Tourism Archives - Page 84 of 95

Mount Carmel, Then and Now

If you’ve driven through the two Druze communities on Mount Carmel, you may have wished you could have found out more about this Arab group that is loyal to the State of Israel. A recent article in the Jerusalem Post gives some insight into their culture and cuisine.

“Sometimes when people come here and talk to the Druse, they learn about the conflicts that Druse have as young Israelis and young Druse. They learn about how they fit in with the society. One of the conflicts we have is how we are seen by Druse in Syria and Lebanon, who are loyal to the countries they live in. We are often in a position of being between a rock and a hard place. We are seen as enemies of their countries but we are also related to them by faith, religion, and also our family relations.”
Zidane spoke of other conflicts, like the state’s plan to build gas lines passing through the village’s agricultural lands, or the way that he is always taken aside for extra questioning at Ben-Gurion Airport because he has an Arab name, and how that makes him feel as an officer in an IDF reserve unit.
More than anything else, Zidane spoke about Druse and the army. This is mainly because it’s what Israelis most know about the Druse, and what they often want to talk about. Like other aspects of being Druse, Zidane said it is not all very simple.
“I think that when people think of Druse, the first thing they think of is the army. Yes we like the army, we serve in it, but I think all the citizens should do it, even an Arab Muslim or Christian should. We are loyal and we have proven it, and now I don’t want to only be treated by this subject. I don’t think we should stop serving in the army, but it’s not the only thing we can do.

For a perspective on the ancient significance of Mount Carmel, see this recent JPost column by Wayne Stiles.

Daliyet el-Karmel, Druze village on Mount Carmel

Tagged Tourism

En Gedi Never Fails to Disappoint

This article by Yoni Cohen may be the most worthless piece of reporting I’ve seen in years of reading the Jerusalem Post. I can’t imagine that it took more than five minutes to write, nor can I understand why the Jerusalem Post is not exercising some editorial oversight over an article linked from the site’s front page. Perhaps these days it’s all about getting the “clicks,” but ultimately I think it’s a bad strategy.

The five photos are all blurry (to my eyes), but the three brief comments currently posted are more helpful than the article itself.

[This blog post took less than five minutes to write, but this illustrated page about En Gedi took much longer to create.]

Tagged Dead Sea, Tourism

The First Jerusalem Marathon

If you’ve ever been lost in the streets of Jerusalem, you may not be surprised to learn that the race leaders of the first Jerusalem marathon took a wrong turn and finished the race at the “wrong finish line.” From the Jerusalem Post:

The first runner to arrive at the actual finish line was Kenyan Robert Cheruiyot with a time of 2:27:48, but later on Raymond Kipkoechh, 34, of Kenya was announced as the official winner with a time of 2:26:44 after apparently going off the course and arriving at the finish line of the half-marathon in a different location. […] 1,500 people began the 26.2 mile (42 kilometer) race at 7am, followed by over 8,000 half-marathoners and 10k-competitors an hour later. Two jazz bands played while runners were completing their final preparations at the start.

Maps of the courses are available online (full marathon, half marathon, and 10k). The official website gives more details and starts the countdown to next year’s marathon on March 16.

Tagged Jerusalem, Tourism

Touring Israel

A number of articles or blog pieces have appeared recently about various sites and trails around Israel.

Shmuel Browns recently completed an eight-day hike on the Israel Trail, beginning at its southern end near Eilat. He posts some reflections and photos from his experience. The last picture in particular should get some of you to thinking about when you’re going to book your next flight to Israel. Browns also recommends a hike from the Timna Valley where one can see many plants in bloom this time of year.

Yoni Cohen writes in the Jerusalem Post about hiking in the Yehudia Forest Reserve, though the article is too brief. The National Parks official website has similar information, and I noted previously (with links) that this is the best place to hike in the summer. Last week Cohen wrote about Ein Akev and Ein Zik near Kibbutz Sede Boqer.

Ferrell Jenkins has written about two of the lesser known sources of the Jordan River, the Nahal Senir (Hasbani) and the Nahal Iyon (Bareighit). He also recently pointed readers to his free guide to biblically related artifacts in the British Museum.

Leon Mauldin is touring Israel now and has recently visited Gordon’s Calvary, Anathoth, and Gibeon.

Carl Rasmussen has begun a blog and his most recent post features several beautiful photos of a synagogue mosaic at Sepphoris.

In a new column at the Jerusalem Post, Wayne Stiles writes of Tel Dan and Qumran. On his blog, Stiles notes the release of a DVD four years in the making entitled “Experience the Land and the Book.”

Tagged Tourism, Travels, Weekend Roundup

Israel to Remove Minefields

Israel has finally decided to remove its minefields. From Arutz-7:

A law that will require the removal of all known mines in Israel passed its second and third Knesset reading Monday. The law, originally sponsored by former MK Tzachi Hanegbi (Kadima) and later by MK Roni Bar-On (Kadima), was approved by a 43-0 vote. It authorizes the Defense Ministry to set up a new department that will be responsible for clearing minefields in the Negev, Golan, and other parts of the country that the IDF had set up in the early days of the state.
[…]
Among those present in the Knesset plenum as the law was passed was Daniel Yuval, who was badly hurt several years ago when he entered a minefield in the Golan. Yuval, now 13, lost a leg to the mine that exploded when he inadvertently stepped on it in a snow-covered field where signs indicating that the field was mined were difficult or impossible to see. Yuval became an Israeli ambassador for the cause of land-mine removal, speaking around Israel and at international forums on the problem of land mines.

The full story is here.

Minefield near the southern end of the Sea of Galilee

Tagged Golan, Tourism

Tomb(s) of Noah

In Lebanon, just northeast of the city of Zahle, there is a small village named Karak Nouh. Karak Nouh is located in the Beqaa at the eastern foot of the Mt. Lebanon range. In a building adjoining the village mosque, there is a long sarcophagus draped in a green cloth. It is claimed this is the tomb of Noah.

Karak Nouh, Lebanon.

Mark Twain wrote about his visit to Karak Nouh in The Innocents Abroad.

Noah’s tomb is built of stone, and is covered with a long stone building. Bucksheesh let us in. The building had to be long, because the grave of the honored old navigator is two hundred and ten feet long itself! It is only about four feet high, though. He must have cast a shadow like a lightning-rod. The proof that this is the genuine spot where Noah was buried can only be doubted by uncommonly incredulous people. The evidence is pretty straight. Shem the son of Noah, was present at the burial, and showed the place to his descendants, who transmitted the knowledge to their descendants, and the lineal descendants of these introduced themselves to us to-day. It was pleasant to make the acquaintance of members of so respectable a family. It was a thing to be proud of. It was the next thing to being acquainted with Noah himself.

There is another tomb of Noah in the city of Cizre, Turkey (pronounced Jizre). Cizre is on the Tigris River, north of the location where Iraq, Turkey, and Syria all meet. To the east is Cudi Dağ, identified as Mt. Ararat in some traditions.

Tomb of Noah, Cizre, Turkey.

Evidently, there is also a shrine to Noah name Hazrat Nuh in Kerak, Jordan. I have not visited this one, nor do I know if there is a tomb associated with the shrine. I believe the shrine is the small, turquoise building at the far left in this photograph. It is located in a cemetery on the northwestern edge of the modern town.

Kerak, Jordan.

Tagged Jordan, Lebanon, Tourism, Turkey