Salt, Sand, and Water (More Israel)

Having hit the highlights of the two cultural centers of Israel, we spent the best part of a week (boldly) driving around, taking in the vast, unforgiving expanse of desert that surrounds them, and attempting to get to grips with the visible legacy of a few millennia of history. We were pleasantly surprised by some parts – the diverse, lively city of Haifa, and the friendly, peaceful desert living in the Negev – but left unmoved by some of the more traditional tourist spots, which were mostly as-promised but to some degree tarnished by overexposure.

Haifa

Israel’s third city by population, Haifa enjoys a long-held reputation as a city of workers, mostly thanks to its large port and associated industry. Lacking Jerusalem’s appeal as a city of spirituality and history or Tel Aviv’s buzzing, youth-driven culture, Haifa’s appeal for most travelers is limited. However, due to its abundance of attractive Airbnb rooms, and its perfect gateway location for visiting the North of the country, we decided to spend a few days in Haifa and see what we could find.

We ended up having an authentic and thoroughly enjoyable time there for several reasons. Unlike Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, which are both extremely conscious of presenting a certain image to visitors, Haifa is very much a city where people go about their ordinary lives getting things done. There’s absolutely no sales pitch to endure as a tourist, and you are free to wander among the somewhat shabby apartment buildings and gleaming new offices where the city’s tangle of immigrant communities are mashed together into a tangy culinary and cultural melting pot. Haifa is the type of less prettified place with a lot of character that we both love, the sort that can be found in many neighborhoods of NYC.

Skyscrapers, the cranes of the port, and some buildings in the process of demolition

Wandering the rundown backstreets – practicality above form

While the heavy industry side of the city appears to have suffered in recent years, and the port has lost business to the city of Ashdod south of Tel Aviv, the tech presence and strong academic offerings of Haifa are budding green shoots. The Technion (Israel’s MIT) is one of the great universities of the world, especially for engineering and computer science. And from what we could see, the relative abundance of space and strong transport links are driving some major investment and construction in Haifa today. Tall, glass skyscrapers and picture-perfect luxury apartment complexes are springing up in the city center and, increasingly, spreading outwards, creating quite a contrast with the mostly decrepit concrete blocks which were hastily put up for the bulging immigrant population. Haifa’s small downtown area is already spilling over with speakeasy-style hipster hangouts and under-the-radar pita joints, fueled by the large student population, but these look set to be joined by some shiny new wine bars in the near future.

Israelis’ rapid evolution – harsh history and entrepreneurial commerce give way to hedonism, before the urge to explore takes over

Haifa is a real meeting point of different religions that, for the most part, coexist pretty happily. There is a significant Christian community and a large Muslim population – not to mention a number of minority groups (Haifa just happens to be one of the most important cities in the world for the Baha’i faith). Although Haifa’s Arab residents care deeply about their heritage and the future of their community, most take a liberal approach to day-to-day living, and the atmosphere is one of tolerance from all sides. We think the practical focus of the city is a big reason behind the harmony – people are focused on getting things done which is a lot easier amid coexistence.

The geometrically verdant Baha’i temple is a huge contrast to the bustling, rusting port a short walk away

Tranquility amidst the bustle – running water and perfect gardens

One consequence of this peaceful blend of cultures – and naturally, a highlight for us – is that the the food in Haifa is really great. Add into the mix a healthy Russian and Eastern European immigrant population, and you have an amazing array of fusion cuisine, some delightful niche grocery stores, and a series of very difficult decisions to make regarding dinner destinations.

A mixture of old stone houses and more modern construction, with the ubiquitous Russian granny (mural version) overseeing it all

Street art is always in the vernacular, hence the cyrillic

Flashbacks to Poland… Dumplings! Get ‘yer dumplings!

Mouth watering Lebanese food. Jess’s left hand is restraining the right one from pouncing with all possible might

Did we mention the beach? With so much attention paid to the practicality of Haifa, there is little talk of this, but the city is home to a long, sandy shoreline competitive with Tel Aviv. But with significantly fewer volleyball players on a weekday afternoon…

For detailed field research into how blazing Mediterranean sun affects pale Slavic skin, we recommend the beach at Haifa

Also in close proximity are Mount Carmel, which is part of a huge national park, and Caesaria, where it’s possible to see some seriously impressive Roman ruins.

Early Roman attempts at the bar chart in Caesarea

Hail Caesarea!

The Galilee

Our original aim in visiting Haifa was to explore the North of Israel – but we actually found a lot less to enjoy in the Galilee region. Initially we passed through Nazareth, a town which has undoubtedly coasted along on the basis of its rather strong global branding, and really only offers a limited, pre-canned tourist experience for religious pilgrims. We had low expectations here, but the reality of the crowded, painfully hot streets (albeit filled with a few truly delicious cooking aromas) left us pretty underwhelmed, and we moved on quickly.

Proof we were in Nazareth (there’s not much to see there)

Tiberias was also disappointing – and in this case we were left perplexed, since unlike Nazareth we had previously heard great things about the town.  Despite the soaring temperatures and the cloudless sky, and a remarkably beautiful view of the Sea of Galilee, this resort town was almost completely empty, and seemingly littered with abandoned buildings. The electric spark we’d enjoyed in other cities in Israel was totally absent, and even the city center appeared quiet and run down. It may be that we simply hit the wrong time of the week / month / year, but it felt ironic that the so-called tourist hotspot was such a letdown, while Haifa had so much to offer to the casual visitor.

The calm and surprisingly tiny Sea of Galilee. The floating dock served as an combo running track and launch ramp for some pretty adventurous local divers

A very confused peacock. And yes, they actually can fly

Jetties and Jordan

Jess representing her Blues amidst the local club

Along our drive, we also visited two kibbutzim – Gesher and Degania – since we wanted to explore this critical component of Israel’s history. Both are on the border with Jordan, and saw heavy fighting during the 1948 War of Independence, and the War of Attrition in the late 1960s. Today, both have small tourist museums, but are stilly very much active communities. After getting a bit lost driving around Gesher, we did a couple circuits of the campus, which was filled with people living their everyday lives in a sea of gardens amidst some pretty barren desert.

Green meets desert. The view out of Gesher, overlooking the Jordan border

Degania was the first kibbutz of all, and has a storied history with several famous residents such as Moshe Dayan, a famous Israeli military leader and the foreign minister when Israel and Egypt signed their first peace treaty. Over the last decade, the kibbutz has been privatized, so it’s a bit more commerce-focused, but it still has a strong community and a bit of a hippie vibe. It gets a lot of visitors, and is a very tranquil place full of greenery, kids playing sports, and some very fluffy dogs.

This guy was guarding the house nearby. His coat was a bit thick for full desert

This is a Syrian tank that was stopped at the edge of Degania during the War of Independence in 1948. It remains as a monument to the courage of the residents who defended the kibbutz largely with improvised weaponry like molotov cocktails

A garden in Degania, also containing a bomb shelter for protection against rocket attacks – the dangerous history that the residents had to endure is never far away

We learned that it’s actually quite hard to overtake a tank on the highway

The Negev

For us, no nation can be considered fully explored until we’ve ventured out into the wilderness, and Israel presented us with a brand new challenge, hotter and sandier than any that came before it. Having forgotten that it was Friday afternoon, we almost fell at the first hurdle as we spent several hours dashing between closed supermarkets attempting to find supplies. Thankfully, we eventually made it down to our hostel in the heart of the Negev in a car laden with plenty of peanut butter and hummus, and we were greeted by a great group of fellow adventurers and an atmospheric, pasta-heavy Shabbat dinner.

“Speedhumps”

The aim was to hike through the Ramon crater- a natural “makhtesh” formed by ancient rivers which is 40km long (in fact, it’s the world’s largest). We dragged ourselves out of bed at sunrise and set off into the chilly morning air, weighed down by as much water as we could carry, some ugly hats, and a large bottle of sunscreen.

Obligatory “before” picture

Surveying our path at sunrise

The walk was varied, with plenty of climbs and slightly hair-raising descents, and was essentially a geologist’s paradise. We stormed across the crater and were greeted with some spectacular views as we reached the heights of the opposite side.

Ammonite fossils revealed on a hillside

Hiking the spine of one of the main ridges

Summoning a desert yodel

Triumphant success photo – note the drenched faces, which is quite an achievement given that sweat evaporates pretty rapidly in humidity that approaches zero

There was some debate at this point over whether we should stick to the original plan and hitch a lift back along the road, or try to complete a full circuit. Our blossoming inner desert explorers eventually won the day, despite the blistering sun – it was 12pm already, how much hotter could it get? Answer: a lot.

Our spurned highway home

The road back home turned out to be a long, winding, and highly exposed one, and it took a few mutual pep talks and several dozen sunscreen applications to get us through. Our salvation came in the form of the one tree along the route, plopped in the middle of an otherwise barren stretch of the ex-riverbed (90 minutes hike each way to any shade). Not only did this offer blessed respite from the heat, it turned out to be quite the social hub for local families – when we arrived on our way back, we found a large group assembled picnicking under the shade, with 4x4s  parked alongside. The men were engaged in an impromptu Shakshuka-off using their camping stoves, and when we arrived they insisted that we sample their offerings. Another example of amazing friendliness and hospitality in Israel – and right when we needed it most!

The camels really would have come in useful at this point

The one tree during the whole hike back

We came, we saw, we sweated

Masada

While in the Negev, we also visited Masada, the remains of a fortress used as a refuge by the Jewish rebels against the Romans during the uprising in the first century AD. The Romans besieged the fortress, and after they built a ramp up the side of the mountain and breached the walls, all of the inhabitants killed themselves rather than fall into Roman captivity. It’s a famous historical site representing defiance in the face of overwhelming odds.

Here is the main complex, including storage rooms, baths, and receiving areas for visitors (built before the rebellion)

Looking east towards the Dead Sea. The outlines of the old Roman camps are still quite visible

For some reason, we hadn’t quite gotten our fill of exertion in the desert, so we opted to climb up Masada rather than take the comfortable, climate-controlled cable car. It’s only a few hundred meters, but the sun is unrelenting and the temperature was above 40C, so it ended up being a bit of a challenge. Cold drinks afterwards were glorious.

Poise, suntans, and nice glasses (pre-ascent)

Sweat, more sweat, and pained smiles (at the top)

The Dead Sea

Rounding out the list of tourist sites, we did pay a brief visit to the Dead Sea. Yes, you float very easily. Yes, it stings a bit on cuts. And yes, the mud is black.

The Russian grannies return

Desert traveler up top, beach party below

The lowest (and most unnecessary) weather station in the world. Perpetual forecast: “still very hot, still no rain”

Like a normal boardwalk, but without ice cream. Or anything else

Why did the ibexes (ibicis?) cross the road?

Latrun

This is another military hardware post, so if you’re into that kind of stuff, read on. Otherwise, good work for getting this far.

Between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem is a tank museum at a place called Latrun. Ethan is fascinated by tanks so we had a visit, and he spent a couple hours pontificating about reactive armor, turret sizes, different kinds of armor-piercing shells, and the like. Jess did her best to pay attention, and now knows more than a few tank facts. It contains both Israeli tanks from different eras, and captured tanks from Israel’s various wars with its neighbors, including Russian, French, and English equipment.

A Merkava, the main battle tank of the IDF. It’s noteworthy for its advanced fire-control system and for having the engine in the front rather than the rear, which adds an additional layer of protection for the crew

Jess with a light tank originally made by her countrymen

These appear to be variants of the famous U.S. Sherman tank of World War II (well depicted in the 2014 film Fury)

Congrats on reaching the end! In reward, here is another picture of Jess surrounded by Israeli food

P.S.

Finally, people who understand the amazing rice-eating potential of the spork, by far the most underrated eating utensil