After visiting Achziv, we stopped off at Mi’ilya – an Christian Arab village – on our way back home. For a really long time I’ve been wanting to see the Arak Masada factory which was so near.  At last we entered Mi’ilya for this very purpose.  For those unfamiliar with this alcoholic beverage, arak is an anise-flavoured liquor that is quite popular in the Middle East. We turned into one street, drove about, turned back around and I asked directions. We were in the wrong area. We continued and then, after more asking and more searching, we found the factory! Hidden in a fenced area in the industrial section of Mi’ilya, the factory in a modest third of a warehouse, sandwiched between two other industrial operations.

Arak production (courtesy of Arak Masada)

We arrived just after closing and were told to come back. We did, the following morning, one of my sisters also tagging along. I greeted the owners, brothers Wadia and Jeryis Hadid, with “sabach al-chir” (“good morning” in Arabic) and after words of greeting and introduction, Jeryis began to show us around the modest factory.

Jeryis Hadid, one of the owners

The two Christian Arab brothers teamed up with a Lebanese man named Shukri Al-Hayak who, after serving in the Israeli-operated South Lebanese Army, found refuge in Israel after the IDF withdrawal of 2000. The trio then went ahead and began to produce their own arak, based off the Lebanese recipe that Shukri brought with him.

The distillery (courtesy of Arak Masada)

Their arak distilling process goes as follows: First, grapes are poured into vats and stirred for several hours daily. Instead of pressing or squeezing the grapes, the stirring slowly breaks down the grape skin and the juices flow naturally. After twenty-something days in the vat the fermenting grapes are then brought to a boil, the vapourised juice rising up and making its way into the little pipe, as seen below:

Close-up of the copper distillers

The juice then travels along inside a pipe, inside a long vat of cold water, and eventually drains out the far end, and into containers. Anise is then added to the liquid and the distinct taste of arak is born.

Anise (courtesy of Arak Masada)

The arak is then put into large containers and is stored above the bottling station, where a hose is led down to release a whole new batch of ready arak to the market.

Arak waiting to be bottled

Arak Masada makes three types of award-winning araks: Alwadi, Kafroon and Jabalna – and we tried them all. The premium label, Alwadi, happens to be my favourite and while I don’t really like arak, I found the Alwadi to be rather flavourful and not just a powerful mouthful of anise. The Alwadi arak is uniquely triple-distilled and costs nearly twice as much as the others. The Kafroon, the second best, is also flavourful – however in a very different way, and the Jabalna tastes pretty much like regular arak. How the taste varies so much is beyond me, but each label tastes a world of its own in an anise galaxy.

Alwadi Arak

These upcoming weeks are when the grapes are coming in and so, before we left, Jeryis asked us if we wanted to come help with the grapes (they need Jewish workers handling the grapes). I couldn’t attend, due to my demanding army position, but my sister decided to test it out and bottling arak there with a friend. How cool is that, to be able to boast that one once made Lebanese arak in a modest little factory? Definitely my kind of thing…

For those interested in visiting the factory, here is their site (available in Hebrew, Arabic and English).

Last week, during Chol HaMoed Sukkot, my father and I took a little trip over to Achziv, a small national park preserving ruins and a little section of tide pools and beach. Despite living here for over four years now, we have never really found this place. There is another beach a bit south which is called Achziv (Banana Beach) and then there is the Betzet Beach a bit north that is open and free all the way up to Rosh HaNikra – where we usually go for a pleasant trip to the Mediterranean Sea.

Achziv Beach

Achziv is the end of the Nachal Kziv (Kziv Stream) which runs from Mount Meron to the Mediterranean, just north of the Achziv park. The Achziv site includes ruins from numerous eras including the Canaanite, Biblical Jewish, Phoenician and Arab. A coastal city, Achziv was utilised by many civiliasations and empires, focusing on its location between Akko and Tyre – both ancient coastal cities.

Elegant ruins on the beach

In the Crusader era (possibly my favourite era of ancient times), in 1104, a fortress was built and called “Casal Humberti”, designed to protect the coastal road leading down to Akko, which was, for a period, the Crusader capital in the Holy Land. A stone tablet with Christian symbols found onsite is now on display at the Louvre in France. In 1256, the Achziv region was leased to the Teutonic Knights who commanded the nearby Montfort, the castle near my house.

Cactus and mosque

Later, during the Mamluk and Ottoman eras, a village called El-Zeeb was founded and sometime during this time, the above mosque was built. Achziv, or to be more precise, the bridge over the stream just north, saw action in 1946 when the Israeli resistance group, the Palmach, attempted to blow up the bridge in efforts to isolate Israel and prevent neighbouring and the local British armies from advancing and receiving reinforcements by rail. With fourteen Palmach members killed, the Achziv bridge was the only failure in the “Night of the Bridges” operation.

Choppy coastline to Rosh HaNikra

After passing the ruins, we descended to the water and climbed onto the rocks leading to the tide pools and rock shelves. The water was cool and the rocks were uber-grippy, the porous texture a safe surface for walking. However, the rough, craggy rock is very sharp and so falling is ill-advised.

Razor-sharp porous rock

Looking back at the calm swimming area – or shall I say, lagoon – there was a pleasant blend of warm shallow water, soft sand and ancient stone ruins on the shore that makes Achziv Beach quite picturesque:

Swimmers in the lagoon

I scoured the tide pools looking for sea creatures, hoping to find an octopus in particular. Back when we lived in Miami, my father and I took a little trip to the west coast of Florida and I found a small octopus hiding in a conch shell – it was a very cool experience. As I scoured and climbed about, large waves periodically attacked me, dousing me with cool seawater.

The waves sneaking between the rocks

I found no octopuses, but did pry a little sea snail from a smooth underwater rock. Here I am, crouching in the rocks, inspecting the little marine gastropod:

Crouching in the tide pools

Thankfully, this snail was a bold little bugger and he came out of his shell, waving his feelers about – or are they eyestalks? I know land snails and some sea snails have eyestalks, although with this particular snail the shorter appendages on the sides of his “face” look more like functioning eyes – many someone who knows can share his/her knowledge in the comments below.

Interesting little sea snail

After a little photoshoot with the compliant snail, I replaced him – giving him a great home where he would not be stepped on – and we left the rocks. We explored the ruins, as photographically displayed above, and got back in the car for the next trip location – Arak Masada, a small arak factory in the Christian village of Mi’ilya, just minutes away from my house. That post is next, stay tuned.

A special thanks to Avi Kessner for a little CS5 touch-up.

Yesterday we took a little trip down Road 89 to the old Crusader castle, the Yehiam Fortress, for a 2-day Renaissance Festival. Just 15-km from our house, and 10-km from the nearby Montfort Castle, this area of the Galilee was the home base in the Holy Land for Crusaders in the 12th and 13th centuries.

The Yehiam Fortress

Built sometime after 1220 by the Teutonic Knights, the fortress was then called Judyn (and then after its destruction, the local Arabs called it Khirbat Jiddin – or “Ruins of Judyn”). Today we call it the Yehiam Fortress and it was at this magnificent ruin that the Renaissance Festival was hosted.

Renaissance Festival logo

Now, despite the fact that I grew up in Detroit and the Michigan Renaissance Festival was a pretty big annual event, this was my first time attending a “RenFest.” This event, in Yehiam, ended up being more of a crafts fair set in and around a Crusader fortress with a sprinkling of Renaissance flavour added for good measure. I’m sure that if they hosted it next year at Yehiam, but under expensive American production, it would be far more epic than anything you’d see in the USA.

Metal silhouette against fortress wall

First, after parking the car under the watchful gaze of the fortress, we saw a trail heading to the Yehiam Stream. We turned, followed the trail for a few feet and were greeted with a lovely view overlooking the valley of the Yehiam Stream. There was a little stone wall protecting us from the dangers of the abyss but some like to take a ride on the wild side:

Living dangerously

So, after that little detour, we entered the park and meandered through the fortress grounds, passing tables of crafts and various themed products for sale (wooden sculptures, carved toys and musical instruments, edibles, etc). There were also costumed individuals performing on-stage and on the paths. One such performer, a man dressed in a red gown, told me that my unruly beard made me look like a “vilde chaya” (“wild animal” in Yiddish, his words). That was a bit odd but I explained that I was on break from the army and thought it would be fun not to worry about hair length for a few days…

Stage performer

We headed on inside the fortress and saw the end of a musical performance by three musicians and a voice actor, which was actually the main featured concert of the day. The name of the performance can be translated to “The Wonderful Journey to Greek Mythology with Accompaniment of Greek Musical Sounds.” Set on a breezy terrace overlooking the grounds of the fortress, the Yehiam Stream below and the Mediterranean Sea over the gentle green hills.

A glimpse of the grounds

Inside, below the terrace is a great hall with many, many arches, magnificently built by Dahr el-Omar in the 1700s. Here is the southern wall with its array of small windows:

Arched wall with windows

Back outside we stopped by a table bedecked with wine bottles and glasses, the presentation and sales table of Kerem Ben Zimra winery, a new kid on the block. My father sampled the wine, pronounced it “good” or something and we relieved them of two bottles. I think it’s fun visiting wineries and buying wines but sadly, I cannot abide the taste of wine – although there is a really delectable port, Har Sinai by Or HaGanuz winery, introduced to me by a friend, which I rather enjoyed. I personally prefer the world of the micro-brewery, and have a newfound love for stouts (current favourite: Salara Smoked Stout). But, regardless, I love to support these wineries and breweries and so I write about them and link their sites to my blog, so do take a gander.

Jester banner

And our last activity, the crafts tables where hordes of children clamored about constructing art out of natural ingredients (and glue from glue guns) which, technically, fits in the “RenFest” setting. Nissim, my little brother, made a superb little knight, see for yourself:

”PineKnight”

Bringing this post to a close, here is a photo I needed to include simply because I love the rich colouring and the metalwork, a Crusader soldier bearing a flag of sorts:

Crusader soldier

Back on the Fourth of July, before I got bogged down with army and other work, I partook in a small hike in Nachal Kziv, a nature reserve at the outskirts of Ma’alot. Also in attendance, in our little expedition, were some family members and some family friends – including the talented photographer Mandy Detwiler. We drove to the Zeitim neighbourhood, parked our cars and began walking the long winding way down to the stream-bed, where the trail is.

The road going down to the stream

Nachal Kziv actually starts near Mount Meron, but due to the fact that it is a perennial stream, that area dries up in the summer months. The area that we hiked, from Ma’alot towards the Mediterranean Sea, is rehabilitated by a pumping station which uses water from underground springs. The water in Nachal Kziv is really clean and just about every time I hike there, I take the opportunity to fill up my water bottle for the continuation of hydration on the walk.

The gentle Nachal Kziv

So, in due time we were at the stream-bed and passing the pumping station, some old Crusader building and the beginning of the stream (as it looks above). One of the day’s objectives was to find some geodes, or tapuchai eliyahu. I have never found one, nor did I know what to look for, but our family friends knew the secrets. So, after we had crossed over some of the little bridges, crossing back and forth over the little stream, we found a good spot to search.

The trail and the stream

I followed the masters and eventually found my first geode. And then my second, and then my third. Before long I was finding geodes all over the rocky banks of the stream. If you too seek out geodes, be sure to scour the ground for ball-like rocks that have a brain-like surface. When you pick up the rock, it should feel heavy – to be sure, crack it open and you will see the crystal insides.

A geode

I cracked open one of the geodes I found but was unable to capture the inner beauty so I turned to Mandy for help. Here is the gorgeous crystal interior:

Inside of a geode (courtesy of Mandy Detwiler)

After pillaging the stream-bed for geodes, loading some choice ones into my backpack, we continued with our hike, occasionally stopping to photograph nature’s beauty.

Thistle (courtesy of Mandy Detwiler)

Along the way we passed by the Ein Tamir cave, spring and pools complex – my favourite section of Nachal Kziv. I love squeezing into the slit of a cave, stooping and crawling my way down the long windy tunnel. With icy cold water covering the floor of the cave, the going is terribly fun and being submerged chest-deep in the cold water, with no outside light, is just too awesome to be put to words. This time, however, we passed the cave and the pools and continued on.

Ein Tamir cave tunnel entrance (courtesy of Mandy Detwiler)

Shortly thereafter, after repeatedly crossing the stream back and forth at the whim of the trail markers, we made it to a cool spot where one of the banks was a rock wall. It was remarkably green there and the lighting was poor, thus the photo came out a tad greener than it really was, to the naked eye:

Nachal Kziv with rock wall

In that area, some members of our expedition had a run-in with the supernatural… Reports of tapping on the heads of fellow party members made our short melon-eating break all the more exciting. I didn’t have my head tapped, but there is a place just a bit further down that has a different energy about it. I can’t say I am too in-touch with energy detection but the world is much larger and much more complex than how we see it at face-value. At this point we decided to turn back, and not to continue on for what would be hours longer (we hadn’t even reached Montfort Castle). So we headed back, walking beneath the magnificent stone cliffs as seen here:

Cliff walls along Nachal Kziv

On the way back, kind of close to the pumping station, I stepped into the old Crusader inn that rests empty at the side of the trail:

A Crusader inn

And a look at the arched interior:

Inside the Crusader inn

After that it was a quick walk to the pumping station and then a somewhat grueling hike back up the mountain, following the long windy road we took down. At last we made it to our cars, said our farewells and headed home – where I emptied the heavy geodes from my bag and placed them in the living room.

Until next trip!

This past Thursday, having received a day off due to my hard work in the army, I went out with my father for a late morning hike to a local favourite: Montfort Castle. An old Crusader castle, just off Nachal Kziv (Kziv Stream), Montfort is one of my favourite historical sights in Israel and it’s so close to my house! Grabbing some trivia off Wikipedia, Montfort Castle is just 10 miles from the Lebanese border and probably about a mere three miles from where we live.

Castle area from the tower

Sometime in the 1100s, after the First Crusade, the De Milly family received the land and built the castle, as well as a water mill down the mountain. An irregular Crusader-era castle, it was built at first to sustain an agricultural estate. Later, when Saladin reconquered the land for the Muslims, the castle fell into their hands. When King Richard the Lionheart led the Third Crusade in 1189, the castle was returned to the De Milly family who, in turn, sold it to the Teutonic Knights from Germany. They renovated the castle and after a falling out with the Knights Templar and Hospitaller, they left the then-capital Akko (Acre) and set up shop at Castle Montfort. The Teutonic Knights expanded the castle and turned it into a magnificent building, the pride of their order. In 1271, after repeated attempts, the Mamluks, under Baibars, besieged and conquered the castle, allowing the Teutonics to leave peacefully. Since then the castle has simply fallen apart, but it is still magnificent, and its location is superb.

Looking out to the Mediterranean

My father and I started our hike on the wilderness side of Mi’ilya and Mitzpe Hila (Christian and Jewish villages, respectively). In the early stages of the walk we encountered a very large insect, which I believe is a Phasmid (or stick insect). Regardless of what he is, he made a great model for photography:

Large insect on the trail

Shortly after, the trail dipped and we trotted down the mountain. A pleasant walk, especially with mild weather, the going was good and before long we heard the sounds of fellow hikers. Having come from a high elevation, we were hiking basically across from the castle, just having to go down and back up to enter. Other hikers were down below, walking the Nachal Kziv trail, along the stream.

The trail down below, running along Nachal Kziv

Just before climbing the last bit up to the castle itself, there is a great little pass between two boulders. I’d say that they are more “parts of the mountain” than boulders but that just sounds weird.

Through the crack…

While perhaps not as noble and expansive as the Hopitaller Castle of Akko, the Nimrod Fortress of the Upper Golan or the nearby Teutonic Castle of Yehiam, the Montfort Castle strikes me as most fascinating. Up in the castle, there are many levels and areas to explore. From the highest tower to the low arched chambers there are many greats places to be photographed. Here is a large standalone wall in the middle of the castle:

Castle remnant

Here are two doorways to the left side of that great wall, each a different build:

Castle doorways

Climbing the old stone steps to the highest tower of the castle, the open-air room would make the perfect observatory for stargazing or nighttime photography (something I’d really like to do). Here is one of the two wall chunks that has survived the test of time:

Up on the tower

We stayed up there for a few minutes, watching the tiny people walking the trails down below, and then continued on the the western side of the castle. There, passing through a great wall, the breeze was phenomenal. Coming off the Mediterranean Sea and channeled through the gentle Galilean mountains, the wind hits the castle with a cool crispness that sweaty hikers find most desirable. First, the wall that blocks the wind:

The wall that blocks the wind

And here, a thick Crusader pillar amongst the rubble where the wind hits best:

A thick pillar, where the wind comes in strong

At the north-western corner, separate from the main castle building, is a perfect guard tower, reminding me of the rook in the game of chess:

Lower guard tower

And beside the guard tower, the area under the thick pillar, large arched chambers can be entered. I’ve heard that these rooms were either stables, barracks or dining halls, but whatever they are, their previous use is not evident:

Arched chambers

Going downhill, heading for the stream, we came across the water mill that was one of the fundamental pieces of the agricultural estate that the De Milly family created. The last time I entered the mill, from around the side, I had an unfortunate run-in with some plant that enjoyed piercing my pants and injecting plant venom into my poor legs. So this time I was a tad wary and decided to enjoy the mill from afar, as you can too:

The mill

Just a few feet from the mill is the stream, which due to the dry part of the year, wasn’t as full as I usually see it. However, thanks to the bountiful winter rains, the stream wasn’t too dry. First we waded in, then my father laid down in the cold water, the little fish venturing closer and closer. While we relaxed in the refreshing water, the sun got more and more intense. Fearing sunburn, I dried off and took the liberty of filling up my water bottle from the spring water, something I usually do.

The refreshing Nachal Kziv

We then climbed back up to the castle, skirted it and fell back onto the trail that headed to where we parked the car. The way back was definitely on the harder side, and I was very glad to be seated, at last, in an air-conditioned car for the five minute drive back to the house.

Up next, that very night’s “White Night” in Tel Aviv, an annual event.