Our first getaway...YEAH!!!

  The Galilee, Israel
Thursday, August 9, 2007

So, another full week it's been.  I hope my adventures, stories & occasional history lesson are enjoyable and interesting for you all.  As I can't post ALL the photo's in the text of my entries, I hope you are also checking out my photo album section, as I think I've really been capturing some great shots.  Hopefully, since some images are not possible to capture on film, but will always been ingrained in my soul, I hope my words & stories capture some of that for you.
 
One night Evette says she would like to take me to this restaurant/café she knows of in East Jerusalem.  So, along with our friend Ari, we call a taxi & away we go.  Evette can't remember the name of the place, so we just drive around looking.  The taxi driver was very friendly & enjoyed playing quasi-tour guide along the way.  After awhile, the driver says if we want the best meal in East Jerusalem & if we will trust him, he will show us where to go.  He drops us off at the American Colony Hotel.  Little did we know what a history lesson we would receive, as well as a fabulous meal that for the 3 of us, including appetizers, Turkish coffee, tip, was $80 USD.  Here is a little history about the hotel: The rich history of the American Colony dates back to the late nineteenth century, following a series of tragic events that led Horatio and Anna Spafford, a devoutly Christian family, to leave their hometown of Chicago in 1881 in order to find peace in the holy city of Jerusalem and offer aid to families in distress.

Drawing strength through their faith and comfort from the words of the hymn "It is Well with my Soul," written by Horatio following the loss of his four young daughters in a shipwreck, the Spaffords, together with sixteen other members of their church, journeyed to Jerusalem and settled together in a small house in the Old City.

They were never missionaries, but aimed at living as the early Christians did, a simple life with everything in common. With their charitable door open at all times to both their Jewish neighbours and the Bedouin from across the Jordan River, they soon established good relations with the local population and became well known for their acts of benevolence and assistance to the community. People referred to them simply as 'the Americans.' Seventy Swedes living in the United States joined 'the Americans' in 1894 followed by another fifty five two years later, and the now much larger group required a much larger home. The home they finally bought was initially designed as a palace for a pasha and his four wives. That palace would soon become The American Colony Hotel.

The seeds of the American Colony Hotel were sown in 1902, when Baron Ustinov (grandfather of actor Sir Peter Ustinov), finding the Turkish inns of the time unacceptable, needed suitable accommodations in Jerusalem to house his visitors from Europe and America. Before long, the American Colony emerged as a point of lodging for Western travelers and pilgrims whose expectations for high standards of luxury and service were not met by the establishments then existing in Jerusalem.

The American Colony Hotel has a unique place in Israel's history, having endured countless challenges and damage resulting from the area's involvement in a series of wars.  It was the venue from which a 'white flag,'-made from a bed sheet from one of the Colony's hospitals that is currently displayed at the Imperial War Museum in London-was draped at the end of World War I to initiate the truce that freed Jerusalem from three centuries of Ottoman rule.

The Colony has always been known as a neutral island, remaining outside the turbulent politics of the land. Owned neither by Arabs or Jews, but by Americans, British and Swedes, it has always had friends from all sectors of Jerusalem's mixed society. An 'oasis' where Jews and Arabs comfortably meet, it is also a favorite haven for international journalists, high-ranking officers of the United Nations and diplomats from across the world.
The original founders retained their former home in the Old City and used it for charitable purposes, providing care to the needy and distressed with services that grew over the decades and today include medical, infant welfare and social work departments. 
Although the hotels' active management by the Spafford's grandson, Horatio Vester, was handed over to Gauer Hotels of Switzerland upon his retirement in 1980, the American Colony is still owned by the descendants of the original Founders and its board of directors is composed of family members who remain closely involved. The Colony is a part of their family history, just as it is a part of the history of Jerusalem.
After dinner, we discover this cool room that had maps, photo's & articles from the 1920's.  Even the restrooms felt like royalty.  Hey, are we still in Israel?

 
On August 1st, 2007, Evette & I planned a little 1 night getaway.  We rented a car (which was an ordeal in itself!  Almost 2 hours after completing paperwork & walking several blocks from the office to the garage, we actually received our car.)  We were headed to Sefad & then on the 2nd to Beit She'an.  Don't worry, I'll tell you about these places soon.  Don't I always give you all the info you need??  The night before, I found a website;
y-map.com.  DON"T USE IT!!!  So, it's like MapQuest for Israel.  I plugged in all our info & got what we thought were perfect directions, except they were all in Hebrew.  Evette spend the evening translating then, cutting & pasting pics of each turn, etc...  So, we get our car & start on our way.  All we need to do is get to the first highway.  So, I'm driving, Evette is navigating, we've got good music, air conditioning (YEAH!!)  Suddenly, something feels very wrong.  I say to Evette "honey, I don't think we are supposed to be here!"  We are driving up towards a tall, metal fence, as far as you can see in both directions.  The road suddenly is no longer paved.  Everything on both sides of us is boarded up, totally destructed, in shambles.  We are at the end of the universe.  Can't go left.  Can't go right.  Certainly can't go forward.  Gee, let's see what the several soldiers standing guard by their tank have to say, shall we?  Evette gets out of the car with our map & directions.  I am so freaked out & nervous I don't even think about taking pictures, even though my camera is right next to my seat.  After what feels like 30 minutes, but was probably 5-10, Evette gets back in the car to inform me that ALL the roads that this y-map program gave us are closed as they go straight through the West Bank and all the Palestinian controlled territories.  Apparently, where we are now is at Geder Hahafrada, which is a restricted Arab area with a separation fence dividing East & West Jerusalem.  So, they allow us to turn around & have sort of given us new directions.  So, now that we have turned around & are coming FROM the fence, we now come to a security check point which I assume I can just drive through since just a few feet away, we have just come from the other guards.  I assumed INCORRECTLY!  The guard yells for us to stop, so we do.  Evette tries to explain, but now they want to see our passports, which are in the trunk.  The guard is not happy about this.  Anyway, eventually, after this mis-adventure, we are NOW on our way to Safed, our little relaxing getaway. 
The ride there is amazing.  The sites are breathtaking.  We are driving along the Jordanian border, along the purple Jordan Mountains.  We saw herds of sheep & cows.  We saw camels & Bedouin camps.  And it was hot. Very, Very HOT!!!  Then we drove along the Galilee.  How marvelously beautiful!  Then through Tiberius, across the Gilboa Mountains...it was a fabulous ride.   So, let me tell you a little about the history of Safed:
Welcome to the ancient city of Safed (also spelled Safed, Zefat, Tsfat, Zfat, Safad, Safes, Safet, Tzfat, etc.). A rather small town located in Northern Israel, 3200 feet above sea level in the highest mountains of the Upper Galilee, that commands magnificent views.  These mountains are filled with the magic of the tombs of the rabbis who composed the Kabbalah. 
Its past is also rich and great. According to legend, Safed is where Shem and Ever, son and grandson of Noah, established their yeshiva where Jacob studied for many years. According to other sources, the town was founded in 70AD. The city flourished in the 16th century, when many famous Jewish religious scholars and mystics moved to Safed following the Spanish Expulsion, fleeing from the horrors of the Inquisition. Safed then became the spiritual center of the Jewish world, where Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism) reached the peak of its influence. Kabbalists, made the city famous. It was here that the first printing press in the Middle East was set up, publishing in 1578 the first Hebrew book to be printed in Israel. At that time the town was also a thriving trade center.  However, Safed suffered terribly during the ensuing years due to earthquakes, plagues and Arab attacks. In modern times, the liberation of Safed was one of the most dramatic episodes in the 1948 War of Independence.
Safed is one of the four holy cities in Israel, together with Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberius. The old part of town consists of narrow cobblestone alleys revealing artists' galleries, medieval synagogues, private homes and small guest houses. Despite its small population (ca 27,000), Safed is once again making its mark on the map.
Thousands of Russian and Ethiopian immigrants have made Safed their home in the past decade. There is also a small but vibrant community of Baalei Tshuva. By definition, these are people who made the effort to connect to their Jewish soul and heritage and Safed is definitely a town with a Jewish soul. There are very few distractions, and relations between religious and secular residents are good.  Many Tzaddikim (righteous holy people) are buried around here. After all, as our sages are quick to point out, a Tzaddik never dies. These graves tend to be located in some of the most scenic locations in the Land of Israel and most are easily accessible by foot or car. Many have been transformed into houses of prayer.
 One of the things that made this trip so much more exciting is that we just saw a movie a few nights before called Sodot, which means Secret.  It was an awesome movie that takes place in Safed.   You can really feel the history.  We walked right past the cave that Shem and Ever, son and grandson of Noah, studied & possibly lived in.  The artist's colony was very cool.  We bought a piece of artwork from David Friedman, a kabbalist artist.  We also went to the Safed Candle Gallery/factory.  Anyway, enjoy the photo's in the album, they tell the story better than I can.
 
So, the next morning, we do a little more walking & then get back in the car to head off to Beit She'an.  The modern Israeli city of Beit She'an was founded in 1949, a short time after the establishment of the State of Israel. Beit She'an lies 120 meters below sea level in the Jordan River Valley, 60 km south of Tiberias on Highway 90.  Beit She'an dates back over three thousand years and has long served as a regional center for nearby localities.  The ancient tel of Beit She'an reflects 6,000 years of civilization.  Near it sits Israel's best preserved Roman theatre which once seated 8000, and there is an archeological museum featuring a Byzantine mosaic floor.  Tragically, the entire 6th-century mosaic floor was stolen from the site in 1989.  (it sure makes a person wonder how one walks away with an entire mosaic floor???)  Beit She'an was once a member of the10 most important cities in the Eastern Mediterranean.  Other structures here include a colonnaded street, on the east side of which is a ruined temple which collapsed in an earthquake in the 8th century.  Excavations here have revealed 18 superimposed cities.    Isn't that incredibly remarkable?  City on top of city on top of city...WOW!!!  Again, the experience here was indescribable!  I was in awe that I was here, where so much history exists.  Again, please, don't miss the photo section.  It's sooo worth it.
The Western Bathhouse
Northwest of the theater, at the southern end of Palladius Street, a large bathhouse complex, 100 m. long and 90 m. wide, was constructed in the 4th century. A monumental propyleum (gateway), with columns and carved friezes connected the street to a mosaic-paved colonnade, which led to the bathhouse courtyard. The courtyard was surrounded, on three sides, by broad porticos paved with mosaic or colored marble tiles. The mosaics, according to an inscription, were replaced in 535 with marble pavement. The bathhouse itself consisted of eight halls with an open pool and fountains in front of it. At its center were large halls heated by hypocaust. Stone domes covered the halls, the floors were paved with marble slabs and the walls were decorated with paintings. The building also included two public latrines. The many inscriptions engraved in stone or incorporated in the mosaic pavements indicate renovations and changes made by the provincial governors. An outstanding addition in the 6th century was an apse built in the western portico of the courtyard; it served for public gatherings.
A Synagogue in the House of Leontius
The House of Leontius, so named by the excavators (1964-72), was built in the Byzantine period in the western part of Scythopolis. In the excavations, only several rooms around a courtyard were exposed, including one on the southern side (7 x 7 m.), which had served as a synagogue. Its colorful mosaic floor had an outer belt decorated with flowers and birds, around medallions with animals, created by vine trellises emerging from an amphora. The central medallion enclosed a menorah (candelabrum) beneath the word shalom (peace). Four inscriptions were found in the room: one of the two in Aramaic mentions members of the holy community who contributed to the renovation of the building; one of the two Greek inscriptions refers to Jose the innkeeper, lending credence to the idea that the synagogue was part of an inn.
Several rooms were located on the northwestern side of the building, one of them with a beautiful mosaic floor featuring scenes from the Odyssey: Odysseus bound to the mast of his ship; and struggling to resist the lure of the Sirens. A Greek inscription refers to Leontius and his brother Jonathan, who donated the mosaic floor and wished to be remembered for their deed.
 
This past weekend, we sadly were informed that one of Evette's classmates, who she also taught with every Tuesday, was diagnosed with kidney cancer & possibly spots on his lung as well.  He had to withdraw from school, hopefully temporarily, while he goes through treatment.  After services on Saturday, Evette & I walked to the Kotel, the Western Wall.  It is a centuries-old tradition to place a note with a prayer or request in the Western Wall.  We wrote a note for our friend & placed it in the wall.  It was very emotional for me, as even though I have been in the area of the wall, this is the first time I actually stood right at it, touched it & prayed.