A Tale Of Two Old Cities: Jerusalem & Bethlehem (Part 1 of 2)

We recently spent a few days in Jerusalem and Bethlehem without any firm sightseeing agenda.  We've been to Jerusalem before but we felt like we were always running from sight to sight.  This time, we wanted to stay for the night (which we hadn't done before), spend some time just soaking in the atmosphere, and let the kids do what interested them.  As for Bethlehem, I've taken several day-trips alone to the West Bank, but I wanted Eden and the kids to cross the "Separation Barrier" and see the other side at least once during our time in Israel.  This post and the next one describe our little trip to these two historic cities (Before we leave for Egypt on December 22, I'll also publish a separate blog post on the Separation Barrier and on touring in the West Bank.)

In Jerusalem, we stayed in the heart of the Old City, right near the Jaffa Gate.  At our children's request, the first thing we did after unloading our luggage was to walk along the Old City ramparts.  The kids had a great time walking slowly ("No racing!"), playing sensibly ("No climbing!"), and admiring the views ("Jeremy, get down from there!").  After descending from the ramparts onto the Old City streets ("Jeremy, wait up!"), we visited the Jerusalem Archeological Park, which highlights Herodian, Byzantine and early Arab ruins at the foot of the Temple Mount.  The impressive ruins (which many tourists overlook) include a 1st century Roman street, an ancient mikvah (ritual bath) that Jewish pilgrims used to purify themselves before entering the Second Temple, and ancient stairs and gates that once led to the Temple.  The kids loved climbing on the rocks (to the extent it was allowed), and watching a short movie (in English) recreating what it was like to visit the Second Temple some 2,000 years ago.  After we left the site, we roamed the crowded streets of the Muslim Quarter in search of a kebab lunch for Jeremy (I ate a delicious felafel sandwich.)  We then closed our first day of sightseeing by climbing the tower of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer in the Christian for some awesome city views, as pictured above and below.

Peace, on the ramparts

Spiderman on the ramparts!

View from the ramparts:  Cemetery, Mount of Olives

View from the ramparts: Jerusalem Archeological Park, Al Aqsa Mosque, and Russian Orthodox church

Pondering history at the Jerusalem Archeological Park

Feeling small at the Jerusalem Archeological Park

Feeling small yet?

Children probably played the same games 2,000 years ago

Ok, you get the picture, but Eden said I had to include a photo of myself

I join the crowd at a felafel stand, while Jeremy dodges traffic (and waits for his kebab)

Talia makes friends in the Old City

Traffic and old architecture in the Muslim Quarter

There's always room for soft-serve ice cream

Vendor in the Muslim Quarter

Want some pomegranate juice?

It's a tough climb, but the view from the top is awesome

View looking east toward Dome of the Rock and Mount of Olives

View looking northwest over Church of the Holy Sepulchre

 Dome of the Rock, with Russian Orthodox church

As nighttime fell over the city, there was an entirely different atmosphere.  The tour groups and the crowds were gone and many of the streets were eerily quiet.  We walked through the Jewish Quarter and went to the Western Wall, where the children put prayer notes into the wall's crevices - Jeremy wishing for world peace and Talia wishing that she and her brother would always love each other (where did that one come from?!).  We popped into the lush garden terraces of the Austrian Hospice for some sacher tort and a couple of beers (and apple juices).  We then went back to our guesthouse to settle into our comfy beds, hoping for a good night's sleep.  But it is the Old City after all - we were awakened by multiple, loud calls to prayer an hour before sunrise.

The Western Wall

Talia in front of the Hurva Synagogue

The Austrian Hospice

So, we got an early start to the next day.  We visited St. Anne's, a 12th century Crusader church next to an impressive set of ancient ruins, including the remains of a Byzantine basilica built over a previous pagan temple and the Pool of Bethesda, a water reservoir dating back to the 8th century BCE.  Unlike many other Crusader buildings in Jerusalem, St. Anne's was not destroyed by the Mamluks but was instead converted into an Islamic seminary.  In the 19th century, the Ottomans gave the site to Napoleon III, in gratitude for France's support during the Crimean War.  The site is currently owned by the French government and makes for a lovely archeological detour.  

We concluded our touring in Jerusalem at the Dome of the Rock.  The kids wanted to see "that Gold building" up close again, and we all wanted another chance to experience the beauty and tranquility of the Temple Mount.  The kids quickly finished their sightseeing and decided that the Temple Mount was a good place to play "freeze dance" (a game where someone sings and the others dance until the music stops and then freeze).  You might think that a mother and two kids dancing to their own music would be out of place at the Dome of the Rock, but it really wasn't so unusual. The kids fit right in with all the local children playing soccer and tag.  (Admittedly, we didn't see any of the head-scarved local mothers doing any dancing.  Their picnics looked great, though.)  Visiting time for non-Muslims is restricted to one hour in the afternoon, but it looked like many Muslim women and children were settling in for long afternoon play-dates.  On a hilltop above the fray of the Old City, surrounded by fresh air, plenty of trees, and broad expanses that make for a great soccer pitch, it was easy to see why.  As we descended from the Temple Mount and melted into the Old City crowds again, we marveled at how much there is to see in such a compact area. 

Arched walkway we passed on the way to St. Anne's

St. Anne's, with Byzantine ruins in the foreground

Underground water cistern at St. Anne's

The ruins at St. Anne's, with houses in the background

At the Dome of the Rock

Dome of the Rock

View looking west from Dome of the Rock plaza

View looking east from Dome of the Rock plaza

So, what was the favorite part of our family time in Jerusalem?  For me and Eden, it was definitely watching our children having fun and enjoying each other's company.

Our trip continues in our next post - see you in Bethlehem!

Our Teepee At The Top Of Israel

For the last night of our Sukkot trip up north, we stayed in a teepee (yes, a teepee) in Nimrod, under the shadow of Mount Hermon, Israel's highest point.  The views were fabulous, but to be honest the bare accommodations, less-than-immaculate shared bathrooms, extremely spacey staff, and whipping winds coming in through the top of our teepee all night made us long for the comfy yurt we had slept in for the previous three nights at Genghis Khan in the Golan.  Ah, the ups and downs of life on the road.  We had a great time nonetheless, visiting two sights that were among the kids' favorites in all of Israel, while also sneaking in a brewery and a tour of a chocolate factory.

We also ate two of our best meals in Israel, in places I certainly wouldn't have expected to find gourmet cuisine.  The night we arrived at our teepee we went out to eat in nearby Majdal Shams, a large Druze village that is right on the Syrian border.  Majdal Shams is perhaps best known for the so-called "shouting hill" (about a kilometer east of the town center), where members of the Druze community who were separated from each other as a result of the 1967 war shout to each across the border with megaphones (although the practice reportedly has waned in recent times in favor of cell phones and the internet).  We really didn't get a chance to experience the town, as we arrived after dark and it was pretty quiet.  There were a few places open selling kebabs and felafel, but then Jeremy noticed a mural of a skier (there's actually skiing on Mt. Hermon in winter) and a sign with the odd name "Undefined Restaurant."  We were intrigued.  Run by a young Israeli chef, the restaurant served an appealing and eclectic menu that included freshly baked bread, tasty salads and pastas, Asian inspired dishes, the obligatory (but delicious) schnitzel, a memorable smoked eggplant appetizer, and some of the best red wine we've had since leaving the U.S.  (We forgot to ask the chef why he chose the restaurant's name.)

The night after we left our teepee, we ate in Metula, a picturesque hill town that is surrounded by Lebanon on three sides.  The town used to be known for the "Good Fence" border crossing, which opened in 1976 but which is now closed shut.  We ate at a place called Beit Shalom, which was a truly memorable experience apart from our kids' petulant behavior.  Ah, the ups and downs of traveling with children.  But we endured, sustaining ourselves on outstanding fare right from the backyard, including homemade bread, cheese, olive oil and ravioli, herbs from the garden, and eggs from the house chickens.

Home sweet home - for a night anyway

Not exactly the Four Seasons, or even a Motel 6

The Druze village of Majdal Shams, at the foot of Mt. Hermon

Broader view of Mt. Hermon

Mmm, beer!  (Golan Brewery, Katzrin)

Mmm, chocolate!  (De Karina Chocolates, Ein Zivan)

I'm happy when I have chocolate

I'll take one of everything please!

So, what were the two sights in the Golan that were among the kids' favorites in all of Israel?  The first is Nimrod Fortress, definitely the most impressive medieval castle in the country.  The fortress was built in approximately 1230 by the Muslims to defend against an attack on Damascus by the Crusaders.  The fortress lost its strategic value and fell into disrepair following the Muslim conquest of Akko and the ensuing end of Crusader rule in the Holy Land in the 13th century.  In the 16th century, the Ottomans used the fortress as a luxury prison for exiled Ottoman nobles, but it was subsequently abandoned and then ruined in an earthquake in the 18th century.  The Jews named the fortress after Nimrod, a biblical figure who according to tradition had lived on the summit.  We were wowed by the scale and setting of the fortress, and Jeremy insisted on exploring every staircase, doorway, hallway, alley, and scenic overlook.  And much to Eden's delight, there were plenty of lizards and furry rodents running about.  Here are the pictures, starting with our hazy early morning approach to the fortress from our teepee. 

Photo by Jeremy

Photo by Jeremy

The second highlight of the Golan was the Meshushim Pool, which is part of the Yehudiya Nature Reserve.  This natural freshwater pool is deep and cool and features an impressive basalt rock face, a charming little stream and waterfall, and plenty of parent-supervised climbing opportunities for fearless young children.  It was crowded when we first arrived, but by the end of the day we pretty much had the place to ourselves.  In fact, we were the last ones to leave, as our kids refused to budge until the park ranger told us we had to go.

Park ranger looking over his domain

Before we leave the virtual blogworld of the Galilee and Golan, there are two additional National Parks near the Syrian border that are definitely worth mentioning.  The first is the Hermon Stream-Banias Nature Reserve, which features a very scenic hiking trail leading to a small but raging waterfall; pristine natural springs (no swimming allowed); several historic flour mills; a Hellenistic cave temple; a Roman palace complex built by Agrippa II, Herod's grandson; Crusader and Mamluk ruins from medieval times; and a few holy Muslim tombs.  We didn't have time to see everything (you'd need a few days!), and both our cameras ran out of juice after four days on the road without a charger, but we did get a couple of good photographs.

The second is the Tel Dan Nature Reserve, which is nearby.  This park features beautiful rapids; lush, shaded hiking trails; and ancient ruins from a really, really long time ago - the earliest findings on the site date back to the Ceramic Neolithic Age (beginning of the 5th millennium BCE) and a city was built here during the early Canaanite period (2700-2400 BCE).

Remnants of Temple of Pan, Hermon Stream-Banias Nature Reserve

Banias Waterfall

Jeremy on the trail (barely) on the way to the waterfall

Panorama, Hermon Stream-Banias

Tel Dan Nature Reserve

Talia on the trail, Tel Dan Nature Reserve

What amazes me is that - after all we did in the Galilee and the Golan - there's a lot we didn't see, including some notable nature reserves and a number of ancient ruins (I really don't like to miss ancient ruins).  And we didn't even get to go wine tasting.  I guess we'll have to come back one day...