For the next week I’ll be writing (and Twittering @DonnaMuse) from Israel while on a trip with fellow travel bloggers. Hope you enjoy our journey!
Haifa and Bay. (Photo: Donna M. Airoldi)
El Al
Flew El Al for the first time yesterday, and everything you hear about the extensive security process and questioning is acutely accurate. For whatever reason, I got flagged for extra questioning by two security guards (same questions, asked twice) and had to have my luggage x-rayed before I could even check in.
Not that I mind! I’m all for safety and security, especially when I’m flying said carrier.
Had just enough time to hit the business class lounge to enjoy a couple bites of fantastic hummus before our flight was called—along with a few others—and everyone rushed the international security gates at JFK’s Terminal 4. Amazingly, we all made it through in time. Even more amazing? We landed more than an hour ahead of schedule. As for the flight itself, it was full and noisy, but I managed to get about five hours of sleep. Great pitch on the economy seats, just beware of front recliners if working on your laptop.
Ben Gurion Airport notes: no forms to fill out for customs when you arrive; avoid the lines outside and use the ATMs located just past the money changing counters before you enter the arrival hall; and luggage comes super fast (JFK could learn a thing a two on the latter).
Road to Haifa
After meeting up with the blogger group, we headed toward Haifa, a modern port city about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Tel Aviv. The early part of the landscape during the drive showed a dry, rocky terrain—lots of limestone—and it wasn’t difficult to imagine the difficulties that early settlers must have had when turning the area into farmland. (Israel is known for its advancements in irrigation.) Today you’ll pass avocado plantations, orange and mango groves, and farms, along with a fair amount of industrial sites.
Our guide, Ziv Cohen, noted as we passed cities set further back in the distance that you could tell which were Muslim by the green florescent lights that illuminate minarets at night. Suddenly, though, the view was blocked by a tall, white barrier that turned out to be a section of the controversial wall that separates the West Bank and areas that are under the Palestinian Authority from Israel. Most of the barrier, however, is a fence, said Ziv.
Haifa
The land becomes mountainous as you approach Haifa, a picturesque city on Mount Carmel that overlooks Haifa Bay and the Mediterranean. It is the third-largest city in Israel and is one of the most secular, diverse and tolerant—so much so that the city’s Minister of Tourism, who dined with us, said that of all that Haifa has to offer, she is most proud of the coexistence of the multiple religious groups in the city. No fewer than five live side-by-side—Jews, Muslims, Christians, Greek Orthodox and Baha’i. (It’s also about the only place in Israel where public transportation runs on Saturday, she said.)
Haifa boasts a thriving seaport—Jordan’s ship cargo comes through it—and growing technology industry. Mount Carmel is where the Catholic Carmelites settled (hence, their name), and the city also houses the Baha’i Gardens, an important site for followers of the Baha’i faith. But more on those after our visit tomorrow.
German Colony
We stayed at the pleasant Dan Carmel hotel at the top of the mountain looking down over the Baha’i Gardens and the bay, and ate at Hasdera 1872 (I particularly enjoyed the appetizer of ground lamb in a grain covering with sautéed tomatoes and green onions), in the city’s German Colony. The area was settled in 1869 by German Christians who were part of the Templar Society, who believed the second coming of the Messiah was near.
Exterior of Hasdera 1872 Restaurant. (Photo: Donna M. Airoldi)
The area’s main street leads to the rising terraces of the Baha’i Gardens and is lined with similarly designed 19th-century limestone buildings now filled with shops, bars and restaurants. (Our restaurant’s lobby floor was glass in order to show how the German’s used the building’s lower-level cellar.) It was nice to stroll down the street and see old, bent trees decorating the historic structures while people relaxed at outdoor tables, drinking and listening to the occasional thumping of dance-club music, while the full moon made the lights on the garden terraces twinkle up the side of the Mount Carmel.
Would have loved to have lingered, had a drink and meet some locals, but, alas, I was tired, and tomorrow will be an even busier day.
