DAY 7 - The Biblical Zoo and the Market

MB have really been looking forward to today, when we will go to the market in Jerusalem and experience the pre-Shabbat crowds, the noise, the pushing, the haggling, etc. But first, it's off to the Biblical Zoo with B, J and Meir. It was WAY better than I thought it would be. It's not huge, but the habitats are modern, with lots of room for the animals, and they all seemed to be enjoying themselves. It's also really lovely, set down in a valley, with views of beautiful Jerusalem hillsides all around, and beautiful art within the zoo. This is all reflected in the zoo's mission statement. The website is: http://www.jerusalemzoo.org.il/len/ and if you are going to Jerusalem, you really might want to check it out. It's just relaxing and fun.

After a great walk through the zoo - the weather was just fabulous, as it had been throughout the trip - it only rained the day that we spent in the Old City, and not very much - we headed to the market. What fun! The colors, the sounds, the smells, the people, the food - all perfect. At the market, MB really stocked up on spices that she will need for cooking Israeli food in Rochester, B got a pretty hamsa, and I bought an embroidered bag with pomegranates that I'm now using for my tallit. I tried to bargain with the guy, but he wouldn't budge! I even walked away, but came back later and just paid him what he wanted, because I hadn't seen that particular size in the other places I'd been. The produce in the market was amazing. Eggplants as big as your head, leeks longer than my arms. Huge pomegranates and strawberries and mangoes and all sorts of things.

J wasn't feeling too well (precursor of the Italy ear infection?) and she and Meir went off to get something to eat and drink, while MB, B and I walked around. I thought I had "saved" Meir's cell phone number in my Israel phone (J had forgotten hers), but it wasn't there when I needed to call them. I did panic a little, thinking how were we ever going to find them, but miraculously, we just ran into them at Marzipan, when we were buying a challah for shabbat, and some bourekas for lunch. Then I really DID save his number, and we split up for a while. Met up and went home to cook shabbat dinner!

OK, so MB really went all out, in this unfamiliar kitchen, with no "pantry" (we had to buy a whole bottle of oil, a whole bag of flour, a whole bag of arborio rice, a whole bottle of pepper (salt too, but we kind of messed up on that - all the spice labels had English translations, except none said "salt" - we bought what LOOKED like salt, but it was lemon salt - sort of made for an interesting flavor). Anyway, MB made risotto, with zucchini (they were round! from the market), red peppers, leeks, maybe something else - we had to use powdered vegetable stock, which kind of wasn't the best, but we made do. I made my famous fried spinach, which was a special request from Jordana, who didn't eat much of it, because she really wasn't feeling well. In fact, she didn't eat much at all :-( We had challah, and rugelach from Marzipan, and baklava, and lit candles, and it was a lovely Shabbat dinner. Some of this is out of order, because J and I also went to a nearby synagogue for services, and that was very special.

Read for a while, chilled, turned in early...Day 8 coming up...

DAY 6 - Yad Vashem

It's Thursday morning, and we are going to Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust museum. When we arrived at the gates, there was a security check, but as usual, we were waved through. The first thing we noticed was that the underground parking garage was completely immaculate. Of course, as J pointed out, there is no salting of roads in Israel, but even so, the place was sparkling. The musuem has no admission fee, but there is a nominal charge for an audio tour, and a larger charge for a tour guide. We decided to go it on our own. It was interesting that the tour guides used microphones, and the guidees used headsets, so that there was no shouting to be heard, which would have definitely affected the solemnity of the museum. It was nicely done.

You can't take photos inside the museum, so here is a link to the website, which contains virtual tours and slideshows and photos and history: http://www.yadvashem.org. If you scroll down, you will find multimedia presentations that are part of the museum, such as videos of survivor's telling their stories, and a slide show that is a narrated view of a photo album discovered by an Auschwitz survivor, that documents the "processing" of Jews sent there. The photos above are two friezes on the outside of the museum. Because Hebrew is read left to right, the one on the right should be viewed first. It depicts a procession of weak, shrouded and downcast Jews, marching to their deaths. In the center is a Moses-like figure, carrying a Torah. On the left, is a depiction of the Jews of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, showing strength, spirit and guns.

We took our time going through the 9 galleries, each one highlighting a different stage of the Shoah - starting with Hitler's ascension to power (the videos of the political rallies were truly frightening. The number of people, the militarism - very different than what we ever experienced in the U.S., thank God. Then the beginnings, Kristallnacht, the establishment of the ghettoes, and it was all incredibly well done. Although we couldn't look at each and every element, there were enough photos with short but powerful descriptions, interspersed with videos of survivors, that we were heavily impacted, and learned a lot. It was, of course, very difficult and emotional, but it felt very right to see this, and have it further imprinted in my brain. I was very moved by it all, but the hall of the righteous gentiles was very special, as was the Children's Hall. When you exit the museum, and walk into bright sunshine and life, it is very powerful. There is also a garden outside where each tree is dedicated to a non-Jew who risked his life to save Jews. The whole place was amazingly beautiful and special. We were all very glad we went there - although I noted J's comment in her blog that we stayed too long :-) Still, we didn't get to see it all. I will have to come back.

On a lighter note, the gift shop at Yad Vashem was really great! There was a wide variety of items, and the prices were the same or better than at the markets. I only bought a few trinkets on the whole trip, and I think I got all but one there. And it felt good that we were supporting this incredible place. Above is a photo of the little matted print I bought there. It's by Bracha Lavee-Brym, called "Symbols" and I saw it on her website for $5 more than I paid for it at Yad Vashem! And, since I hardly paid anything for it, that is quite a discount.

After Yad Vashem, I THINK (I need some input from my companions here, because I'm already fuzzy on the chronology of the trip), we just went back to home base. We walked around our nice little neighborhood, and I posted a photo or two of it above. There were all the little shops we needed within a block from our apartment, which was on Levi Street, off Derek Beit Lekhem. We were a five minute walk from Emek Refaim, which is filled with little cafes and shops and full of life. We couldn't have been in a better spot! And, we loved our landlord, Ilan. He manages the property for his family, and he is very sweet and accommodating.

I will edit this post with info about our dinner and whatever else people remind me about, later. Farewell for now - Day 6 coming soon!

Postscript - I confirmed the rest of the day with MB - we did in fact go back to Derek Beit Lekhem for a little late lunch at the Waffle Bar - what a great little place. The waitress was very sweet, and helped us decide on the mushroom crepe and a delicious salad, to share three ways. I really wanted a waffle, which came in many many varieties, but there was no way to eat more. Alas. After shopping a bit in the gift shops, etc., we met up with Jordana and Meir for a lovely dinner at Little Italy, a very fine Italian place - it's rated #6 out of 73 restaurants in Jerusalem by Trip Advisor. MB reminded me today about the delicious stuffed dried apricot salad that we had there - really outstanding. Following this, Jordana and Meir led us on a great walk around Jerusalem at night. We went to Sir Moses Montefiore's 1840's windmill, which he built in hopes of making the Jerusalem poor of the time more self sufficient. It didn't work out that well, but the windmill still stands. We walked in a nearby park, and we snuck through the lobby of the King David Hotel, which has autographs of many famous people incorporated in the floor tiles. Another fantastic day in the Holy Land!

DAY 5 - Masada

Wow. Cannot believe it is already Wednesday. MB and I wake up, eat our delicious fresh granola from the bakery with the hazelnuts and pumpkin seeds and all kinds of good stuff, pick up bagels for the kids (B got her egg with yellow cheese sandwich!), and set off for Agron to pick up J & B. We had researched the route the night before, because we were a little concerned that we were going to be in the West Bank, and discovered that Routes 1 and 90 were under Israeli control. It's good that we did this, because as it turns out, Mabel didn't like the area east of Jlem, and kept trying to turn us around. In fact, it appears that her maps don't include the area. But, it was easy enough to get there. We traveled west through barren, sand covered mountains in the desert, which were broken up by the occasional bedouin shacks. It really made you think about how difficult it must have been 1700 years ago for the Masada Jews to escape war torn Jlem and somehow trek all the way down to Masada through such inhospitable landscape. More on the history later.

On the way to Rte 90, we stopped for gas. There were tons of IDF soldiers at the gas station, many cars, and several camels were parked there as well. So, we got our gas, got air in the tires that we probably didn't need, but I'm a nerd and I fell for the gas station's guy statement that we were low, and followed a bus out onto Rte 1. The bus was going kind of slow, and another car had just passed him, so I swung out to do the same. Um, except that we were on a two-way highway, and I swung out into the oncoming traffic, which just so happened to be oncoming at the time. Oops. Anyway, after discovering the brakes on the Getz were in excellent working order, we were back in the correct lane behind the slow bus, who turned off soon thereafter, and we turned south onto 90.

Driving along the Dead Sea was beautiful. It is the lowest point on earth (422 meters or about 1300 feet below sea level), and one of the saltiest lakes, with 33.7% salinity (almost 9 times saltier than the ocean). Its eastern bank is the beautiful Red Mountains of Jordan. We kept heading south, passing Ein Gedi, the oasis, knowing we'd be back there to take a dip in the Dead Sea after our trip to Masada. Fun fact - King Herod used the Dead Sea as a health resort 2000 years ago. It was also a place of refuge for King David before that, and of course the salt and minerals from the sea are very popular today in skin care products.

Masada was amazing. The most amazing thing about it is, of course, that I made the hike up the Snake Path. My companions had no trouble, but I had a tough time getting into my aerobic steady state, and it was halfway up the darn mountain before I really caught my breath - but it was so worth it!

Masada was originally built by (guess who?) Herod as another palace to impress his Roman compatriots, in about 30 BCE. about 100 years later, when the Romans were busy killing all the Jews in Jerusalem, a band of Zealots (967 men, women and children) escaped to Masada (up the same Snake Path that we hiked up but I'm guessing there were no railings!) and overthrew the Roman garrison that was stationed there. While holed up in Masada, the Zealots carried out various raids against Romans, at Ein Gedi and elsewhere, and were generally a problem for the Romans. The Romans followed them, but before they got there, the Zealots managed to store sufficient provisions so that 2 years later, when the Romans finished their assault ramp, they still had food and water (rainwater was collected in Herod's great cistern system). But, while the Romans were mounting their assault up the ramp, the Zealots were carrying out their plan to make the Roman victory an empty one - every last person (minus the 2 women and 5 children who apparently survived and told the story to the formerly Jewish historian, Josephus) was dead. It wasn't exactly suicide, since they drew lots and certain men were designated to kill first the women and children, then each other, until the last man killed himself. Some of the lots, with the names of the men, still exist. The Zealots did this very consciously, to avoid enslavement of the men after Roman capture, and the use of the women and children as prostitutes and slaves.

We took the cable car down after exploring the ruins of the palace and fortress, which were amazing. Then, it was off to Ein Gedi. We arrived just in time for the bathrooms/showers to close, so we changed in the car - tricky but doable! and ended up saving about 20 shekels on the bath house. We all had fun "swimming" in the Dead Sea, although I personally got out pretty quickly and took photos of the others with B's camera. B, if you are reading this, I would really love to get those photos! Then we showered in the free, outdoor (somewhat chilly) showers, and changed out of our suits, again in the car. I'm afraid I wasn't paying attention and left the driver's door open a couple of times while MB was changing, and the boys in the car a few spots away from us maybe saw something they shouldn't have (oops again). But, we got all dry and changed, and set off for Jlem. By the way, there is an IDF checkpoint on 90. As Jordana told us would happen, they waved us on because the Israelis have no problem with profiling, and they knew we weren't terrorists, so no passport checks or questions for us.

Back in Jlem, we must have had dinner, but for the life of me, I can't remember what we did that night, and would love my traveling companions to fill me in on that...

DAY 4 - Old City

Forgot to say before - Mabel, our GPS that made all the difference in the world in our being able to get around Israel with real confidence, is FOR SALE - let me know if you are interested.

OK, we awoke on Day 4 ready for our adventures in the Old City. We picked up J and she walked us over to the Jaffa Gate. We started our day with the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Back in about the third century CE, Queen Helena (Constantine's mother) went to Jerusalem to find the site of Jesus' crucifixion and tomb. There are only hints about the actual spot in the Gospels, but since it was only 300 years after Jesus' death, there were people in Jerusalem who were pretty sure the spot is where she built the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Protestants apparently believe that the correct spot (referred to as "Golgotha" or Place of the Skull in the Gospels) was identified in the 19th century, and is in the current Muslim Quarter of the Old City at a beautiful place called the "Garden Tomb" because there is a rock at that spot that has the appearance of a skull (I didn't visit this spot, but the Vays did). However, Queen Helena's (later St. Helena) research looks pretty good, as the people she talked to were descendants of those who had been around at the time of the crucifixion, and they were sure enough to persuade her to demolish the Venus temple that was on the site at the time. Anyway, there were definitely tombs under the Venus temple, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre was erected on that site and is venerated by Catholics, and I assume many other Christians. It was quite the church, and the politics of its history are fascinating, with competing claims of various churches, such as the Greek Orthodox, the Coptic, the Ethopians, the Syrian Orthodox, to name a few. Take a look at this site to find out some of it: http://www.sacred-destinations.com/israel/jerusalem-church-of-holy-sepulchre Regardless of its chaotic history, this is a magnificent place, and very holy.

From the Church, we wandered through the Old City and ended up, of course, at the Kotel. This is the remaining portion of the western wall of the Temple, which was re-built (you guessed it) by Herod in about 37 BCE. The Temple was truly magnificent, and it was surrounded by huge plazas where pilgrims congregated, bought animals for sacrifice, and sought out justice from the Sanhedrin. The priests were the only ones who could enter the Temple, and only the high priest, one day of the year, entered the Holy of Holies, which contained the presence of God. The western wall was the wall closest to the Holy of Holies. Here are some interesting facts about the site of the Temple (the Temple Mount):

"Mount Moriah, according to Jewish tradition, is the place where many pivotal events in Jewish history took place. Traditionally, creation of the world began from the Foundation Stone at the peak of mountain. This is also where Adam, the first human, was created.

When Abraham was commanded to prepare his son Isaac for sacrifice, the father and son went up to “the place that God chooses” – Mount Moriah, and to its peak – the Foundation Stone – where the binding of Isaac took place.

Also Jacob’s dream with angels going up and down a ladder is linked to this mountain.

Later on, the Holy of Holies – the core and heart of the First and Second Temple - was built around the Foundation Stone."

Mary Beth, Brianna and I made our way to the women's section of the wall, said a prayer, left a note for God, and backed away, as is traditional. Then we had to say good bye to Jordana, who needed to catch a bus to Shalva for her last day of volunteering, and the Vays and I went to the Davidson Archeological Museum at the southern wall. It was very interesting. There was a movie that showed what it might have been like for a Jewish pilgrim who came to the Temple to make a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and there were many artifacts. And, of course, we loved walking around the excavated ruins and just being amongst things that were over 2000 years old.

After the archeological museum, we kind of wandered in the Old City, looking for the Via Dolorosa, which is the path Christ took to the site of the crucifixion, and on which are many of the stations of the cross. We were getting kind of tired and lost, when we ended up again at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and just sat down in the courtyard. That's when MB said "gee, maybe we should have gotten a tour" and voila, a tour group appeared, and we decided to listen in a little. We followed the group into the church, and found out it was a free tour - we were welcome to go along and just tip the tour guide at the end - he was great- very informative, and it was just so nice to have someone LEAD us through the maze. We ended up back at the Kotel, and so I got to say another prayer. We also got to see the Armenian quarter. At the end of the day, we were beat, but I really enjoyed the Old City. That night, we met Jordana again for dinner, and this time she brought Adina and Josh, and we went to the Rimon Cafe (Rimon means both "pomegranate" AND "grenade") in the upscale Mamilla Mall. It was lovely, and the food was wonderful. I had a grilled tuna salad. MB has better notes on what we all ate. Afterwards, I think we hit Ben Yehuda Street for some gelato, and called it a night.

Day 5 coming soon...

DAY 1 - Tel Aviv, Yafo, Sa'ad, Jerusalem!

OK, so I'm not exactly blogging in real time, but I figure some people might like to hear about our trip and see a few key photos, even though we're all back in America and back to our usual stuff. So, here goes:

On Friday, January 1, 2010, Mary Beth, Brianna and I met up at the Rochester airport to begin our journey. I had been a wreck for almost a week, as I am a nervous traveler, but once I got to the airport, things were just fine. We had a great flight to Newark, and then, during our four plus hour layover, we managed to fit in a quick lunch with Kailly and Tommy - we found a great Greek diner that was actually open on New Year's Day, and made it back in time for the long flight to Ben Gurion Airport. My cell phone didn't make it - I managed to leave it in Tommy's car. Thanks for mailing it back, Kailly! I got it when I arrived home.

MB, B and I sat 3 across, and despite melatonin and ambien, I only slept about 4-5 hours, but didn't have any jet lag, so that was good. We arrived in TLV in the morning, and got our little, tiny, stick shift car at Eldan, where they tried valiantly to convince us to take an automatic. But, we were on a budget, and we were bound and determined to save $160! It turned out fine - hairy at times, but just fine.

OK, so here we are, in a car, in a strange land with the map from Eldan. We knew we wanted to go to the beach - how hard could that be?? Well, it turns out it was kind of hard. After many wrong turns, and u-turns due to one way streets, etc. we did end up on the beach and got to dip our toes into the Mediterranean! And we did some great people watching, walked through Yafo a little, and chanced upon a great beach-side restaurant where we ate fabulous greek salad and tahina, and got some badly needed iced coffee (sans ice). Then we walked a little into Tel Aviv, where we just happened upon what we really needed - an internet cafe where we could charge our Israel phone, and call Jordana, to find out where we needed to meet her. Also, we got the most delicious iced tea - herbal tea with mottled mint - it tasted like a mojito without the rum. Yummy.

Then started the real fun of the day. It was shabbat, so I knew it would be tricky getting J on the phone. Well, she missed the first call, and when she called back, I somehow missed that. From there, things kind of went downhill. According to Meir, I called her 17 times, but never heard back. By now it was dark, we had no idea where we were going, and were, well, just a teeny bit frantic. We decided we would just drive to Jerusalem, and let Jordana and Meir find their way back from where they were (we didn't know the name of the kibbutz). Finding Route 1 turned out to be, um, challenging, and just as we were getting directions on the cell phone from the father of a random girl we met on the street in Bat Yam (don't ask how we got there), Jordana called, and we got the full Google map directions to Sa'ad. Once there (about 45 minutes), we met Meir, his brother David (who is in the IDF), David's girlfriend Yael, and much of her family, who all live on this kibbutz which is literally a stone's throw from Gaza (they can see Gaza from their backyard!). We got some cold drinks and were on our way. We stopped off at an Office Depot that we saw in the middle of nowhere, and bought a GPS, with Meir's help (he is fluent in Hebrew). Once we had the GPS (Mabel), we were way better! We got to Jlem, met up with Ilan at the rental apartment, walked to Emek Rafaim for a great late dinner at Cafe Cafe and crashed. More soon (and pix too, once I figure that part out...)

DAYS 2 & 3 - Rosh Hanikra, Akko, Haifa, Caesarea

Woke up feeling pretty good today. As Jordana had finals today and tomorrow, we decided to go north and stay overnight, so we took off in our little Hyundai Getz for Rosh Hanikra at the northwestern corner of Israel. We got there in good time (less than 2 hours?) and discovered a lovely little restaurant at the top of the cliff, where we ate Israeli salad and hummus, and then took the cable car down to the sea grottoes.

The grottoes of Rosh Hanikra were formed by the sea chipping away portions of the soft chalk rock over thousands of years. The grottoes are inhabited by bats, loggerhead sea turtles, sea birds and other wildlife. The place is a part of the Achziv Natural Reserve. It is truly beautiful and inspiring. Directly east of the grottoes is Lebanon.

After exploring the tunnels and seeing the beautiful waters rushing in and out of the grottoes, we headed south. We stopped in the city of Acre or Akko, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, dating back to the time of the Pharaoh Thutmose III (1504-1450 BCE). There, we walked through labyrinthine alleys and streets and explored the remnants of Crusader, Muslim and Ottoman conquerors. We also walked along the walls of the city.

One thing we found everywhere we visited in Israel - every place was built by one group, conquered by another and re-built, and conquered again and again. Since I am not that good at retaining the history of each place, I am incorporating facts from various websites in this blog: "Acre was incorporated into the empire of Alexander the Great after his conquest in 332 B.C.E. The city was subsequently seized by the Egyptian king Ptolemy II, who renamed the city Ptolemais in the 2nd century B.C.E. This name stuck until the Muslim conquest in the 7th century CE, when its ancient name was restored. Confusion over what to call the city was compounded by the Crusaders' conquest in 1104, after which it became known as St. Jean d'Acre, or Acre for short.

In 1291, the Mamluks invaded and destroyed the city, killing every remaining Crusader and putting an end to the Latin Kingdom. Acre ceased to be a major city for almost 500 years. When the Bedouin sheikh Daher el-Omar carved a small fiefdom out of the Ottoman Empire in the mid-18th century, he made Acre his capital and built a large fortress. It was subsequently fortified by the Turkish governor (1775-1804), Ahmad Pasha al-Jazzer ("The Butcher"). The mosque al-Jazzer built is one of the most beautiful in Israel and the most distinctive building in the old city. "

We saw the outside of the mosque, but did not go inside. We did, however, get great pomegranate juice in the market there, as well as fantastic baklava of different types.

"King Richard I of England (1157-99), took Acre in 1191 from the Saracens. He executed 2,700 Muslim prisoners of war; nevertheless, because of his "valorous" behavior during the Crusade, he became known as Richard the Lion-Hearted.

Napoleon landed in Palestine and assaulted Acre in 1799, but he was unable to take the city. His Middle Eastern campaign subsequently collapsed and he withdrew to France.

Acre fell under Ottoman control until the Turks were defeated in 1918 by the British. The city subsequently became part of the British Mandate for Palestine. The British used the ancient fortress, which had never been breached, as a high-security prison to hold (and execute) members of the various Jewish underground groups. On May 4, 1947, members of the Irgun staged a dramatic rescue (dramatized in the film Exodus). Though few Jews escaped, the audacity of the raid was a serious blow to British prestige and a tremendous boost for the morale of the Jews."

OK, now it's getting dark, and we're headed to Haifa. We tried to book a hostel, but the ones we could find were all full (one offered us 2 beds in a dorm plus a bed in the hall). We ended up at the Nof Hotel, at the top of Mt. Carmel on Hanassi Street, overlooking the harbor. Yes, I drove our little Getz all the way up the mountain in a reasonable amount of traffic. Our room had 2 twin beds and a fold out foam couch, which was perfect, and after checking in, we wandered in search of falafel. We found a great falafel stand, and I tried some different toppings with it, like chopped cabbage. It was great. Then, we went looking for a bar, and didn't see a single thing that looked like one until we walked almost back to the hotel. Brianna spied a little bar tucked in and almost obscured by curtains, and we had a great time there - drinks were 2 for 1 because it was before 9 pm, and the bartender gave us little dishes with pretzels, olives, carrots, and feta cheese. Then we walked on the Louis Promenade, which runs along Yefeh Nof Street, behind our hotel. This long and beautiful walkway was built by a Haifa couple in memory of their son, Louis Ariel Goldschmidt, and offers a beautiful view of the lower city and the port.

The next morning, Mary Beth and I set off for the Carmelite Monastery on Stella Maris. It turned out that, while we could access the back of the monastery after a fairly easy downhill trek from our hotel, we couldn't really make it to the front in time to get back for the noon English tour of the Bahai Gardens. So, we wandered a little, and found a beautiful sculpture park, which I will post a photo of. It is called the Mitzpoor Ha-Shalom (Peace View Park) and has gorgeous flowers and trees, views of the port, and many bronze sculptures. It was a neat little find.

Next, we collected our sleeping beauty (that's Brianna!) and walked down to the Bahai Gardens gate for our tour. Here is some info about the Gardens:

Haifa is the international headquarters for the Baha'i Faith, which began amidst persecution in Persia in the mid-19th century. Baha'is believe in the unity of all religions and believe that messengers of God like Moses, Jesus and Muhammad have been sent at different times in history with doctrines varying to fit changing social needs, but bringing substantially the same message.

The most recent of these heavenly teachers, according to Baha'is, wasBaha'u'llah (1817-92), whose arrival was heralded by the Bab. Baha'u'llah was exiled by the Turkish authorities to Acre (Akko), where he wrote his doctrines and died a peaceful death in Bahji House.

The Bab's remains were hidden for years after he died a martyr's death in front of a firing squad in 1850. Eventually, the Bab's remains were secretly carried to the Holy Land. During one of his visits to Haifa in 1890, Baha'u'llah pointed out to his son the spot on Mount Carmel where the remains of the Bab should be laid to rest in a befitting tomb.

At first, the Bab's tomb was housed in a simple six-room stone building, constructed in 1899-1909. In 1921, the Baha'i leader Abdu'l-Bahá (eldest son of Baha'u'llah) was also buried in the shrine.

In 1948-53, Shoghi Effendi oversaw a major enlargement to the shrine designed in the Neo-Classical style by architect William Sutherland Maxwell. The Seat of the Universal House of Justice, where the governing body of the Baha'i Faith meets, was added in 1975-83. Also Neo-Classical in style, it was designed by architect Husayn Amanat.

The famous Baha'i Gardens (a.k.a. Terraced Gardens) were designed by architect Fariborz Sahba and constructed between 1990 and 2001.

The impressive gardens surrounding the shrine were designed and inspired by the doctrines of the Bahai faith. They succeed in blending in and creating harmony with the surrounding slopes ofMount Carmel. The gardens extend over 19 terraces, the highest of which contains the Persian Gardens, with their topiary sculpted into eight-pointed stars. Stone steps lead down the slope to the breathtaking Hanging Gardens below.

The gardens are designed in nine concentric circles that look like waves extending out from the shrine at their center. The gardens combine works of stone and metal as well as fountains, shrubbery, and expansive lawns. The main path is surrounded along its entire length by colorful well-kept gardens that blend in with the natural flora and enliven the surrounding panorama of the mountainside while creating a small nature reserve. The garden has earned the name “The Eighth Wonder of the World” and on July 2008, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee added the Baha'i Shrines and Gardens in Haifa and Acre to the eleven World Heritage Sites in Israel.

We left Haifa after touring the Bahai Gardens, and had a GREAT time when we stopped in Caesarea on our way to Jerusalem. Caesarea is one of many sites in the Holy Land that was built by King Herod, who seemed to REALLY want to impress the folks back in Rome with his prowess. He chose Caesarea, a place that did not in any way lend itself to being a harbor, to build the world's largest (at the time) artificial port, and his engineers even developed the first concrete (made of volcanic ash) that hardened underwater. In addition to the port, Herod built a palace for himself, a Roman Circus for chariot races, gladiator contests and throwing various people to the lions, and an amphitheatre for concerts and other less bloodthirsty entertainment. We started out our tour with 2 excellent films about the building and history of the city. This is all in an Israel national park, and it was so different than a U.S. national park - it has beautiful shops, art galleries and restaurants, that people in the area come to even if they are not touring the ruins. It was really lovely. After climbing around the ruins, and hearing a Japanese choir sing in the amphitheatre (improptu), we had a fantastic sushi lunch/dinner in one of the restaurants. Our waitstaff was very nice, and the waiter was particularly cute, according to Brianna!

Then back "home" to Jerusalem, where we finally got to see Jordana's dorm, her room and her roomies. That really helped me, as mom, to feel better - seeing where my daughter has been living and meeting her friends, who I recognized from the many photos on facebook.

That night, we had our introduction to Ben Yehuda street, got some food (I think), got some gelato (definitely), and went to the bar with the Bob Marley poster. There we had our first completely legal drink at a bar with J and B, though J isn't too keen on alcoholic beverages anyway. But, we had a toast.

Another wonderful, action-packed day in Eretz Yisroel.