The Fortress Masada

Masada is perhaps the second most famous Jewish site in Israel after the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Built by Herod the Great between 37 and 31 BCE, there were two immaculate palaces, fortified as a place of refuge for the monarch in times of crisis. During the Jewish Revolt in 66 CE, the fortress was seized by religious zealots (the Sicarii) who had fled from Jerusalem after the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans. Not content with only near total victory, the Romans besieged Masada in order to crush the final resistance. 

After many weeks preparing for our fateful climb of Masada, the day of our accent was finally here. Early Wednesday morning, the team awoke after our only semi-restful night at the Bedouin tent. Arriving at the entrance to the Masada park, the group exited the vehicle, got fresh water, and then began the trek up the Snake Path - while two in the group - Kelly and Anne - opted to take the cable car. From the base to the guard tower at the top is a very steep (and winding) climb. It took us all between 25 and 40 minutes to make the journey. Steve blazed up the hill with me hot on his heels. I finished second in a little under 30 minutes. Getting to the top (and out of the heat) was definitely a great feeling!

At the top, we toured the site and saw the many restored buildings and landmarks. We walked through the Western and Northern Palaces, as well as visiting the storehouses and private baths. It is an impressive and very large site. It's also very cool to see in person. One thing we did learn from our guide was that the site is no longer used as prominently by the military as it once was. At the end of the story, the zealots of Masada killed themselves and their families rather than surrender to the Romans. This had previously been regarded as an honor worthy in the IDF - but now has been minimized to a great degree.

After finishing our tour of the site, we returned to the entrance to the cable car for the descent back to the bus and then off to our remaining visits of the day. Masada was definitely all its cracked up to be and the hike was a surefire highlight of the trip.

Out In The Desert

On Tuesday morning the team left Mitzpe Ramon for the drive north to Masada and the Dead Sea. Our first stop of the day was Avdat, the well preserved ruins of an ancient Nabatean city. Altogether, Avdat covers a wide area and includes a huge series of buildings - surrounded by an enormous rock wall. It is hard to believe that anyone would choose to live out in this hot and desolate area - especially in an era before A/C. To combat these difficulties, the ingenious Nabateans created unique water tech and other innovations.

"The team exploring the ruins of the Avdat site"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

Our second stop of the day was at Ein Avdat - a nearby nature reserve and park - for a short (but strenuous) hike. Carved into the desert floor, the canyons of Ein Avdat are really very beautiful. After walking in from the drop off point we reached a fork in the path where we quickly ascended about 100 meters in less than 10 minutes. By the top we were all sweating pretty profusely. Nearby to Ein Avdat is the burial site of David Ben-Gurion, the George Washington of Israel and the great statesman who helped guide the country to independence in 1948. Interestingly, it's very quiet site, despite its significance.

"Our museum guide explaining the history behind some old aircraft"

Photo by Christopher Rajashekar

Following this visit, we traveled to the Israeli Air Force Museum at Hatzerim Airbase. Over the next two hours we toured the site, looking at a whole variety of combat aircraft spanning the entire period of Israeli history from independence to the current day.  This visit was of keen interest to a few of the plane junkies on our trip (i.e. Don Mayer and Sean Luke). Honestly, Don and Sean were like kids in a candy store. That being said, I think everyone thought it was a cool museum - though a bit heavy handed at times with patriotic vitriol.

"Don's camel - up close and personal"

Photo by Kristin Thompson

After another hour on the road we arrived at our home for the night - a Bedouin camp in the desert - with Masada in the distant background. Our first activity upon arrival was a 20 minute camel ride. Believe it or not, camels are not as smelly or ill tempered as they are often portrayed. It was not the most comfortable ride, but no one had any real complaints. After the ride, we were welcomed in a traditional Bedouin ceremony. Our host provided us with fresh bread, tea and bitter coffee - as well as music.

"Our Bedouin host - fire roasting some coffee beans"

Photo by Kristin Thompson

In the evening we went to a laser light and music show at Masada. The show was short, but interesting. Upon returning to the Bedouin camp, we had time for some nargila around the fire before retiring to our tent. Many of us had camped numerous times in our lives. That being said, this was probably the least comfortable night of the trip. It was hot and loud. Plus, the camp was overrun by a particularly virulent plague upon the land - not locusts - actually much worse than locusts - Birthrighters. Sadly, not the first time we'd seen them this summer. Ugh.

Galilee To Golan, pt3

Sunday morning and we were off to another adventure! From our hotel, we drove to Nahal Yehudia off Highway 87. Nahal Yehudia is part of a reserve, which includes 11 trails, such as Nahal Zavitan, the Meshushim and the Gamla, which includes the remains of the Jewish town that fought against Vespasian during the Jewish Revolt in 66 CE. 

Photo by Stephen Kushner

The Nahal Yehudia hike was not extraordinarily difficult - but it definitely required some skill - as there was a place where we had to descend down a shear rock face next to a waterfall and swim across a deep pool before continuing on the trail. The flowers were in bloom and the water was cool. All in all, it was about a three hour trek, but well worth the effort!

Photo by Stephen Kushner

Some of the team had opted out of the hike. That being said, we had already coordinated to meet up that afternoon at Keshet Yonatan, a moshav in the Golan Heights. Keshet has a very interesting history. Established in 1974 shortly after the Yom Kippur War by Hapoel HaMizrachi near the Syrian city of Quneitra, the community is a thriving community in an otherwise uninhabited area.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

Asher and his friend (whose house we were now at) had coordinated over the previous months for a shochet - a religious Jew who is duly licensed and trained - to prepare and slaughter a sheep for a traditional kosher BBQ (shechita). The fire pit had been dug the preceeding day. Upon our arrival, the boy scouts on our team (me included) quickly went to work erecting a tent for the shochet to perform his duty.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

While we waited, our guide, Meni, took most of the team for a tour of the moshav and the surrounding area. I opted to stay back and call my dad - since it was Father's Day. Those that did go, said it was well worth the trip. Located nearby was an abandoned Syrian military outpost - a spooky reminder of the conflicts that have not to distantly plagued these lands. In the distance, the team could see smoke - which was apparently from army maneuvers by the IDF. Interestingly, the team also saw a UN truck while out - as the UN still administers a cease-fire boundary zone between Israel and Syria.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

Back at the moshav, once the shochet arrived he gave the assembled guests a brief overview of kosher laws and traditions. We then relocated to the outdoor tent. The killing itself was almost instaneous. The preperation took another 45 minutes - and quite a few on the team helped in this process.  After the shochet confirmed the animal as kosher, we put the carcass on a spit and began the BBQ. Sean Luke did an admirable job tending the fire.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

Four hours later, the meat was finally ready to eat. Don Mayer took over the carving duties and people started to chow down. We had fresh pita, potatoes, fried onions and other fixings. Everything was amazing! In an already busy and exciting weekend, this BBQ was the highlight for many in the group.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

That evening that team was back at the Ha'On guesthouse for our final night in the Galilee. The next morning, Monday, the team departed back to Haifa. Along the way we had a few final stops before our weekend trip concluded. The first stop was in Nazareth. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," Nazareth is extremely important to Christians, as it the childhood home of Jesus. In Nazareth we visited the Church of the Annunciation, which marks the site where the Archangel Gabriel announced the future birth of Jesus to the Virgin Mary. We also visited The Church of St. Joseph's Carpentry, which occupies the traditional location for the workshop of Saint Joseph.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

Next we stopped in Daliat el-Carmel, which is one of the largest Druze settlements. Home to The Abu Ibrahim Shrine, this was definitely an interesting stop. Just on the outskirts of Haifa, our final visit was to the Morad Winery. Not to be confused with a traditional grape winery, Morad is unique in that it focuses on producing wine spirits from many other fruit sources - e.g. honey, pomegranates, apple, melons, dates, etc. It wasn't for everyone, but the free samples went a long way towards allaying people's concerns.

As we pulled back into our house in Haifa, everyone was happy to be home. That being said, we all felt that it had been an amazing weekend. Looking back, it's hard to believe everything we'd seen and done. Awesome, but exhausting.

Galilee To Golan, pt2

We awoke early on Saturday morning for another day of touring in the Galilee region. In particular, the plan for the day was to tour the many sites of primary importance to Christianity - as this was the land in which Jesus lived for much of his adult life. After a quick, but tasty, breakfast at our hotel, we were off to our first stop of the day, Capernaum, situated right along the northwestern coast of the Sea of Galilee.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

Our tour guide, Meni, brought us first to the ruins of Capernaum's ancient synagogue, where he gave us a very detailed description of the sites history. Afterwords, we walked to House of Saint Peter. Now in ruins, the village of Capernaum has a long and complex history. Dating originally to 150 BCE, Capernaum factors into the New Testament in numerous places. In the Gospel of Luke it was reported to have been the home of the apostles Peter, Andrew, James and John, as well as the tax collector Matthew. According to Luke 4:31-44, Jesus taught in the synagogue in Capernaum on the Sabbath. In the Gospel of Matthew the town was reported to have been the home of Jesus. According to Matthew 8:5-13, it was where a Centurion asked Jesus to heal his servant.

Photo by Kelley Harris

From Capernaum we once again returned to the Jordan River - for the second time in two days - this time to the river south of the Sea of Galilee. This is an area that holds significance to Christians - especially many of the evangelical denominations. It was in this area that Jesus was supposedly baptized by his cousin John the Baptist. After a brief stop here, we stopped at a nearby fresh food market (definitely not a normal tourist stop) where we picked up dates, olives, spices, and my personal favorite - halva. For those not familiar, halva is a sesame based snack - that is often combined with other things like pistachios, coffee, and cocoa. It is a staple of Israeli life and is just plain delicious!

Photo by Kristin Thompson

We then hit the road back to the city of Tiberias. Our activity for the afternoon was an hour long cruise on the Sea of Galilee. The weather was fantastic - clear blue skies - hot, but not totally uncomfortable, especially with the light breeze on the water. Honestly - as an aside - the weather since we've arrived in Israel has been nothing sort of amazing. No rain, sunny every day. To be sure, it's been hot - though nothing a southern boy like myself can't handle. Following the cruise, we stopped for lunch at Kibbutz Ein Gev and then returned to our hotel.

Photo by Kristin Thompson

After a change and a short rest, some people elected to stay at the resort and relax. Most of the team however, departed for the Hamat Gader Springs. These are natural hot springs located in a small sliver of Israeli controlled territory right at the territorial junction of Syria, Jordan, and Israel. To get there you drive down a very steep and winding road - on both sides are the remains of the many battles that have been fought there in the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur War. Signs warning about land mines were everywhere.

Once one arrives at the hot springs, one quickly forgets the dangers surrounding it. Used as a natural spring even during Roman times (the ruins are on site) the current springs is a more modern facility constructed in the late 1970s. Smelling slightly of sulfur, the pools were almost 120+ Fahrenheit - over 20 degrees warmer than the current outside temperature. Interestingly, strange as it may seem, once one gets into the water, it quickly becomes very comfortable. I really liked it - and I'm pretty certain I wasn't alone among the team.

For dinner that evening, the team hopped into the bus back to Tiberias. This time, we had an opportunity to see a little bit of the town as we searched for a restaurant. We eventually settled on a hole-in-the-wall kabab shop. Unbelievably smokey, the place was a real find! The place didn't really have any good options for us to sit together, but Meni and Gil, our two Israeli experts said, "grab tables and set 'em up on the sidewalk." A few minutes later and we were ready to go. A great end to another terrific day!

Jerusalem Visit

After a day back in Haifa for our weekly class at the Technion, on Friday morning the Smith team was back on the road for a full weekend of touring and sightseeing. In the morning we were met by our guide, Israel, who gave us a preview of the days activities as we sped down the highway to our first stop of the day, Caesarea.

"Our guide Israel weaves a story about ancient Caesarea"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

Planted firmly against the coast, halfway between Haifa and Tel Aviv, Caesarea is an ancient port city that dates to the time of Herod the Great – about 22 BCE. The ancient city itself is no longer inhabited - as the last occupants, French crusaders under Louis IX - were forced to flee when the city was put to fire by Baybar invaders in 1251 CE. Literally lost to the sands, the city was rediscovered and its secrets uncovered in the 1940s due to the financial generosity of Baron Edmond Benjamin James de Rothschild.

"Modern concerts in Caesarea's ancient amphitheater"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

Our first stop in Caesarea was the Roman aqueduct that provided fresh water to the city for over a thousand years. From there we proceeded to the old city itself, where we visited the Roman theater, hippodrome, and palace (which was possibly the former residence of Pontius Pilate). As we walked back to the van, we passed through the city walls and across the moat, which were both constructed by the Crusaders. All in all, Caesarea was awesome!
 

"Driving through East Jerusalem"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

From Caesarea we drove directly on to Jerusalem. Since it was Friday, a lot of tourist sites were closing at sunset for Shabbat, so we were in quite a rush to get into town. We drove into the Old City and parked right next to the City of David – where the Biblical King built his palace and capital in 1000 BCE. The key attraction at this famous archaeological site is Hezekiah's Tunnel. This tunnel, which runs for a little under half a mile is filled with about three feet of water at all times. We walked (in my case barefoot) through the tunnel before emerging on the other side in East Jerusalem. Following our underground trek (which seemed to go on and on), we proceeded to the promenade overlooking the city.

"Looking out at Old Jerusalem from the Haas Promenade" 
Photo by Kelley Harris

We went next to our hotel for a brief rest before Shabbat dinner. Max and Sue Singer (parents of Saul Singer, the author of Start-up Nation) were kind enough to invite the entire Smith team into their home to participate in this weekly Jewish tradition. Dinner began with the serving of homemade challahs. Afterwords, this ritual was followed by Kiddush, the blessing of the wine. Max and Sue then led us through a number of other songs and readings before we finally began the meal in earnest. Altogether, everyone had a great time!
 

"Shabbat dinner with Max and Sue Singer"
 Photo by Stephen Kushner

In the preceding days, I had been coming down with a bit of a cold. A bug of some sort had been making its rounds around the team - and unfortunately my time arrived sometime late Friday night. I woke Saturday morning feeling pretty horrible - so somewhat reluctantly I opted to skip the tour that morning. I did get a pretty good report from the team later that evening though, when we all convened for dinner.
 

"Old Jerusalem near the Jaffa Gate" 
Photo by Kristin Thompson

On Saturday the group met our guide, Israel, at 9am in the hotel lobby. From there the group went to the Old City, this time for a more thorough tour of its many historical sites. The team walked the Via Dolorosa, visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and shopped (and ate) in the Muristan Souq. From there they climbed the ramparts and walked the city walls, emerging just next to the Western Wall. The last stop of the afternoon was a short drive to the Mount of Olives – a site significant to both Jewish and Christian traditions.

"Fresh food at the always busy, Muristan Souq"
Photo by Kristin Thompson

I was feeling a bit better that evening so I opted to join everyone for dinner at Asher Epstein’s place. Altogether, the group was feeling pretty fired up about everything we’d seen and done so far this weekend. Additionally, this evening was especially important to everyone, as it was the England vs. USA World Cup match. Americans (myself included) have a funny habit of completely ignoring the sport of soccer (nee football) for 4 years and then suddenly remembering when the Cup comes around again. It may be the world’s sport, but it certainly isn’t America's sport. Anyway, the game started at 9:30pm, so many in the group decided to head to the The Lion’s Den pub to watch.
 

"Everyone celebrates as the USA battles back against England in the World Cup" 
Photo by Kristin Thompson

Ninety minutes later the game was over and we (the USA) had forced England to a 1-1 tie. I’ve read that this was a fantastic result – as everyone had expected England to prevail. That being said, I have a hard time getting excited about a tie game. I mean, really? A tie? I think this fact alone is what makes it so hard for Americans to get behind this game. Someone has to win. Without a winner, what’s the point?  

Anyway, one other cool outcome from the game: our esteemed photographer, Kristin had the previous photo featured in the Washington Post. Congrats, Kristin! All in all, Jerusalem was a blast! We got to see some fantastic historical sites, eat wonderful food, and watch the USA beat up on our cousins across the pond. It would be hard to ask for much more – well maybe the USA could have won rather than tied - but I digress.