Tel Aviv - Part Two

"Go Under" at the Ayalon Institute in Rehovot, where a secret underground factory existed against the British Mandates Ruling. 

 8 meters underground, 9mm bullets were being developed in the hidden tennis court sized factory.

This ammunition factory produced millions of bullets leading up to the War of Independence.

Neve Tzedek was the first neighborhood built in the city  of Tel Aviv in 1887. The neighborhood is located in southwestern Tel Aviv. 

We went to this restaurant for hummus and pita for lunch. It was off the Carmel Market another street market that was jammed packed. 

We walked along the boardwalk in Tel Aviv to a Shabbat on the Shore service. It was very popular. Afterwards we had yet another over-the-top buffet dinner.

Tzippori, Leket, Tel Aviv

The word of the day, humidity! Welcome to Tel Aviv. We headed south all day until our final destination of Tel Aviv.

Tzipori National Park, located in the Galilee, is known as one of Israel's most esteemed archaeological sites. In Jewish tradition, it is best known as the hometown of Rabbi Yehuda Hanasi who codified the Mishnah (the first book of the Talmud) here in the late second century CE.

Archaeologists have discovered many beautiful mosaics.

This structure uncovered is believed to have been a business building of sorts since it had many rooms. They stated it was not a home.

Every room had its own mosaic floor. It looked like carpeting. 

The main attraction is this 3rd century mosaic portrait of a young woman who has been named the Mona Lisa of the Galilee.

And this is a 'modern' toilet.

 Jacob finally got to eat from a McDonald's. No cheeseburgers, it was Kosher and the meal cost $15.

We did some community service. We helped arrange and pack produce for those in need.

This organization, Leket, serves as the country's national food bank and is the largest rescue network alleviating the problem of nutritional insecurity amongst the growing numbers of Israeli families that  live below the poverty line.

We visited Independence Hall, former home to Meir Dizengoff, Tel Aviv's first mayor. On May 14th, 1948 the People's Council gathered at Independence Hall where David Ben Gurion declared the establishment of the State of Israel.

Jaffa is a southern ancient port city in Israel. The city of Jaffa is well known for its association with the biblical stories of Jonah, Solomon and Saint Peter, as well as the mythological story of Andromeda and Perseus.

There was a whole story about Simon the tanner but I forgot. It had to do with the pivotal split between Jews and Christians.

The small alleyways and streets which make up the city are lined with artist galleries and studios.

All the tall buildings are Tel Aviv.

Mt. Bental, Golan Heights, Safed

Greetings from way up high. We drove to the Golan Heights Mount Bental for an outlook of Syria and the Hermon Mount. Our guest speaker today was Retired Lt. Col Guy Malal who gave us an amazing history of the area and the current political climate. He was well spoken and we could listen to him talk all day.

Looking down below is the Hula Valley, all the green area is Israel but all the brown area in the distance is Syria. Thankfully this area has been quiet since 1973 (you can click the photo to enlarge).

Yellow sign below is a marker for a land mine. It was an interesting drive.

We drove down the mountain a bit to our next adventure, jeep tours. We had a guide from the Kibbutz who drove us around explaining all the farming that happens; apples, cherries, kiwi, truffles, watermelon and cows.

After lunch we drove to Safed one of the Four Holy Cities to Judaism; the others being Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias. We toured the old synagogues where Kabbalah, Jewish mysticism, is still part of daily life.

This was a relatively easy day and we got back about a little after 5. I may actually get to bed before 11 PM tonight. Talk to you tomorrow from Tel Aviv.

Neot Kdumin, Sde Eliyahu, Beit Alfa, Agomon HaHula

"If you have a seedling in your hand, and you hear that the Messiah has come, first plant the tree, and then go to greet the Messiah" 

We headed North East to Neot Kedumim, a biblical nature reserve (624 acre) in the heart of Israel to plant trees. It took all of 15 minutes as we headed off to our next destination.

Established towards the latter part of the fifth century, the Bet Alfa Synagogue is situated in the Bet She'an Valley region of Israel. At the Synagogue entrance, an Aramaic mosaic inscription informs visitors that the floor was created in the time of the rule of Justinian. Another inscription in Greek discloses that the artists of the mosaic floor creation were Marianus and Hanina, his son. The various mosaics illustrate the signs of the zodiac, Ark of the Covenant and the offering of Isaac. We watched a 15 minute movie and we are off and running to the next stop.

Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu is situated in the fertile Beit Shean valley close to the Sea of Galilee. It combines an orthodox religious Jewish way of life with the principles of kibbutz life and a devotion to the land and people of Israel. Sde Eliyahu was named in honor of Rabbi Eliyahu Gutmacher who was one of the first rabbis to stand for religious Zionism.

I sent Michael and Jacob with the group to raft down the Jordan river. It was very calm they tell me. Jacob said it was boring, I guess he needed more excitement. I bonded with the old ladies on the bus and read my book.

We have checked into the Pastoral Hotel in Kfar Blum. We love this new hotel. The staff can count to three and we have three of everything in our room. The bathroom is huge. We had yet another buffet dinner but it was great except for the free range children (which is a whole other story over here).

Masada and the Dead Sea

Masada was the last stronghold of the Jewish Zealots in their struggle against the Romans. The Zealots held out for three years against the legions of Flavius Silva and chose to die as free men at their own hands rather than submit to Roman slavery. Masada was built by King Herod in the Judean Desert overlooking the Dead Sea.

We took a cable car to the top of Masada. We arrived around 9:30 AM so it was not too hot yet.

This was truly an ancient place. I enjoyed learning all about it.

Looking down from Masada. The Dead Sea is in the distance.

Julie our fearless leader, she is a wealth of knowledge. I have enjoyed all the history she has taught us.

Walking back to the cable car. A well worth journey.

Greetings from the lowest point on earth at 1305 feet below sea level.

It was 40 degrees Celsius, you do the math. I know that it was hot and over 100 degrees.

Floating in the sea was easy, getting up was a little tricky.

Rabbi Zach Shapiro having a good time. 

We spent much of the day on our bus. It was a 1 1/2 hour commute each way. Our feet don't hurt today. We leave the beautiful Inbal Hotel tomorrow for our next destination.