Thanks again for the nice posts...Go Habs Go
I love hearing the feedback so I wrote the next entry this afternoon.
Part III: Northern Israel
At this point five other family members joined my immediate family to make a group of ten. We hired a private tour guide, luxury van, and driver for six days to take us up to Northern Israel and a couple of days in Jerusalem, Masada, and the Dead Sea.
Our first stop was Caesarea, a port city originally built by Herod, then rebuilt by Jews, Christians, and Muslims giving you layers of rich history.
In these pictures you can see the remains of Herod's castle, where they had chariot races, and breathtaking views.
Just a small piece of the highly sophisticated ancient aqueducts
From there we headed up to Akko where I had my third shwarma meal out of at least ten
Akko is best known for its notorious ancient fortress, used as a prison during the British Mandate. This is a view of a piece of that jail.
From there we drove up to Israel's northwestern tip, Rosh Hanikra.
Here we took a short cable car ride, the steepest in the world, straight down from the
bluffs to the sea grottoes.
After the ride back up the car, it's a one minute walk to the Israeli/Lebanese border. The first of three borders we visited.
Here we are taking a picture with an Israeli soldier. Because the two countries don't have a treaty, there is an Israeli gate (seen below), a neutral area for the UN, and then the Lebanese gate. The Israeli soldier and the Lebanese soldier are not allowed to speak to each other. Any requests must be mediated via the UN representative.
We spent three nights at Merom Golan. I highly recommend it. Outstanding food and an interesting location being so close to the Syrian border.
The next morning we took a 4x4 Jeep tour off road into the demilitarized zone and along the Syrian border, viewing hidden Israeli army bunkers and positions.
Anti-tank ditches
There was an active tank near us however this is a relic from '67
We toured the inside of this bunker that seemed to go on forever
Amid this dry desert air, they grow kiwi, strawberries, you name it...
If you look closely you can see the wall that separates the fertile Israeli land and the dry undeveloped Syrian land
As we headed out, our Jeep tour guide, ex-military, got word that the Syrian civil war fighting was going to be close to the border within the hour and that it was not safe to stay...
Like clockwork, we later read that the fighting did indeed get close to the border and stray shells inadvertently landed exactly where we had visited. Though Israel doesn't stand with either side and aids wounded civilians, they quickly countered and destroyed the areas where missiles were launched. More on that shortly...
From there we visited Banias Spring. For Christians, the Banias holds particular significance as the place where Peter recognized Jesus, and Jesus named Peter the “rock” on which his church would be built.
The falls are particularly impressive because you cannot see where the water flow begins in this huge desert however it is a swift tide.
Group shot!
We ended the day rafting down the Jordan River
My kids dared me to dab on the zip line overlooking the Hula Valley, crossing he river.
That night they shut down any roads that led close to the border
It was LOUD throughout the night. We could hear rockets landing, lighting up the dark sky. Jet fighters could also be heard. We never felt like we were in danger though. As is typical in Israel, there were shelters all over the campus if needed.
The next morning we headed up to Mt. Bental which had an amazing view down into Syria.
The smoke you see in the distance is due to the civil war fighting.
I apologize in advance to those who support the UN. These guys are totally useless. Nice, but useless. These observers watch the infighting from a distance and take notes. They clock in in the morning and clock out in the evening like any other job. They just watch. The magnification of the binoculars allow them to see detailed faces of people on the street from this great distance.
More Mt. Bental
From there it was off to Tzfat. Famous for the galleries, old synagogues, and of course candles.
Peeking into one of the many yeshivas
Later that afternoon we took a cable car ride up the Manara Cliffs with a beautiful view of the Hula Valley
Cool little roller coaster near the bottom of the mountain
Next we travel down the West Bank with a stop in Galilee (I'll spare you all from the pics of us in bathing suits) and Genesis Land as we travel to Jerusalem.
Next up is
Part IV: Jerusalem