Subject: Report #100 Haifa ,Israel April 9, 2016 Saturday Partly cloudy & 78 degrees Part #1 of 2 79 Pictures
Today's port of call was Haifa, Israel, our first stop in the Mediterranean Sea. It has seemed to sneak up on us, since yesterday we were still in the Arabic region. Anyway, here is a little info about Israel.
It is a rather small country with 8,520 square miles and a population of 7,233,701 citizens. The capital is Jerusalem and the official language is Hebrew. The modern state of Israel was created in 1948, and is the most contested terrains in the world. It is rich in sacred history for the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Both Israelis and Palestinians consider it to be their homeland.
Israel has endured six decades of tension and outright conflict right to this present day. In fact, we are never guaranteed that the ship will stop in these ports. Today was OK, but who knows about tomorrow.
The best time to visit here is anytime, except during major Jewish holidays. We had the questionable pleasure to visit here in 2007, when all of the religions happened to have their major holidays on the same week. Many of the highlights of our tours were closed to the public, and everywhere we went was extremely crowded with locals as well as tourists. For us, it was a one- time visit.
The top things to see are Jerusalem's old city, the Western Wall, the Temple Mount, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Mount of Olives, Bethlehem, Tel Aviv, Caesarea's Roman ruins, Crusaders castles, and the UNESCO World heritage Site at Akko (Acre) are among other places to see.
What is there to do? Try floating atop the waters of the Dead Sea, so salty you cannot sink. Follow Christ's footsteps through Galilee, Tiberius, and the Sea of Galilee. Hike the nature reserves of the Golan Heights, or climb a mountain in Israel to see views of the Red Sea, Jordan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia. Come to think of it, didn't we just do that a few days ago?
What do people like to eat in Israel? Hummus is a national obsession. The up and coming drink favorite is wine, award winning varieties, and the list is still growing, as are the many vineyards in the country sides.
Here's some info on the city of Haifa. It is Israel's third largest city, dating back over 3000 years. Beautiful beaches attract tourists on summer weekends. Another big attraction is the Baha'i Gardens, built on the slope of Mount Carmel. At the foot of the gardens is the German Colony, funded in the 19th century. There are dozens of museums, shops, cafes, and small hotels on this street.
Some of the tours offered here include all day trips to Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee for 9 ¾ hours for $140. Golan Heights and Galilee for 10 hours costs $150. Panoramic Nazareth and the Sea of Galilee for 8 ¼ hours runs $135. This tour comes with the "one man" walking symbol which means it is a bus ride, drive-by tour. By the way, all of these tours include lunch. Two shorter tours are Acre and Baha'i Gardens for 5 hours at $90. And Sensational Caesarea for 5 hours at $100.
There were two overnight tours to Jerusalem. One included Masada for 2 days and 1 night for $700, and the second one included Bethlehem, Nazareth, and the Sea of Galilee for the same amount of time for $680.
So, what did we do today? First, we had to attend an Israeli Immigrations Procedure, which took place in the King's Room on deck five. It began around 7:15am, and probably began with our group (S) and those who were going on early tours or overland. As Barb always got the S group, we had asked her what it meant. She said it meant "Special"…. Of course it was. No, what it really means is suite rooms (deck seven) and all of the President's Club members. We could go anytime we wished. Now the funny thing is that even though it states in our letter that we had to bring our printed letter with us, no one ever asked to see it, nor did they collect it. As far as we can remember, that was only done once. Now folks can go through the line with high numbers, and no one questions it.
First, we are handed our passports with the landing card placed inside them. One by one, we are brought into the room where officials check out the landing card, check out your photo, then stamp the landing card only. This is good, because when entering some other foreign countries, it is not a good thing to have an Israeli stamp in your passport. Some countries can refuse your entry with that stamp. Don't know the politics behind this, but that is the way it is. And we are required to pack the passports and the landing card with us when we go ashore here in Haifa, and also in Ashdod tomorrow.
Breakfast was next on the agenda. They have run out of all berries, and no more will be delivered until Greece, we heard. Spoiled, we are. Apricots and bananas would have to do.
We left the ship by 10:30am and found the weather to be rather depressing. The skies were gray and overcast, although it was not cold at all. Sure felt like rain, but that was not in the forecast. Should have trusted our instincts and not the newsletter on the ship.
Leaving the ship is a bit complicated here in Haifa. The dock area is restricted…..no buses, vans, or taxis are allowed to park outside the gangway. We had to walk the length of the ship to a secured terminal building. At the entrance, a guard checks your passports and landing cards, before you go through the xray. Then you go up an escalator to the upper terminal, where maps and info people direct you to the sites. Outside, there are taxi guys galore. A very good thing is a printed taxi guide on the wall of the building. It gives rates for taxi rides to Nazareth ($50), Tel Aviv ($124), Ashdod ($165), Jerusalem ($205), and Masada and the Dead Sea ($323). We are not sure that is round trip or not, as they also posted a drive to the airport, which would be one way.
From here, we walked across a bridge, which took us over the railroad tracks, and to the main street on the waterfront. Following a city map, we made our way to the German Colony on Ben Gurion Street. It was founded in the 19th century by Germans who came to start a Christian community in Israel. The old stone buildings have been revived, and is now a trendy spot with many hotels, museums, restaurants, pubs, and cafes. Checking menus on the way up, we found the perfect café that served margherita pizza. Great, we would be back here for sure.
At the top of the street, we ran right into the bottom level of the Baha'i Gardens. In order to enter the gates, you must be wanded by security guards, and have any bags checked. Only a couple flights of steps are allowed to go up this tiered garden. There are a total of 19 terraces, with a golden-domed Shrine of the Bab near the center. It is the resting place of Herald the Prophet of the Baha'i faith. It is the place of a pilgrimage for the folks of that faith. There is an entrance that takes you to the middle of this garden, but it is accessed from the top. We were advised that it was closed on holidays and Saturdays, which may not have been correct information. The best photos are taken from the bottom, we think. So that is as far as we went.
Last year, we tried to walk to one of the famous beaches. This time we studied the map, and found rural street that took us to where we wanted to be at the Stella Maris area. It was a long walk, but mainly, it was slightly downhill all the way through residential stone housing. Mostly apartments built on the steep hillsides.
Eventually, we came upon the Stella Maris Church and Monastery on top of the mountain. A Cable Car Station was on the top, sending down three round cable cars at a time. Also on this hillside was Elijah's Cave, where the prophet was believed to have lived and taught. Near this spot was the National Museum (closed), and the Naval Museum (also closed).
At this point we were able to cross the highway, and go down a tower of stairs to the Bat Galim Promenade and the beach area. It is also the lower end for the cable car ride. Under the building where the cable car goes around, is a nice restaurant called Shawatina by the Beach. There were many local customers there sipping wine as we walked by.
Making our way to the sandy beach, we had the wildest thing happen to us. Actually it was happening to everybody at the beach……it was the attack of the ladybugs. They were everywhere. We learned that when you see extra-large ladybugs, you can expect to find their source of food. In this case, it was hundreds of thousands of tiny black bugs, like mites. Wearing a yellow green t-shirt today was not a good choice, because these bugs were attracted to that color. In seconds after seeing the ladybugs, at least a million of the tiny black bugs covered Bill's t-shirt. It was disgusting. We were not alone, as everyone was brushing the bugs off of their clothing. Must be the time of year we guess. I had the job of brushing these insects off all the way back to the restaurant in the German Colony. Strangest thing to occur in a long time.
Making our way back to town, we went directly to the Garden Café, running right into friends Bill and Leta. They had chosen the same café, and were going in the same time we were. Made sense to share a table, which was really fun. Good thing we decided to sit under large umbrellas, because we heard thunder and suddenly it began to rain. That was not in the forecast, but as we said in the beginning, we felt it in our bones. The rain and came and went, and by the time we finished our meals, the rain had stopped. We got back to the ship by 5pm, and worked on photos and reports until dinnertime.
We thought five would be missing tonight, but only Martha and Barb were gone. Paul and Bonnie had called and said they may be late, and if they were, they would eat at the kid's table. Turned out that was where they ate a quick meal, taking their dessert back to their room, as they often do. All of us had done something different today, so the night was full of shared stories. Always interesting.
The ship did not leave the port until almost midnight, and tomorrow's port of Ashdod, obviously located very close to Haifa, will be another busy one.
Bill & Mary Ann
The port of Haifa, Israel
A few boats in Haifa Port
Welcome
The pier is being remodeled
Israeli flag flying under gray skies
Buildings near the pier and the Baha'I Gardens in backround
Buildings near the port
The dock near the ship
Government Offices
The gangway on deck A
Pier parking lot was off-limits to buses and taxis
Looked abandoned
Good time to wash windows and paint later
Long walk to the terminal building
Going into the pier building
Safety instructions
Set taxi prices listed outside the terminal (not sure if they were one way only)
Crossing over the bridge to town
Looking towards downtown Haifa
Welcome sign
Train tracks beneath us
The Dagon Grainery
Apartment buildings near the German Colony
The Grainery
The start of the German Colony
City Center Shopping Mall (McDonalds was there.)
The City Museum
Old German building
A new cafe
Walking up Ben Gurion Avenue
A small hotel
A roundabout in the German colony
More historic spots
Most of these sites were closed as Saturday is their holy day
Many cafes
Another small hotel
Yes, one more hotel
Built all the same
A pleasant place to eat
Set for a party later on
This place has pizza on the menu….we will be back
Outdoor eateries
Sidewalk cafes
Rock-covered structure
Information stop was closed all day
This looks like a fun place
The Baha'I Gardens
A lone parrot
The golden-domed Shrine of the Bab
A beautiful fountain at the bottom
Well-manicured gardens
Pansies
Great place to rest and enjoy the scenery
Fragrant tree rose and red petunias
Not a weed anywhere
Well-guarded gardens
Lotus-shaped fountain
Warning: don't touch the water
Another warning: do not sit on the fountain wall
Sacred waters
Second level fountain
View from the stairway
Geometric design
Two sets of stairs
A friendly cat
Life is tough?
No access to this part of the gardens
You can go no further
Closed to the public
Coming back down
Water flows around the center
Center gardens
View from the top
Notice the guards at the gate
Mary Ann still sitting
Eagle sculpture
Geraniums
Lotus fountain
Ben Gurion Avenue and German Colony
