Romans, Romans everywhere! Israel, Day 4

Scythopolis

We left for Tiberium that morning, the intact Roman city Scythopolis that had been buried and recently unearthed.

More than Caesarea, this was a a working city with shops, temples, streets, courtyards, public toilets, theater, and all protected by the earth until it was recently discovered and unearthed a short time ago.

I took Latin in a vague attempt at possibly studying medicine (that didn't work out), so this was a weird trip down memory lane as I tried my hand at reading graffiti or attempting to figure out what a building was before the guide explained.

That was overwhelmed at first by trying to figure out how an entire city was buried by 30 feet of dirt. That defies any attempt as you look up at the ground above and realize that the street you are standing on was once covered by THAT much ground. How does that even happen naturally? And I really should rake the leaves in my yard.

We then boarded the bus and continued through the desert to Jerusalem. That was another striking thing about Israel, the incredible variety of biomes within a country so small.

And Cats...

We finally arrived in the city, got to our hotel, and then headed right back out again to the Israel Museum and a scale model of the city from 2,000 years ago.

 Sitting on a balcony overlooking the area it is easy to locate key features from the model, and the outdoor display is labeled in a way that provides plenty of information, but spread out for the tourist crowds.

We were also able to see the museum housing the Dead Sea Scrolls, as well as the Holocaust Museum. I won't attempt to describe the latter, or try to reduce to words the emotional scale or toll it takes on someone, but will insist that if you go, this is a must experience.

 

 Finally, we boarded the bus, and went out into the city that evening for dinner and drinks. Machene Yehuda Market is a market during the day, then erupts into a street festival in the evening with music, dancing, food and alcohol. And not an issue or problem in sight. It was amazing. And there are no photos so no one can be implicated in anything...

Israel Day 3, Dawn on the Sea of Galilee

I was up before dawn, not for any significant reason, just suffering from a bit of jet lag.

The sun is rising and I have my toes in the water of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus walked on water, where several of the disciples worked as fishermen, and where a number of towns and churches were established. My first reaction is that it was damn tiny. We were in an inlet so not exposed to the entire 13 by 7 mile long expanse. But dawn breaking over a body of water that you've heard in stories your whole life, was fascinating. It wasn't a homecoming, but it was a surreal experience to try to marry decades of mental images from stories to the reality of the cold water washing over my feet.

But here I was, toes in the water, watching dawn break, wondering how many thousands of people had done this very same thing over thousands of years in this spot.

Wide street in Safed

While it was (seasonally) raining we started at Safed, an ancient city (do I need to continue to use that word?) and one of Judaism's holiest. It was small, winding, with slick stones.

Synagogue in Safed

We started the visit with a trip to a synagogue , an explanation of the difference between it and a temple, as well as some background on Judaism including the rules. It was fascinatingly engaging and, after several questions, we were set loose to explore the city in the rain.

The city has an enormous arts community with the fairly common (paintings) and the pretty wild, like a wax/candle shop that makes amazing sculptures. I had a lemonade prepared in front of me by the person reaching out the glass-less window next to him and plucking a fat lemon directly off the tree. Mixed with water and sugar stripped directly from a piece of sugar cane I couldn't say it was the best I've ever had, but it was certainly the freshest.There were art galleries, shops, and museums to visit and we walked through them all.

Next we drove up the Golan Heights and the weather went from a bit chill, to cold, to wow that's deep freeze January weather!

On the way up the mountain we saw large fenced off fields still marked with land mine warnings. Left overs from the war.

We were promised a view of Syria from the top, a former military camp and emplacement, but the weather denied us due to the cold and we were well settled in a cloud bank and could hardly see 10 feet in front of us. But we did get to crawl through trenches and emplacements, enjoy the minimal gift shop and look at photos of what we might have seen had we not been sitting in a cloud.

We THEN (no the day was not over) went for lunch at a kibbutz.  It felt a lot like an American summer camp with bunk houses, activities, and groups moving around.An emerging issue with Kibbutz's in Israel is that they are shrinking in size and no longer able to maintain as family enterprises, having to rely more and more on hired help. Tthese group/family owned joint ventures are worth millions in profits a year but traditionally did not allow new members to join. So as the owners age out, they have come to find that the younger family members left because they were not allowed to join and there's no one to take over.

This is compounded by the fact that they moved from farming to industry and are no longer the innocent small communities they once were.

Following the lunch, we then traveled South to a winery which is a winery. It was nice, but I'm not much of one for wine, so it was basically a liquor tour with a sample at the end.

We returned to the Sea of Galilee for dinner and sleep to prepare for a full day including our first day in Jerusalem.

Israel, Day 2: It's not a sunshiny day

Tel Aviv is a modern international city on the sea. In a country the size of the State of New Jersey, it serves as the flagship of  Israel and all that is possible. Tel Aviv's promise and energy shows in the shops, the restaurants, the civic structures, and the historic artifacts that abound in the clean, safe, and constantly under development city. And it's beaches. Which we drove quickly by in the rain.

We began the tour in the morning with the Port of Jaffa and an Statue of Faith on a hill in the small town lying at the edge of Tel Aviv. The whole area reeks of permanence and history that you find in few places around the world. Particularly in the United States.

But the legends of Jaffa are far older than Israel itself. The stones of the harbor are said to be the bones of the Kraken turned to stone by the head of Medusa held aloft by Perseus. This is the harbor Jonah sailed from before finding himself as whale chow. The port is more than 4,000 years old.

Jaffa and Tel Aviv, weather removed for convenience.

It is impossible not to be aware that you are standing on a paving stone on a street that may have been here at the same time they were completing the Great Pyramid in Egypt. That pretty much sums Israel up - no matter where you stand, sit, or lie, there are thousands of years of recorded history that involve the small piece of ground where you stand.

Simon the Tanner owned the home behind this door. He hosted Peter the Apostle, who raised Tabitha from the dead and received a vision saying it was okay to eat animals traditionally unclean in Jewish tradition. This is it. The birthplace of BACON.

Well, he interpreted it to mean he could teach Christian doctrine to non-Jews. So this is also where the world-wide Christian religion began.
But also, BACON.

The area around Jaff was originally undeveloped land and swamp. This worthless land was purchased by the emigrating Jews  and developed into neighborhoods. We toured the buildings, heard the history, and learned the origins of Tel Aviv and some of the modern nation of Israel.

Orange trees bearing the famous Jaffa Oranges. In February!

Lunch back in Tel Aviv and then we hit the road for Caesarea - our first architectural miracle built by Herod the Great. It has an intact ampitheatre,

a hippodrome,

and artifacts you can watch as the sea slowly takes them.

There's also a gift shop - but this seems kind of half hearted, with a few snacks, some religious material, and t-shirts. It was the first time I've ever experienced a kind-of "myeh" approach to tourism. It wasn't bad, but...is it sad I have high expectations for trinket presentation?

The ruins are old and, if you have any knowledge of Roman history or architecture, fascinating in that they were not built by Romans but to impress Romans. Herod basically out-Romaned the Romans in some respects.

There are even two still standing aquaducts along the beach that can be climbed up and walked, but the are full of sand and trash. Still, it's amazing to stare down the line into the distance and try to imagine the scope of construction without modern equipment.

As the sun set, we boarded our bus to travel to Tiberius, the Sea of Galilee, and Kibbutz Maagan Holiday Village.

Israel, a pilgrimage to see what the fuss is all about...

Never, ever, ever fly into Istanbul Airport.

If you have to fly TO Istanbul, fine. But if you're catching a connecting flight...good luck.

I arrived at 5 am from New Jersey, deplaned on the tarmac, bussed to the terminal. And was told that I would not know what gate my flight was at for Tel Aviv until 30 minutes before it departed.

I was then given the wrong gate three times and barely made it to the plane 5 minutes before departure. God forbid I would have carry-ons, children, or not been able to run a mile in 6.5 minutes. Because everything would have been left behind. And from the number of parentless children wandering the airport, it was clear I wouldn't have been the first to make that decision.

Otherwise I might still be sitting in Istanbul to this day, just missing each new flight as I chased boarding gates around, never quite reaching one.

But make it I did and several hours later, landed in Tel Aviv, made it through customs, and found the guide for the tour group for Israel.

Our guide, Guy, gathered us up as we came in drips and drabs by the luggage carousel. This was my first tour group and I was staying quiet and to myself. I had been warned that tour groups to the Holy Land could attract odd ones and, quite frankly, I was not there for personal reasons including quiet reflection and to explore the roots of my faith. The rest of the group seemed as quiet and to themselves and quickly it became apparent that this would not be a drinking and carousing crowd.

Once gathered and bags collected, we headed out to the tour bus, stored our bags, and then headed into Tel Aviv to the Hotel Cinema. A reception area with light refreshments awaited us while we were given packets to our assigned rooms. I  paid the additional fee for a single rather than take on a roommate. Quiet and solitude was seriously what I was seeking.

With my L'il Deadpool of course

As noted, this was my first tour group. Normally I travel alone, so was not used to having to do the whole "group" thing which included a meeting where we were given our itinerary, some basic rules (stay with the group, don't wander off) and a headset that Guy our Guide could broadcast through over the next week or so. THis was nice, since pretty much no matter how far I wandered off, I would be comforted by his dulcet tones in my ear explaining whatever he was directing the group toward.

The question came up, of course, with regard to our safety. Guy handled the question with grace, explained that we would be fine. He was not dismissive of the concern, but it was clear he was used to getting questions about violence, kidnappings, and the like. On the other hand, the history of violence couldn't be ignored, especially given the double vault doors to our rooms.

The rooms, the staff, and the dinner were quite good. The balcony view of the city with musicians and drinks, unfortunately, reminded me that I had not slept in nearly 24 hours (no I don't sleep on planes) and after a quick walk through the neighborhood for orientation, I immediately crashed.

My view from the room before passing out.

Now's the time...to say goodbye...Chine Day 9

Today is Saturday and a cultural visit day.  The business visits are behind us, but the lessons learned continue to resonate as we move through the city of Shanghai.

On this next to last day we were faced with a prime example of the disparity found in China.  We visited the area of construction for what will be the second tallest building in the world.  It sits in an area that was once rice paddies and is now a fully developed modern economic center.  And this was completed, infrastructure and all, in just 7 years. A shining marvel and achievement to all that Chins is capable. The country and culture that built the Great Wall and The Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

We then visited the Jade Buddha Temple, a direct connection to China's past, surrounded by the impoverished begging for change.  These two sites sit in the same city, on opposite banks of the river, but are an excellent symbol of what China was, is, and could become.  China has the potential to, literally, move mountains to create cities, but it has to develop a way to encourage the population to become independent and self-motivated.

A huge population that awaits instruction for the next project is just a tool and cannot yield the rewards that a large population of motivated entrepreneurs with the resources of the country behind them.

Shanghai Tower under construction

Shanghai Tower

We ascended in the third tallest building in Shanghai, to the left of the Shanghai Tower in the above photo.  Our view from the observation deck included both taller towers as well as an amazing view that entire east side of the river was rice paddies in 2005.  

An infrastructure was developed and built, then buildings, including housing and skyscrapers were constructed in a large area.

Jade Buddha Temple

Our trip to the Jade Buddha Temple was  irst time seeing things behind glass and removed from pubic.  First signs of poverty and begging we had seen.  We toured the working temple, enjoying the stories and artwork until we got to the final room containing the jade Buddha.

This is a working temple and with the traffic it is unfortunate that so many of the ancient screens and religious icons are being worn away as coins being jammed into crevices in the artwork will eventually wear it away until it is unrecognizable.

Silk Factory
This was one last chance to see a major Chinese industry...and buy something for a negotiated price of course.

Yuyuan Garden

In the center of Shanghai is a private home with beautiful gardens built in the 1500's.

Shopping

We finally ended up in a shopping district where we were able to purchase final gifts and spend the rest of our remaining Yuan as we could not trade it back in.

Dinner
At the end of the day a group of us wandered the city in search of Sushi. We located a high end restaurant with an all-you-can-eat and all-the-beer-you-could-drink for a phenomenal last dinner.