Sorry for the outdated post! As you can tell, we've been very busy! Also, we updated some of the "More Tiberias" post if you're interested in our other adventures in Tiberias.
We celebrated Jeremy's birthday pretty much for the entire weekend, which in the United States was Memorial Day Weekend, but in Israel it was Shavuot weekend! One day, we went rafting down the Jordan River, which was really fun! Jeremy stopped our boat on a bank so we could talk to some campers and we practiced our Hebrew with them. We used the waterproof camera, so we'll update with pics once we upload them.
The next day, we ate Jeremy's birthday cheesecake at a cute cafe atop Mt. Bental, looking down into Syria. Jeremy told me the fascinating story about the Valley of Tears, a battle fought during the Yom Kippur War, and we explored an old Israeli bunker.
That night, we had a delicious dinner at Avis Restaurant in Tiberias - kabobs of chicken, lamb, and vegetables, accompanied with salad, falafel, hummus, cabbage, and veggie dips! It's really a test of will power when eating here!
We celebrated Jeremy's birthday pretty much for the entire weekend, which in the United States was Memorial Day Weekend, but in Israel it was Shavuot weekend! One day, we went rafting down the Jordan River, which was really fun! Jeremy stopped our boat on a bank so we could talk to some campers and we practiced our Hebrew with them. We used the waterproof camera, so we'll update with pics once we upload them.
The next day, we ate Jeremy's birthday cheesecake at a cute cafe atop Mt. Bental, looking down into Syria. Jeremy told me the fascinating story about the Valley of Tears, a battle fought during the Yom Kippur War, and we explored an old Israeli bunker.
Jeremy's Birthday cheesecake!!!
Here we are wandering around in the bunker. Below us are underground rooms where the troops lived. Behind Jeremy, to the left, is like a machine gun house thingy that rotates. Jeremy says it's called a turret.
I'm in there!
Hey you out there, I can see the whole Valley of Tears all the way to the mountains of Syria!
There I am!
Syria is right behind Jeremy. This border has been pretty peaceful ever since the Golan Heights have been in Israeli hands.
We're closer to Damascus than we are to Jerusalem!
As you're driving through the Golan Heights, the roads are bordered with fences and signs warning you not to enter because of land mines from previous wars. The fields beyond are overgrown with wildflowers and tall grasses. Jordan and Israel have made a pact to start cleaning up the Golan Heights of the mines, so the fertile mountain land can actually be used.
There's a UN fort on the border of Israel and Syria, visible from Mt. Bental. I guess they're monitoring Israeli/Syrian relations.
This violent statue is in a town in the Golan Heights which used to be Syrian territory. The statue seems very out of place in Israel. Nearby, there's a place called the "shouting hill" where Israeli Syrians can use megaphones to give news to their Syrian relatives across the border and vice versa.
Jeremy and I drove back from Mt. Bental to Tiberias by taking the scenic (and winding) route - along the Jordan River, the Eastern border of Israel and Jordan. There's Jordan on the other side of the fence and the Jordan River below.
Jeremy's Birthday dinner!
12 types of salad! Crazy!
Great googley moogley. Quite a birthday adventure! Samara, I love how informative your posts are (jere's too). You guys give a good mix of history, description and adventure. Well done. Do you kinda want to harf after every meal there from feeling too full? At least most of the food sounds healthy - salads, protiens... Do you think either of you had put on any weight? I don't see any in the photos, but I think I would have gained about 10 pounds there by now with all the awesome food you've been describing! Glad you are enjoying it all!
ReplyDeleteI don't think either of us have gained weight. We have been eating a lot of good grub. When we get home we're going to get hummus withdrawals for sure. But we are really active. Before the kibbutz we would be touring and walking around 5+ hrs a day. Its super hot also, we sweat buckets. Also we've been doing crossfit workouts every other day. Some swimming at the pool. Now that we're on the kibbutz, our volunteer work is always active - doing maintenance, running with kids on the soccer field. Yesterday we did 3 - soccer w the kids, swam laps at the pool, then a cross fit workout after. I think my pants are actually a little looser! But I bet my bench press has gone down :(
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