Israel is 75% Jewish. I’ve never been in the majority before. I’m used to having to explain what matzo is and what a mezuzah is for and, while I’m not a religious person at all, I am culturally Jewish, thanks to my mom and my dad. So there’s a lot of familiar things that are fun to see here.
But it’s also a little sobering. Israel is one serious devotional travel destination for the masses and the fervor of it all can be unnerving. I’m expecting to see a lot of it in Jerusalem but we got a taste of it today when we toured Caesarea, a town built by Herod in about 25 BC. It fell and was conquered and re-established etc. etc. etc.
When we pulled in, there were dozens of buses, and milling around were groups in matching pilgrimage outfits. There seemed to be A LOT of Kenyans. This group was doing some sort of devotional dance in the amphitheater.
Ron did not look amused to be watching this display:
In addition to the amphitheater, there is part of a hippodrome and the remains of a large freshwater pool that sat in the courtyard of Herod’s palace. Here’s the pool, taken over by the Mediterranean.
Our next stop was a winery, where we got to hear the story of a five-generation family winery. We were presented with five wine tastings and I can honestly report that, of all the liquids presented to me in Israel, this item below was my favorite, purchased twice now at convenience stores for $3 a bottle. It’s got a citrusy bouquet and clean taste that I really enjoy.
Ron seemed more enamored of the wine tastings and was happy to be in the company of more cultivated palates, so they could discuss which wines tasted good, as if that were possible. At first I let him have all my samples, but then I started worrying that he’d get lubricated enough to want to make some sort of a toast and so I upended mine into the dump buckets.
Next, it was time to take in more religion, this time with the Bahai Faith, started in 1863 in Persia, with members persecuted in many Middle Eastern countries. We were only allowed to tour the entry garden area of the masoleum that houses the remains of the founder.
Now we’re in Haifa for two nights, using it as a base to tour the far northern reaches of Israel near the border with Lebanon. I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures. One is the view from our hotel, down the hillside to lower Haifa, with a sea of apartment houses and the satellite dishes that dot the tops of the buildings. The second one is for all you Ron fans out there – he never fails to find his doughnut.
Travels with Valerie 