Rimonim Marys Well Hotel Nazareth

... hapjes!

Donderdag in alle vroegte op (al gingen er bizar veel wekkers op onze slaapzaal om 7u..) en om 7.45 stonden we bij de bakker, die pizzas aan schoolkinderen verkocht.. " ten minutes" werden weer "ten minutes" en nog eens " ten minutes" , maar om 9u hadden we dan toch ons brood en konden we los.

Het zwaarste deel van de route was meteen het begin: 400 trappen op om Nazareth uit te komen. Daarna een stuk door de stad en toen op een dirt trail. " Follow dirt ...

... from many many countries and they are really well made - the detail is increadible. It is a Sunday so mass was on and the singing was really nice but there were so many tour groups it kind of spoilt to energy throughout the place. There was also a dissapointing sign outside (I took a photo) which is everything that is wrong with religion, it states that Islam is the only true faith and anyone else who dosnt believe in it is condemned - rediculous, I know most religions are guilty of this ...

... her sighing when the waves hit. Apparently she blesses any couple who gets married there (which is interesting, since she killed herself in order to escape marriage). The grottos also used to have a railway run through them, built by the British.
After the grottos we drove down to Akko, an ancient village/city which is mainly inherited by Arabs. Very beautiful. After a dip in the Mediteranean we drove to Ami's work place (he works at a therapeutic horseback ...

Einige P**sonen in meinem Umfeld hi** waren geschockt, als ich offenbart habe, dass ich noch nie auf ein** Hochzeit war. Was daran so schlimm sein soll, weiss ich nicht, jedenfalls hat sich das letzten Sonntag geaenda**t, denn eine Freundin von mein** Manag**in Suraida hat geheiratet und da Suraidas Sohn Abdallah d** Ringtraeg** war, waren Annika, Thomas und ich auch eingeladen.
Nun hab ich ...

... Volontaere, um unseren Arbeitsplan locker zu gestalten und wieder eine Person fuer Al-Mutran abzustellen. Das Al-Mutran ist das Schwestern-Gasthaus des Fauzi Azar und liegt knappe 200 Meter nebenan, ebenfalls in der Altstadt. Es hat drei Wohnungen mit Platz fuer je sechs bis zwoelf Gaeste und ist auch dementsprechend teuer (220 Euro pro Nacht). Deshalb ist auch nie viel los und braucht kaum Personal. Ausserdem ist es vielleicht der beliebteste Job bei uns, da im Al-Mutran arbeiten in etwa ...

... inoffiziell als dessen Wahrzeichen). Dafu** ist die Promenade schoen und am Wochenende gibts so etwas wie eine relaxte Strandgesellschaft. Von Akko nach Haifa kam ich mit dem Zug. Bahnstrecken gibts in Israel zwar nicht viele, ab** das was da ist, faehrt puenktlich und ist sogar guenstig** als d** Bus. Und - tadaa! - bei den Zuegen selb** handelt es sich um die in Deutschland gaengigen roten Doppeldeck**. Heimat pur also. =) Eigentlich wollte ich hi** ja couchsurfen, ab** ich ...

... of a double. I asked if we could have them moved together, by leaving a note for housekeeping (by drawing a diagram of 2 people in the bed together) and left 1 Jordanian Dinar as a tip. When we came back into the room it had been turned into a romantic King bed with crisp white doona, and towels folded into the shape of love hearts! The bath mat was shaped into a rose and happy faces were put on the washcloths with coloured thread. It made our day.

... a beautiful carpet that someone unfurled down the hillside. It is quite a dramatic effect as it leads right down to the main street and towards the awaiting Mediterranean. It is well known that Jerusalem is an important center of three faiths, but what is less known is that Haifa is the undisputed center for this lesser known religion which sees itself as the logical successor of the three others. It is a fitting place as Haifa is one of the only places in the ...

... even at night. We again drove north, 30 minutes or so to the checkpoints marking the line between the Isreali controlled side and the Palestinian controlled side of the line near Jericho. Jericho has been one of the most trustworthy areas of the Palestinian West Bank, where relations have been best, so it was the first area to receive some autonomy from the Israelis. We dropped Doreen at a gas station rest stop and would come back to pick her up again three hours ...

... and only exists because it was stone. There was also a circular stone in the synagogue that was used by a speaker as a platform. Harvey speaks with the guide later, mentioning that the torah is handwritten, and the guide says that not in Russia where he is from, that people can't afford them! Walking away from the group, we notice several animals that look like a large bunny rabbit scampering from rock to rock. This is our first wild animal ...