Haifa's Panarama

Today is Shabbat, a special day in Israel, a definite necessity after our overseas flight, time in Yafo and two weeks of traveling. Today is a gift, a day to slow down and enjoy the gift of life and God’s creation.

A pool along the Dan Panorama, Haifa

We began the day with a great supper at Burgus Burger Bar, a short walk through a garden and past a fountain, about two blocks from where we are staying. We had a leisurely dinner with our new friends from the afternoon’s hike. I should note that the Jewish day starts at Sunset, “And there was evening, and there was morning…”

Dan Panorama Promenade in Haifa, Israel

After a fitful rest, we awake to a bright new day. Some of the family slept in, because it was the Sabbath. There is no rush, and the day was created to enjoy. We walked through the garden again to Landwer for an Israeli breakfast: a farmer’s omelette (with mushroom, spinach, leek and goat cheese), scrambled eggs, shakshouka, Israeli salad, tuna salad, cream cheese, feta, olives mix, labnah and chickpeas, eggplant cream, tomato salsa with tahini, guacamole, sweet yogurt with granola and honey, halva spread, fruit jam, whole-grain wheat bread. and coffee. We took our time.

No traffic on the normally crowded main street!

The city of Haifa is at rest on Saturday. Offices are closed, public transportation comes to a stop, and the hustle bustle of daily live comes to a halt. We took a walk in the afternoon along the Dan Promenade.

Downtown Haifa at the bottom of Mount Carmel.

We took a hike along the top of Mount Carmel, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. We could see downtown Haifa and ships entering the port.

Ships entering Haifa Harbor. Also Bahai Gardens

Bahai Gardens spread out below, and the Jezreel Valley opened to the east. Akko could be seen to the north, and I was told that on a clear, dry day, it is possible to make out Cyprus. Our day is ending with strawberry mint tea and awaiting Shavuot to arrive this evening.

** Today's post is from Haifa looking north; Yesterday I wrote about a trail going west. Both overlook the Mediterranean where Mount Carmel projects into the sea. This is probably the place Elijah came to find the drought breaking rain in 1 Kings 18.

Israel Adventure - Day 9

This is Shabbat, and in Jerusalem most people observe Shabbat. The streets are quiet, and most businesses are closed. We began the day by finding a restaurant in Jerusalem's First Train Station, a modern center with shops, amusements, and many special events such as the National Book Week taking place this week and the film festival we enjoyed there two years ago.  Of course the book fair was closed for Shabbat, but two restaurants were open for breakfast. We had Mediterranean shakshuka with eggplant and feta and nutella rozalach.

The restaurant was interesting - a railroad car served as part of the decor. Restrooms were located inside the train, and storage was above. Chelsea asked why I didn’t design her bedroom like that with her bed on the top level.

Following breakfast we walked to the Old City and entered through the Jaffa Gate. We met a couple of tourists from London, England who took our picture.

Upon entry we went up on the ramparts, or walls around the city.  We went north and then east, from the Jaffa Gate, over the New Gate, past the Damascus Gate, beyond the Herod Gate, and to the Lion’s gate.

Of course the walls have a military purpose, so several areas are built like fortresses. This one is at the Jaffa Gate. It is a well-fortified tower which provides visibility in over a 180-degree range. The towers can be several levels high.

The walk along the walls provides many great rooftop views, including this view of a family Mosque built on a later (but destroyed) tower along the walls. (The walls are 500 years old.) Across the roof of the Mosque you can see Jerusalem is a city of many faiths: Islamic, Christian, and Jewish. The steeple above is (I think) the Lutheran Church and a Christmas star also adorns the skyline to the right of the Mosque.

Along the tour, the Dome of the Rock was visible at several points.

The Mount of Olives is also visible in the background in this picture.

Along the wall we saw doves, sparrows, lizards, cats, and other interesting sights.  The day was quite warm by the time we were walking the wall. There were a few areas of shade, but mostly sunshine.

We walked up and down along the wall with the lay of the land of the hills of Jerusalem.

We could see both into the walled city and to the outside city of Jerusalem. Here is the view of the Damascus Gate, headed north. This gate is the main gate to the Moslem Quarter of the city. We entered through this gate many times when we came to Jerusalem four years ago. Our motel was about five blocks north of the gate.

Following our walk on the wall (which took almost two hours) we exited at the Damascus Gate and walked through the market to get a Coke. We looked at the shops around us, then went on our next adventure. Earlier this year when I was researching early Christian worship with Sarah for one of her classes, I spotted that the oldest church in the world is St. Mark’s Syrian Orthodox Church in the old city.  

After finding our way there (the church is on a back street), we entered the outside patio, only to find the church itself closed. We sat in the shade a minute, then a German woman came downstairs to see why we were there. She called her son who spoke English to talk to us, and he told us that the woman who gives tours was taking her nap and to come back in two hours. We were about to walk out when she came downstairs and took us inside the church.

She told the history of the church and its site which goes back to the Last Supper in the Upper Room. (Mark invited Jesus to dine at his home for Passover.) This was also the place where the disciples went after Jesus died and when the Holy Spirit came upon them.

She showed us the altar, which was beautiful. There is a painting of Mary and Jesus traditionally created by Dr. Luke (of the Bible). It is painted on leather and the faces show up when a candle is placed in front of the picture. Mary is holding Jesus as a baby, but his face is painted as an adult.

She explained the Upper Room is now downstairs - because as cities grow older and go through the cycle of destruction and rebuilding, they grow upwards. We went down the stairs to a well kept stone room, which definitely does not date to the period. The building in which the church is meeting is fairly new, only about 800 years old. There is a history (on the link) which tells how during restoration of St. Marks an inscription was found from the sixth century which says, “This is the house of Mary, mother of John, called Mark. Proclaimed a church by the holy apostles under the name of Virgin Mary, mother of God, after the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ into heaven. Renewed after the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in the year AD 73.” Pilgrims visited this site as early as 333 AD.

After our visit to the church we headed home. But before we arrived we stopped at the lion fountain and Chelsea and Sarah dipped their feet in to cool off. Then we returned home for a rest.

At dinner time we ate hummus at Jerusalem’s First Train Station again and shopped at the book sale. Most of the books were in Hebrew, and some were familiar because we knew the cover. (Dr. Seuss collections, Disney Collections, and others).  We also saw a few books in English. We enjoyed practicing reading some Hebrew and looking through the books.

Israel Adventure - Day 9

We began our morning drinking coffee with Dr. Kalman, the professor from Hebrew Union accompanying the group, on Ben Yehuda Street (a modern pedestrian shopping district in Jerusalem). The time was a casual pre-orientation. During the meeting we were serenaded by a saxophone playing on the mall (including Rebbe Elimelech and Eliyahu HaNavi). Dr Kalman just arrived, and most of the group was getting over jetlag. He gave us some details of what we are doing today and the next few days.

Following coffee he took us to the pedestrian grocery shuk (market), Mechane Yehuda, a few blocks away. We visited a crowded pre-Shabbat market with every kind of food available. We purchased halva and cherries. We also heard a man playing the electric guitar as we waited for the group to finish shopping.

After shopping we parted ways with the group, taking the light rail to Mt. Herzl. There is a cemetery there for Israel’s heroes. Theodor Herzl is buried at the top of the mountain, over which the views are spectacular.

We boarded a bus from there to Ein-Kerem, the home town of Zechariah and Elizabeth. As we rode through the terrain and entered the village I thought about my book Advent Journeys, which in Week 2 looks at the route Zechariah the Priest and Joseph, the father of Jesus, travel to the Temple.  I could clearly pick out the route.

The village is in a valley formed by a spring, called Mary’s Spring, where water is constantly running. Above the spring we walked up the mountain to the Church of Visitation. We saw many other pilgrims also visiting the church. We also visited the church of St. John the Baptist, a Franciscan mission. We took a break at a nearby shop and drank Coke while watching pilgrims making their way to the Catholic sites in the area.

From Ein-Kerem we took the light rail back to the Damascus gate. We entered Jerusalem; it was crowded and noisy. It was Ramadan and also Erev Shabbat (the evening Sabbath begins). Shopkeepers were announcing their wares. Many women in their Burkas were in the streets. We made our way through the Old City to the Jaffa Gate, where we crossed the street and entered a park. In the park there were fountains and children playing. It was a hot day and the Sabbath.

We continued past the Artists’ Colony (closed for Sabbath) to the Windmill and Lion’s fountain. Chelsea and Sarah had fun walking in the water. Then we came home.

After a rest at home we visited Shira Hadasha Synagogue, a Modern Orthodox place of worship about one block away. Most of the worship liturgy was sung. Worship held our attention (even though it was in Hebrew), and was a great way to end the day.