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.