A Fork And A Suitcase

In an effort to explore Israel a bit more on this trip, we decided to head to Zichron Yaakov, a lovely town located some 22 miles south of Haifa, or a one hour drive north from Tel Aviv.  Zichron Yaakov (more on the town in my next post) was founded in 1882 by 100 Jewish pioneers from Romania. Since we were going to be spending two days touring the area and my friend and I were in need of some spa treatments, we decided to stay at the Elma Arts Hotel. The walls at the Elma Arts Hotel are filled with paintings by contemporary Israeli artists.  Elma also has a really beautiful 450 seat concert and recital hall. Since we booked at the last minute, they only had the Deluxe ($340) room available. The bed was super comfortable and we each had a choice of a soft or a firm pillow. Our room had two balconies, two chairs, and the views were of the Mediterranean coastline and farms. The bathroom was fine, but it definitely did not match the modern de...

This beautiful place was our last stop before returning to Tel Aviv and flying back home. The Ramon Crater in the Negev desert is the world's largest erosion crater.  It was created 220 million years ago when the ocean that covered the desert began to move north.  Slowly, the water and other climatic forces began to carve out the crater and flatten the curve on top. The crater measures 25 miles long and 5 miles at its widest. We drove into the crater and hiked for a few hours.  It was really beautiful, peaceful and eerily quiet.   This is The Prism (The Carpentry) A really unique hill.  After being "baked" in the high heat, the sandstone cooled down and crystallized into prism-like shapes.  Close to sundown the colors were so much more vibrant, I felt as if I were visiting a completely different place.  We enjoyed a fun jeep ride followed by a great dinner at the Isrotel Ramon in Mitzpe Ramon. This was...

Technically speaking, Masada is a mountaintop, accessible by foot or cable cars, and it lays about 1300 feet above the Dead Sea. But it is so much more than that.  Masada is such a powerful symbol of human strength.  King Harod built this fortress in the middle of the Judean desert between 37 and 31 BCE.   It was to be his refuge. Masada included huge storehouses, rain water cisterns,  armory, bathhouses and palaces. This is Part of Harod's palace. When the jews revolted against the romans in 66 CE, a group of Jewish rebels overcame the roman garrison which guarded Masada following Harod's death.  The rebels were known as Sicari, because of their dagger (sica). Following the fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the holy temple (70CE), hundreds of Jews joined the sicari at masada.  The mountaintop became their refuge. In 73 CE, the romans decided to end the resistance at masada by trying to starve the zealots and used ...