We’re driving to Acco, or Akko, or is it Acre?  No one is quite clear.  The natives say Acco, the signs say Akko, but the map says Acre.  No wonder the GPS is confused!  Notice I say the GPS, because my friend is a navigational genius.  She asks for directions.

“Slicha” (Excuse me) is the word for the day as we stop at every turn to discover where we are and how we get the heck out of there.

Some people get very frustrated when they’re lost or delayed.  I think I’m a little too laid back at times and yet I believe it’s the unexpected detours that bring surprises and allow us to interact with the most interesting people.  So I try not to let it bother me, but open myself up to the experience itself.

We journey on, and I find that I love the way they have built modern cities around the history, keeping as much of the archeology of the past in tact as possible.  This allows for your imagination to run free, to picture how it was in ancient days even as you experience the modernizaton of an industrialized society.  We don’t have this kind of history in America; we’re a young nation, and a little too ready to say “out with the old and in with the new.”  I really respect how Israel makes such a concerted effort of preserve history.

We’ve passed through the northern part of the Galilee region.  According to the Bible, the Galilee was named by the Israelites and was the tribal region of Naphthali and Dan, and in some overlapping areas, Usher’s land.  Normally the Galilee is just referred to as Nafthali.  More importantly, it was the home of Jesus during the first thirty years of his life.  It was in the towns of Nazareth & Capernaum where much of his public ministry is recounted in the first three Gospels, including the Sermon on the Mount, walking on water and healing the blind man.

I can’t imagine what it would be like gaining your sight for the first time and looking out over the vast fields of greenery and wildflowers, seeing the many streams and waterfall you’d only heard as moving water up to that point.  Most of Galilee is made up of rocky terrain (yes, I had the audacity to ask what kind of rocks they were: Basalt & Igneous) with mountains 700-800 meters and lush valleys surrounding the hills.  My first instinct is to view the land through the lens of my upbringing, from the Biblical importance of the area, but the hiking trails, nature reserves, festivals, and flavors of the area contribute to the reasons Galilee is such a popular tourist site.

The region’s Israelite name is from the Hebrew root galil, which means “district” or “circle” and is used as a genitival noun.  The title “Sea of Galilee” resulted from the English name building from this root.  Although the region is called Galilee, Jews maintained other Hebrew names for the lake itself, usually Kinneret.  The Sea of Galilee is currently a primary water source for Israel.  The National Water Carrier, built in 1964, transports water from the lake to the population centers of Israel, and is the source of much of the country’s drinking water.

Now Acco/Akko/Acre is in the Western part of the Galilee region.  It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country. Historically, it was a strategic coastal link to the Levant. In crusader times it was known as St. John d’Acre after the Knights of Hospitaller of the St John order who had their headquarters there.  A lot of people just think of it as the holiest city of the Bahá’í Faith.

We’re here for the market and lunch, but couldn’t help gravitating toward the Turkish bathhouse for a tour.

It was a little confusing to find where tickets were sold to the tourist sites.  Instead of obtaining them at the entrance to the individual sites, there is a central ticket booth hidden away from the main street.  Tickets can be bought for multiple attraction access or for individual sites.  The key is deciding what is truly an “attraction” worthy of the entrance fee.  For example, as architecturally and historically interesting as the Templar Tunnel may be, it is just a tunnel.  There’s nothing of additional impact added.

The tour of the Turkish Bathhouse built for Pasha el-Jazzar in 1781 began with a video that danced along the edge of extreme cheesiness with bad acting and a fun twist on history with intentionally comic performances.  Regardless of your take on it, “The Story of the Last Bath Attendant” provided a great deal of history on Acre as well as the rise and fall of the Turkish Bathhouse.  I used an audio guide, which ensured I didn’t miss a moment of the Arab humor as I followed the story – with visual & audio 3-d effects, no less – while moving from the dressing room decorated with Turkish tiles and topped with a cupola, through the rooms with colored-glass bubbles in the roof domes that sent filtered light to the steam rooms.  There was a Twilight Zone feel to the whole experience, and yet I found it to be a fun excursion.

Not as fun as the market.  The locals, tourists and travelers pack the small alleys of this market to enjoy the various offerings of seafood, fruits, meats and vegetables that are often notable in a port city, but also to purchase toys, spices, medicinal herbs, music CDs, souvenirs and sweets.  Lots of sweets.

This is where I got my first smell of Shawarma, a heavily seasoned meat on a spit that is grilled for hours. Shavings are cut off the block of meat for serving, and the remainder of the block of meat is kept heated on the rotating spit.  The fragrance ignites a craving even if you’re not hungry at all, and yet I was able to resist (for the moment) and sample something small and sweet. Malabi.  This pudding drink was likely adapted from the Turkish dessert muhalllabia.  The Israelis make it as a milky rice pudding flavored with vanilla and a sugery syrup then infused with rose water and topped with nuts.  I was attempting to identify the ingredients when we saw the sign.  “Lighthouse.”

I’m a lighthouse freak, admittedly.  It’s tied to my mother’s obsession, and since losing her to MRSA last year I have become very interested in exploring Lighthouses in her memory.  Perhaps it’s a healing journey, but it’s taken me to some beautiful places.  Finding a lighthouse here in Israel was a delight, and a surprise for my friend.  She’d expressed disappointment that Israel wouldn’t offer lighthouses to add to my portfolio.  It turns out Israel actually heralds 13 lighthouses, they just don’t put as much historical significance on them as in some parts of the world.

So we followed the signs through the winding streets until we found it up on a hill on the southwestern corner of the city wall.

As we wandered through the streets, vendors and shops that line the city walls near the lighthouse, there were historical markers telling tales from the Mamluk era to the British Mandate Period.  After checking out some of the most notable landmarks in this World Heritage Site, it felt like a good time for a smoothie and some sweet sampling.

Have I mentioned smoothies are a euphoric experience in Israel?  Well they are.  Pick your combination of plump, juicy fruit and in a few minutes you get a taste of the garden of Eden!  I’m afraid we were a little too distracted to make it to the restaurant before it closed.  Good thing we got those sweets! They’d sustain us during the drive to Haifa.  We wanted to get there before Sundown.

It was a beautiful drive along the sea shore, not at all ruined by the constant “Smola” (Left) & “Yamina” (Right) repeated over and over by the GPS voice.  Too bad he didn’t repeat more conversational terms; I might have retained a bit more of the language.

We were looking for the gardens high on the hill, when we ran across yet another lighthouse.

The Stella Maris Lighthouse is constructed on Mt Carmel, an area of great religious significance not only for Jews, Christians and Muslims whose prophet Elijah resided here, but for Catholic Carmelites who settled on the hill and founded the famous monastery.  It’s across the street from the lighthouse.  I was able to tour the compound and even speak with one of the monks about the sacred history of the mountain while my friend took a phone call.  We were then able to watch the sunset from the lighthouse.  It was such an awe-inspiring view.  My mother would have loved it.

Although the annoying jet lag was reminding me I was far from back to normal, I was relaxed, reflective and overcome with the depth of experience this land has to offer.  I couldn’t help but think this was the perfect end of the day…made even sweeter by the phone call that confirmed my luggage had been found. Let’s hear it for clean clothes!

Shalom, y’all!

My friend suggested we go to a bird sanctuary.  I’m not certain what makes these birds more special than the ones found in America, but I’m open to find out!  Maybe I’ll bond with them since I feel like such a bird-brain right now (still jet-lagged and disoriented).

As we entered the area, it became apparent this is more than just a bird watchers haven.  This is a place of wonders, the result of creative and determined people working together with Mother Nature to create a haven a green, abundant beauty.

Until the 1950s large parts of the Hula valley were covered by the Hula Lake and swamps. The project for draining the swamps contributed to settlement in the area and to the addition of large areas of agricultural land.  Unfortunately, the soil in the areas surrounding the central lake remained so acidic the crops couldn’t be sustained. Then in the early 1990s one of the areas of the valley became flooded again as the result of heavy rains.  Since agriculture efforts had failed in this area, it was decided to leave the flooded area as it was and not try to drain it again. The new site – Agamon Hula –  quickly became the second home for thousands of migrating birds that pass through the area in the autumn and spring, as well as the home of many native birds, making it a popular sight for bird-watchers from Israel and abroad.

Agamon Hula has walking paths, observation points, and telescopes for observing the thousands of birds that inhabit the site. Visitors can also go on guided tours that offer explanations about the birds that inhabit the Hula Valley.  We decided to hop a ride on the open-air bus that provided one of these tours.  Although a brochure was provided for the English speaking tourist, the driver only spoke Hebrew.  This placed a bit of a burden on my friend to translate along the way.  It became apparent bird and plant names aren’t so easily translated on the spot, but she adapted and worked through the challenge with impressive ease.

Water is extremely abundant in the valley as it drains from the surrounding mountains into the valley to fill the already abundant lakes, rivers and swamps.  The area is green and flowering, a pure miracle of nature.  The animal life is vibrant, and playful.  We paused to watch their play and enjoy their antics, and took a leisurely walk along the paths before heading out.  A light dinner followed by some lounging time in the hot-tub on the deck of our room was on our agenda.

The Bible notes this area as the place where Joshua defeated the Canaanites as they entered the “Promised Land”.  As I reflect on the day, I can’t help but think again how it remains a promise.  The area is so green, lush and rich with natural resources.

I was curious how such amazing agriculture actually impacted their import/export business, so I did a quick search.  It was remarkable to learn Israel produces 95% of their food requirement and depend on imports for only 5%.  The independence and ingenuity of the Israeli people can be seen throughout the land.  I understand their pride.  It’s amazing!

Only an hour in the hot tub and I’m caving into the jet lag once again.  I understand it can be expected to take as many days to recover from a bad bought of jet lag as hours in the time difference.  There’s no way I’m dealing with this for 7 days.  I’m going to sleep this off!

On my way to Israel…

I’m flying British Airways, and wouldn’t you know the computers have gone down and they are giving manual boarding passes.  Slow process.  Tedious.  Not a good sign.

The good news is I received an upgrade to First Class!  No more complaints.  🙂