ISRAEL - DAY 7

Sept. 24 was our last day of touring Israel and it began with a visit to old Akko (or Acre as it is also known).  Akko was in the hands of the Muslims and Turks before being conquered by the Crusaders.  We visited a prison that was built by the Turks and used by the Crusaders to imprison Jews.  It is now called the Museum of Heroism dedicated to the underground Jews who were killed.  The courtyard of the prison is now used for festivals.

Picture of one side of the prison.

Another angle of the prison.

 Ceiling structure inside the building.

Clock tower in old Akko.

‘Goods’ of an enterprising vendor.

Caravans arrived in this square.  Animals stayed in the bottom and people at the top.

Looking down the ‘corridor’ of the square.

Looking across the Mediterranean from Akko to Haifa.

Young men jump (for fun) from this rock formation into the sea.

And here's one of those jumpers!

View of old Akko from atop a restaurant.

Our next stop was at Haifa.  On the way to the top of Mount Carmel, we passed the Baha’I World Centre which has spectacular gardens meticulously groomed.  You can only get into the gardens by appointment and we didn't have one.

View of the Baha’I World Centre from the street.  The golden dome represents the founder of the Baha’I sect.

Haifa is a bustling city on the coast of the Mediterranean with a large port.  Arabs and Jews coexist in Haifa.  Most of the Arab population are Christians and there are many churches and also some mosques.

The two pictures above are views of Haifa Bay from Mount Carmel.

An office building in Haifa reminiscent of those in Dubai.

View of the Baha’I gardens from Mount Carmel.

The extended family with Haifa Bay in the background.

Panorama of the Baha’I World Centre, Haifa and Haifa Bay.

Our next stop was to see the Roman ruins at Caesarea.  Caesarea was built by King Herod and had the largest and most modern port of that time.  The port no longer exists.

Panorama of the ruins at Caesarea.

 The remains of Herod’s swimming pool which actually extended out another 100 meters into the sea.  The original mosaic still remains.

 These were public toilets and people used feathers to ‘dry/clean’ themselves.  There was no inhibition among the citizens.

 The Hippodrome where chariot racing took place.

 Hall of Hearing where Paul would have been brought for charges against him to be heard.  (The hall ends where the stones curve).

Our final stop was at Jaffa in Tel Aviv.  Our tour guide’s boss met us with a ‘touch’ of red wine and a couple of different kinds of breads to have a celebratory toast to the Jewish new year.  Our guide was able to get us to the top of the hill and give an explanation of the gate in the picture below and since we were all very tired by that time, a sip of wine and the gorgeous view of Tel Aviv from he hill was all it took for us to decide the tour was ended.

A picture of the gate with biblical representations on the hill at Jaffa.

View of Tel Aviv.

Our extended family with our tour guide (in the white pants).  She is likely THE best tour guide I have ever had.  She separated fact from fiction and had a very dry sense of humour which we all enjoyed.  I would highly recommend her for anyone contemplating doing a similar tour.

Last but not least, the extended family with our bus driver.  I think he has to be one of the best bus drivers I’ve ever had.  He navigated streets so narrow that at times, he barely had an inch left on either side……and he was probably THE calmest driver I have ever had.

And so ends an amazing, eye-opening experience.  Israel is truly a very complex and complicated country where Arabs and Jews reside in harmony, sometimes beside each other, and at other times in a bit of an uneasy peace.  It’s hard to believe that it can be so peaceful on one side of the wall and on the other side, there is so much unrest.  The topography of Israel was also surprising to me.  I thought it was very flat and it’s quite the opposite – very mountainous - dry in the south and very fertile in the north.  It was wonderful to visit some of the actual places in the bible, especially with my extended family.  These are memories I will cherish for the rest of my life.