Continuing on after the duology of Akko posts…

We reached Rosh HaNikra after a tranquil taxi ride up the coastal road, in the quiet stretch between Nahariya – the last of the coastal cities going north – and the Israel-Lebanon border. The taxi took us to the attraction site so when we got out of the car, this was the magnificent view that our eyes beheld – the Western Galilee coastline:

The majestic view of the Western Galilee coastline

We decided to first go see the border and then to ride the cable car. Now, the actual border is not accessible to civilians – an army base stands there, constantly protecting. But there still is a sign welcoming everyone to the border crossing:

Welcome to the Border Crossing of Rosh HaNikra

And there is also a special wall showing the distances to the respective capital cities of Israel and Lebanon: Jerusalem and Beirut. Here’s me, at the border crossing:

Standing just outside the army base

Okay, enough with the border. As we walked back to the staging area for the cable car, here is a “close-up” of the Navy vessel (of which there is always one moored at the border, keeping vigil) and the Achziv Islands. One of the coolest things about the islands is that they are mentioned some 2,000 years ago in the Talmud as being part of the historical border of Israel. I remember learning about the islands that were mentioned and having a discussion in class where we argued that the islands must be referring to Cyprus because, back in Detroit, we didn’t even know that the Achziv Islands existed. Now that I live here… everything becomes so much more clear.

A Navy boat and the Achziv Islands

As soon as we stepped into the swaying cable car, and the little “craft” was filled, the operator released us and we plunged over the side of the cliff. The cable car at Rosh HaNikra happens to be the steepest cable car in the world – dropping/climbing 70 metres at the steep angle of 60 degrees.

Descending the white cliffs

When we “landed” at the bottom, we got out and I photographed one of the two cable cars going back up the cliff:

Looking up at the cable cars

Entering the grottos, the caves and tunnels carved out by the raging seawater, we were greeted by these fascinating views as seen from inside the cliff. Some of the walkways were slippery from the drippy internal climate and the echoing shrieks of bats roosting high up in the cracks were audible through the sounds of the waves crashing inside.

The grottos

The blue-green water entering the grottos

Upon exiting the labyrinth of tunnels carved out in the soft chalky rock, we emerged at a beautiful site where the sea crashed against the blinding white rock:

The white cliffs and the blue sea

As we walked along the rock, the countless chunks of gleaming flint buried in the chalky stone, the beauty of the site constantly flaunting itself with every turn. Here is a view from the walk on the rock, looking northwards to the edge of the army base where constant vigilance in demanded:

More cliff and sea

After finishing the grottos we examined the old British tunnel where the Mandate Government dug through the rock to create a railroad line that connected the Middle East with Europe. In 1948 the Haganah (Jewish resistance group) blew up the bridge that was constructed just outside the end of the train tunnel to prevent the Lebanese from re-supplying the local Arabs who were battling the Jews just after the declaration of the State of Israel. It was a daring operation but it may have helped save the Galilee and Haifa from the hands of the enemy. Today they rebuilt the bridge, no longer concerned about the Lebanese using it, and some of the railroad is still visible in the long gloomy tunnel.

The train tunnel

After trying some sample passion-fruit offered by a vendor selling the crop of the neighbouring village of Rosh HaNikra we entered the light-and-sound show, an audio-visual screening with added sensory features. The video explained the history of the site and the semi-recent Haganah operation, complete with fans and little sprinklings of water to further embellish the story of sea and rock and their timeless dance.

After leaving the site we took a bus to Nahariya and had dinner. Then I took my tour guest back to where she needed to be and headed home. As I alighted the bus near my house I heard the familiar sounds of Kobi Peretz crooning. Seeing that I was not entirely late to his show, celebrating the opening of a new mall just down the road in Ma’alot, I headed on over, checked out the new mall and caught a few songs before retiring to my home to end the long day. Here he is again, Kobi Peretz, forever entertaining the inhabitants of Ma’alot with his music:

Kobi Peretz in concert

Continuing on with my saga of Akko and Rosh HaNikra, both visited on Thursday, here is the second half of the Akko report:

One of my favourite parts in the Old City of Akko is the Marina and its cheap boat rides of the bay area, something that gives me the same thrill each time. We found a bright pink boat in the Marina that was still loading up – the boats usually carry between 15 to 20 people – and waited for the gaudy sea-going vessel to be untied from the dock. But first, the Marina:

Akko’s Marina

When the boat was full, mostly with vacationing Arabs, we untied and took off, leaving the marina behind as we headed out to the open sea. The captain turned his invigorating Arabic music up to the max, the gaudy boat reverberating as we bounced in the troughs. Here I shoved my arm way out, sitting down for a spell, and took a blind shot of what was behind us:

Leaving the bay behind

As we went out, passing the domain of the sea walls, our eardrums cringing from the overpowering music – the classic Arabic songs are all the same to me, one man singing and then a chorus of a bunch of men partially repeating what the main singer said (something like this song, blasted at 100 decibels). If you listen to the song at full volume, rock back and forth and splash salt water on your face from time to time, you may begin to feel what the boat ride is like, with the help of a healthy imagination! Here is another tour boat passing us on its return journey, Haifa and the famed Mount Carmel in the distance:

Another tour boat passing us

And then we too turned around and headed back, about fifteen minutes after departure. Here is the Old City as seen by sea, how the incoming vessels – be them for war or for peace – would have seen Akko all those years back, minus the destroyed Templar Fortress:

The Old City from sea

Here we re-entered the Marina, after a 20-25 minute boat ride, and another tour boat leaves for the high seas:

Re-entering the Marina

From the Marina, after disembarking and planting our feet on terra firma, we walked our way back into the crowded streets and found the Kahn El-Omdan and the Clock Tower. The Kahn El-Omdan is an Ottoman-styled motel where people would tie up their horse/camel and belongings in the lower coves and then go upstairs to sleep in the rooms up above.

Kahn El-Omdan

The Clock Tower is also from the Ottoman Period, one of seven built throughout Israel (the ones in Tzfat and Jaffa have been photographically featured on my blog). Last time I was in Akko the clock was out of service but it looks as though someone fixed it. Historically, it has been the clock tower with the most malfunctions, perhaps a testament to the unease between the Jews and Arabs in Akko’s Old City.

Akko’s Ottoman Clock Tower

Emerging from the Templar Tunnels (which we did after the boat ride) having walked/crouch-walked it both ways, we walked comfortably through the quieter residential area of the Old City, mostly inhabited by Muslim Arabs. We found a camel and then found the exit to the sea walls area, the gusts of cool wind refreshing us as we made our way down to the water. Here is the view from Burj el Kashla of the sea wall heading north, with Rosh HaNikra far off in the distance:

The sea wall looking north

Looking south, to Mount Carmel, here is a small panoramic of the corner of the city – the calm area of sea, locked in by the rocks, was where the mighty Templar Fortress once stood:

Panoramic of the area that juts out to sea

As we walked along the sea wall, passing the lighthouse and heading towards the historic Pisan Port, we came across the famous part of the wall where the local youth jump off and into the sea. The scary part is that there are huge rocks in the water so they have to be really careful not to splatter themselves needlessly. Another thing is that they often wear shoes so that the razor sharp underwater stones don’t slice their feet. We watched as several teens dove into the churning sea some 30+ feet below. If you click on the picture and zoom up you can see the youth climbing back up for another leap:

The sea wall where the local kids jump from

After picking up some refreshments in the souk we took a swing north-east and headed for the Land Wall Promenade where the Ottomans fended off the French conqueror Napoleon and his 30-day seige back in 1799. Part of the wall area, protected by cannon and men, was conquered but the second, inner wall held the invaders off and Napoleon was forced to abandon his efforts. In some areas, closer to the sea walls, rusted cannon balls can be seen lodged in the wall from the battles so long ago. Here is one of the cannons that was involved in the fighting:

Old cannon involved in the counter-attacks of Napoleon’s siege

Located beneath the wall, in arched rooms, is the Treasures in the Walls museum (also known as the Ethnography and Folklore Museum) – various collections of historical items and artifacts. There, in compartmentalized exhibits, workshops and offices have been recreated all using period pieces. A shoemaker, a carpenter, a pharmacist and a hat-maker (or as the man referred to himself: casquettier), all these workshops and offices, and many more, were faithfully redone with the finest attention to detail. Also, there were collections of old toys, old matchboxes, old currency (spanning four nationalities in the Holy Land during the last century and a half) and even old sitting rooms of imported furniture from Damascus, Syria. Here, a collection that would befit a palace – wood inlaid with bone and seashell:

”Straight Outta Damascus”

After the museum, which took a good forty minutes, we headed back out onto the Land Wall Promenade and exited the Old City. From there we grabbed a taxi, got on a bus and made our way to Rosh HaNikra, the topic of the next blog post.

On Thursday I took a magnificent trip to both the Old City of Akko (Acre for some people) and Rosh HaNikra. Akko is one of the oldest port cities in Israel and is located in the Western Galilee – between Haifa and the border. Rosh HaNikra is at the border, along the same coastline. As is the custom, I will be relating the journey and it will be a trilogy of posts: Two of Akko and one of Rosh HaNikra. Here goes the first part of the Akko trip:

I began my morning in Karmiel where I picked up my special tour guest, an older woman from Oak Park (where I grew up), and the two of us headed west to Akko. The bus took us through some industrial areas of Arab villages which was atypical for bus routes but eventually we arrived in Akko and took a taxi to the Old City. There, this was the first magnificent site that greeted us – majestic palm trees in front of majestic old walls, the El Jazzar Wall:

Trees and walls

From there we walked among the mangrove trees to the Visitor’s Centre where we looked around at the exhibits and then bought tickets outside, tickets to a whole slew of museums as well as the cable car ride at Rosh HaNikra (massive savings, if anyone is interested in doing both places in the same year). The first place, the first ticket, was the Hospitaller Fortress, a huge Crusader edifice:

Hospitaller Fortress

We picked up audio devices that we were able to activate different recordings for different sites within the huge Crusader complex, those made for a great increase of knowledge during our tour of the fortress. There were so many halls and rooms, all with amazing arch ceilings made of stone blocks – an perplexing amount of work for something that could possibly be conquered in a short amount of time. Entering the complex, we first saw this room, however I do not recall what the official name is:

The first room

From there we entered deeper – I don’t remember the exact order of the halls, as there were so many – but here is the Hall of the Imprisoned. If one is to be imprisoned, I think an arched Crusader hall seems glamorous enough.

Hall of the Imprisoned

And there, in the blinding Mediterranean sun, the Crusaders practiced their deadly deeds – the jousting, the sword-fighting, the archery and the grueling exercises – surrounded by the high fortress walls:

The courtyard where the Crusaders practiced the art of war

And here, the high arched cove just outside the latrine:

Outside the latrine

Now here, the greatest hall of them all, the Column Hall – also known as the Dining Hall – where the leader of the order, the knights and the foot-soldiers all gathered to dine, to feast on bland medieval foods. This hall is truly magnificent and photos do not do it justice, but I took two that I’d like to share, to give an inkling of what it looks like.

The Column Hall (Dining Hall)

The Column Hall (Dining Hall) – wider shot

From there, the glorious Column Hall, we made our way to the Sewage Tunnel which has been uncovered from years of neglect and made into a handy passage way:

Sewage Tunnel

But not all tunnels are meant for sewage. Some time later, after we had returned our audio devices, checked out a ghastly art gallery and wandered down the long Arab souk, we found our way to the Templar Tunnels – a tunnel system that crosses a good chunk of the Old City close to the sea walls. The Crusaders created the tunnel to ease them with transporting supplies and whatnot to the old (destroyed) Templar Fortress – which predated the Hospitaller Fortress – coming from the Pisan Port, or so I believe.

Templar Tunnels

Before Part 1 ends, here is an aerial shot of the Old City for reference – the treed area in the right-centre is the Visitor’s Centre and the El Jazzar Wall, the buildings above and to the left is the Hospitaller Fortress with the courtyard very distinguishable, and the Templar Tunnels can be found in the narrow part in the upper left of the “horn”. In the next post, the Marina, Clock Tower, sea walls and more will be discussed.

Aerial photo of the Old City

As the title might suggest, the famed Klezmer Festival has begun. Every year, for 25 years now, Tzfat (or as it is often written: Safed) hosts the Klezmer Festival, an international music event usually three days long. Thousands of people come every year, from around Israel mostly, but even some of the performing artists hail from the international sector. I was fortunate to have attended some of the 23rd annual festival (back in 2010) and now I had the opportunity of seeing some of the 25th, the current festival. I was already in Tzfat when the festival began, showing some folks around the tourist attractions, so when the sun dropped behind the mountains, with still two hours till the festivities, I was camera-ready (click to enlarge):

The sun sets over the mountains

We descended from the Citadel area and had a bite to eat, the crowds starting to intensify as the festival entered into the pre-show period. With some free time at hand we slowly meandered down the brick and stone streets taking in the sights under the cover of the ink-black sky and the orange-tinted street lamps.

Entering into the festivities

One light decoration, high up on a stone wall side of a building, caught my eye – just one of the many music-themed ornamentations and trimmings that are scattered throughout Tzfat. Here it is, the best my camera can muster for a night-time shot:

Light decorations

Before long, after passing the Kikar Sadeh stage – one of seven outside, we walked through the Artists’ Quarter and sat down at the Gan HaKasum stage before the musicians began. We got decent seats, to the side, and waited for the Ransas Ensemble to set up. Once they began, the lively tunes filling the wedge-shaped amphitheatre, I stood up in the back and took a semi-panoramic photograph – just look at the beautiful setting!

Ransas Ensemble performing at the Gan HaKasum

We stayed and listened to them for a while, some three or four songs (as well as watching the loud fireworks which were done from the Citadel area). I marvelled at the fast pace of the violin and the rapid toots of the flute so much so that I descended some levels to sit beside the fence, to photograph the flutist. Here it is, raw talent entertaining the masses:

Member of the Ransas Ensemble

After the third or fourth song we returned to where we started, to the next stage in our path – the Kikar Sadeh stage – where Amhia, I believe, was playing. They were a bigger group than the Ransas Ensemble and therefore had a bigger stage, and a bigger audience. Due to my simpleton camera, and the fog machine, some of my pictures come out less than perfect – this is an example of one, but, at least, it gives an adequate indication of what the stage looked like at the time:

Amhia performing at the Kikar Sadeh stage

We stayed and watched them for a bit, pressed against the cool stone wall of an art gallery as the crowd surged by. The music was festive, as it should be, and the “leader” of the group made me laugh at his amusing appearance and dress, but there was oh-so-much more to be seen and we didn’t want to stay out forever (having spent the entire day touring Tzfat). So we continued on, passing the countless vendors of traditional festival foods. One particular treat is the crêpe, made on a hot, flat, circular cooktop and then slathered with chocolate spread or Nutella. The crêpe is then folded into a triangle and popped into a wedge-shaped pocket and is eaten “on the go”. I enjoyed some of my sister’s crêpe at the 23rd festival but did not opt for another go at the overly-sweet Israeli treat. The next stage we approached was the Ma’ayan HaRadom (after passing the Kahn of the White Donkey which was not yet fully set up). There, in a quieter part of the Festival – the quietest we saw all evening – was a small musical group playing more Klezmer music. We stood on an elevated sidewalk and watched from above.

More Klezmer music on magnificent stages

And then we headed for the lights in the sky, the grand stage of the Saraya (Outside). The Saraya is a large stone building that was once the palace of the Bedouin governor of Tzfat and then the administrations building for the Ottomans when they took control of the area. There is a clock tower that juts up on the north-western corner of the structure. The bright lights that poked the sky were seen from other areas of the Old City, where the other stages were scattered about, and when we finally saw the lights, it was very impressive. Again, woe is to my camera for it cannot photograph very well at night.

Outside the Saraya

Here is another shot of the Saraya Outside stage – the colour scheme changed but the same artists were on-stage:

Another shot of outside the Saraya

After seeing just one more stage – the Saraya Inside, these two wildly packed with hordes of Klezmer-loving Jews, we continued on towards the parked car that was to take us out of the city, the hands of the clock pointing upwards – apparently aghast at the late bedtimes of the local children who ran about eating cotton candy and chocolate-filled crêpes. As we walked away from the Saraya we chanced upon the studio trailer of the IDF Radio and they were just finishing an interview. The broadcast was not only heard throughout the country but was also conveniently sounded on speakers just outside the portable studio. Here it is, the army’s own radio station and the soldiers covering the 25th International Klezmer Festival of Tzfat:

Army radio covering the festival

For more info on the Festival: Hebrew and English are both available, just click on your preferred language.

Today, we the family took a special little trip to the Upper Galil area, the Panhandle, for some rafting on the River Jordan. Having chosen Kfar Blum as our raft and route providers by buying tickets online in advance, we set out at an early hour (8AM) and got there in record time. We parked and took the shuttle bus up to the “long route” launching area on the Snir Stream (one of three streams that compose the Jordan River). Here, a guide shows us the route:

A guide shows us the route on a big map

As soon as we had gone over the few safety instructions, we donned life jackets and hopped into rafts – two rafts for six people, perfect seating.

Loading onto the rafts and kayaks

The launch went off with a splash and away we went, heading down the Snir. Spinning until we gained control, the water in the early stages was the most choppy, mellowing out as we got further south. At my earliest convenience, and when I felt it was safe to bring out my camera, I took this shot (which came out better than I intended, the branch whipping by overhead):

Quick part in the river

One thing we realised in our craft was that it was more fun and less work to simply let the current throw us around. We just laid our paddles across the raft and bounced around, the cold river water sloshing us every few seconds. I really enjoyed the mild rapids and the treacherous vegetation that attacked us from the shore but I think my favourite was crashing into boulders and springing back with a lurch, large quantities of icy water replenishing the cold sensation in our bodies via holes in the bottom of the rafts (yes, intentional holes).

Rafting with a smirk!

Another perk was the ever-present “threat” of over-friendly people sharing water with us. However, most times we passed by rafts engaged in water fights they paused their watery cavorting and resumed only once we were out of harm’s way. It was the people who were in the water with a special gumption for sharing water with strangers that we had to be wary of – in fact there was one fine young man with a large bucket who insisted that we pass him or else he’d be forced to pass us. When we did gather the courage to pass him, he wielded his bucket with an alarming rate of water delivery, leaving me doused in many, many gallons of icy water that made me feel quite… refreshed.

Rowdy children splashing passersby

At one point, still on the Snir, we disembarked and swam around in the shallows. There was an interesting calm in one part of the stream while just a few feet further the current swept boats and people away… With my life jacket still on, I entered the current and enjoyed the ride, hurrying to break free before the next little waterfall. I cannot stress enough how absolutely frigid the water was, and being that it is August, I don’t think one would be able to enter the water in any season other than summer – it’s just too cold. At last, after a good half hour spent splashing about and re-riding the current loop, we got back in our rafts and continued. Here is a shot of the other boat (containing my parents and my little brother) as they paddled through the deep, cold water:

Come hell or high water…

Soon enough we reached the junction where the Snir, Dan and Hermon streams morph into the Jordan River. The water a little ways back and then after the junction is relatively calm, we just drifted along – spinning slowly and occasionally crashing into the banks with little consequence. For a while we tied both rafts together and just drifted in the alternating sun and shade, chatting and snacking. Here it is, the gentle Jordan River:

The Yarden (Jordan River)

As we neared the end, approaching the “large” waterfall just after the bridge, we aligned our rafts to face forward and prepared for the fall/ride. On the banks, dozens of families picnicked and frolicked in the lazy (but still cold) waters. The lone man on the two inner tubes who whistled his way by us some hour before was nowhere to be seen, although I would have enjoyed seeing him go over the falls – would he have kept whistling?

After the falls, which weren’t as severe as I had suspected they might be, we regained the calm of the river and drifted towards the end of the route. With us was a migration of Kfar Blum rafters, the other rafting companies having ended long before us.

The migration to the finish

At the end our boat was dragged up onto the ramp, our bodies still inside. We climbed out, our legs slightly wobbly from the two to three hours “out at sea”. We removed our life jackets, returned our paddles and made our way up the the exit.

The end

On the way to the exit we found a little station where we could purchase prints of a photo that was taken of us at the waterfall – I had forgotten that they do that and thus my facial expression is not one to be lauded over. The other boat’s snapshot came out magnificent so we just bought the both of them. There is supposed to be a way to get a digital copy but when I tried that I ended up just signing into my Facebook account to have them “like” their page for me and award me a token air freshener that I am supposed to hang in our car. (When I got home, Facebook made me change my password and verify my identity because they sensed suspicious activity on my account, hmmm.)

Anyway, after a short little lunch where all those families were picnicking we headed home, the early stages of sunburn setting in… But we had gone rafting on the River Jordan so all the sunburn in the world won’t ruin the great experience!