Sorek (Stalactite) Cave Near Bet Shemesh

More time in the dark...this time in an incredible, natural cave system and now part of the Israeli National Parks - Sorek Cave or Stalactite Cave, was not only beautiful, it was very close to our rental house in Moshav Aviezer. It's way up the hill from the road, keep driving, it's worth the trip. No flash photos but the path is lit. Here are pictures:

More Cave Time in Mey Kedem and Acco

We got up early and drove from Binyamina to Mey Kedem for a guided walk in a cave with water flowing in it. I didn't take pictures in the cave. This cave was part of the water system put in place by the Romans and King Herod to supply water to Caesarea. We saw the aqueduct yesterday and today the tunnel. Great to have that continuity and I did not realize that this was part of the same water system built so long ago but, of course, it makes sense. The kids loved it. We needed flashlights!

Then we drove north to Acco (also Acre) to see this walled city on the Mediterranean with a mix of Arabs and Jews. When we got there and parked, we noticed there was a lot of festivities going on, especially prominent: very fast, horse-drawn carriages zooming about the narrow streets. Not really sure what it was all about and I don't think it was a holiday.

First, we hopped on a boat that took us around the Acco harbor. You get a nice view of the walled city from the outside, some kids were jumping off the wall in the sea. It takes about a 1/2 hour and was worth it. Walled cities are good (like Old San Juan, Puerto Rico) and still have an appeal in the days of sea level rise.

Then we got off and had a fresh-squeezed pomegranate juice, tart but terrific, ate hummus, tabuli, mushroom salad and Greek salad at restaurant right on the water. Delicious food, I should have gotten the name. We then strolled our way back to the car and shopped along the way. We found, what our daughter calls "Hebrew pants," pants she has been looking for for several years and hasn't found them in the States. I call them MC Hammer pants, others have called them Genie pants. I loved the shopping in the old city, so many beautiful dried goods for sale. My daughter also discovered a new favorite...a Nutella quesadilla.

Then we cruised down the coast road in search of wind surfing. There is a place just south of Caesarea where you can not only wind surf, there's sea kayaks, kite boarding, SUP and surfing. Who knew!?! And it's not all gross and over-run with tourists. As a matter of fact, it has a locals-only kind of vibe. The sand was fantastic. 20 scheckles to park. Food for sale. Very casual. Now THIS was like places in Barbados. Only thing missing were the Jet Ski guys. If I can find it on the map, I'll load it up here, but right now, I can't find it in the Google. Here's a picture instead.

Israel is for Archaeology

With the Bar Mitzvah celebration over, we packed up, left the nice cottage and went to the nearby Tzippori Nation Park. Our friend, Rachel, during graduate school, helped to excavate the "Mona Lisa of the Galilee," the floor mosaic that is part of the park and we got a bit of a personal tour from her. At the park, there are two episodes of civilizations and excavations: the Romans and Greeks. It is a fascinating, on-going and unfolding story. Not a Roman outpost, like Hadrian's Wall, but perhaps a rich person's or dignitary's home with elaborate mosaics revealing the significance of the Nile, the importance of water, larger beasts attacking smaller beasts, and Amazons. Really,...Amazons!?!

The grounds here at the National Park offer many interesting places to poke around, including a covered excavation site, a building housing an excavated home, a large outdoor theatre, and a water/irrigation system.

We then went caving with a tour guide in Rhuma (which could mean Roma but the guide, Michael, was only hypothesizing about that) where human-made caves were discovered.  It is thought that these caves were built so that the Caesar could meet and talk with the Rabbi of Tzippori (the one who was redacting and re-creating Judaism for modern times). But no one wanted the other's people to see these meetings so they met in secret, in the caves. Then, we were told, the caves were connected cisterns and filled in with tunnelled-out material. These caves were used as hiding places for Jews when the Romans came by during the Bar Kochba revolt (132-136 CE).  Roman soldiers used to wear spiked shoes (ouch!) and you could hear them coming as they clomped along the limestone.

Came back home tonight, back to Moshav Aviezer.