittata) - tomatoes, cheese, any other veggies you like, and many sunny side up eggs!  Scoop with pita!  Delish!

Jeremy is always finding treasures on the street!

Sunday, we jumped on a bus and saw where it took us!  We wandered around the downtown area, the German colony area, and ran into a pedestrian outdoor market that seemed to be surrounded by a predominantly Russian community.  There was a big wave of Jewish immigrants from Russia after the breakup of the Soviet Union.  We read a stat that Haifa is the most diverse city in Israel.  We walked quite a few miles and when we look at the city view from our apartment window and the city map we basically walked across the whole thing!  We ate chicken shwarma and falafel that we agreed was the best we’ve ever had!  We also have had delicious boyou (I don’t know how to spell this, it’s a spinach pastry).

Can't find boyou like this in Seattle!!!

Monday, we visited the Baha’i Gardens.  We first saw the gardens from the street below on Sunday, in the German colony.  It looms above you in its splendor.

Baha’i is a religion that’s about 186 years old and it must be commended because it’s all about world peace and equality.  Their 2 most holy sites are nearby; #1 is the final resting place of the Baha’u’llah in the town of Akko which is about a 30 minute drive North of Haifa and #2 is the Shrine of the Bab in the Baha’i Gardens in Haifa.  The Baha’i Gardens are absolutely magnificent!  There are 19 tiers going up the side of Mt. Carmel.  There are 1900 total stairs and we walked about 650-700 in our tour of the gardens.  The architecture of the Baha’i administration buildings are incredible and the breeze wafts blooming scents that bring a serenity to the garden.

After that we hiked to the Cave of Elijah, where it is said that the prophet Elijah hid from King Ahab and Queen Jezebel after he killed the 450 priests of Ba'al (Kings 1:17-19).  We took the bus home, grabbed some groceries, and made a delicious Mediterranean salad for dinner!  I think we're starting to get the hang of things here!