For all the traveling that we've done, we have encountered very little trouble. Other than me running into the back of the van once, little road chaos has occurred. Today... we ran out of gas. Mike and crew returned on Thursday evening without filling up, and though we told Mustafa this fact as soon as we got in the car, we sputtered to a halt several km away from home.
I took this opportunity to wear the safety vest included with our car.
And Mike ran up the hill to see what there was to see,
while Mustafa drove the other car to get gas.
Our multi-hour drive to the north became that much longer due to this incident, but I did get a Hippo at the next gas station. (picture of that next time...)
The first stop of the trip was in Akko. And our first stop in Akko was the restaurant with the "Best Hummus in Israel" according to our tour guide, Avihai.
We were skeptical at first, of course. EVERYONE always tells us were to go to get the "best" hummus. (And usually, they are related to the owner!!) But this time, I had to agree with the tour guide. The hummus was the best I've had since coming here. Humberto, Kim, both Mikes, and I each ordered a different kind, and we shared them all. (We decided that next time, the number of plates needs to be at least n-1, maybe even n/2.)
We stuffed ourselves full of the usual Middle Eastern fanfare: pita, pickles, onions, tabolleh. And we sat amongst the chipping ceilings of what used to be the main thoroughfare of Akko. According to our tour guide, the shops used to face inward onto this street. However, eventually the city grew larger, the street became an alleyway when the stores turned their fronts outward to other streets.
The first stop of the trip was in Akko. And our first stop in Akko was the restaurant with the "Best Hummus in Israel" according to our tour guide, Avihai.
We were skeptical at first, of course. EVERYONE always tells us were to go to get the "best" hummus. (And usually, they are related to the owner!!) But this time, I had to agree with the tour guide. The hummus was the best I've had since coming here. Humberto, Kim, both Mikes, and I each ordered a different kind, and we shared them all. (We decided that next time, the number of plates needs to be at least n-1, maybe even n/2.)
Hummus rankings:
1. Restaurant in Akko
2. Lina Cafe in the Old City
3. Restaurant in Abu Ghosh
Akko Hummus rankings:
1. Meat
2. Mushroom
3. Chickpea
1. Restaurant in Akko
2. Lina Cafe in the Old City
3. Restaurant in Abu Ghosh
Akko Hummus rankings:
1. Meat
2. Mushroom
3. Chickpea
We stuffed ourselves full of the usual Middle Eastern fanfare: pita, pickles, onions, tabolleh. And we sat amongst the chipping ceilings of what used to be the main thoroughfare of Akko. According to our tour guide, the shops used to face inward onto this street. However, eventually the city grew larger, the street became an alleyway when the stores turned their fronts outward to other streets.
Akko, Akko, what is Akko anyway? Akko, or Acre as some say, is a small but important port town a short distance north of Haifa. Like Jerusalem, it is a walled city that had undergone many changes of possession. In the more recent years, it belonged to Arabs starting in 636 until the Crusaders seized the town during the Third Crusade. In 1291, the Mamluks completely destroyed the city, leaving it in ruins while the inhabitants escaped to Cyprus. 450 years later, an Albanian mercenary named Ahmed Pasha al-Jazzar rebuilt the city (more on him in a bit). The city remained in the possession of the Ottoman empire until 1917 when the British captured it, and finally in 1948, it came to it's current possessors.
Our first stop on the tour was the citadel. The structure, built in the 18th century, is well know for two things. The first is the imprisonment of Baha'ullah. (More on this, and the Baha'i faith later) The second is the imprisonment of Jewish resistance fighters and leaders of underground movements, and their successful escape. We didn't go into the citadel, since it cost 40+ NIS, but we looked on longingly.
Alice even picked up a cat!
En route to our next stop, we passed the Al-Jazzar Mosque. According to our tour guide, it holds a hair of Muhammad. Once a year, the hair gets taken out, and a large parade and celebration is held in Muhammad's honor.
I'm also secretly trying to top Jon's door pictures.
We went to the Hamman El Basha next, aka the Turkish Bathhouse. The bathhouse was built in 1780 by Al-Jazzar (more on him in a moment), and remained in use until the 1940s when Akko was reconquered.
Our first stop on the tour was the citadel. The structure, built in the 18th century, is well know for two things. The first is the imprisonment of Baha'ullah. (More on this, and the Baha'i faith later) The second is the imprisonment of Jewish resistance fighters and leaders of underground movements, and their successful escape. We didn't go into the citadel, since it cost 40+ NIS, but we looked on longingly.
Alice even picked up a cat!
En route to our next stop, we passed the Al-Jazzar Mosque. According to our tour guide, it holds a hair of Muhammad. Once a year, the hair gets taken out, and a large parade and celebration is held in Muhammad's honor.
I'm also secretly trying to top Jon's door pictures.
We went to the Hamman El Basha next, aka the Turkish Bathhouse. The bathhouse was built in 1780 by Al-Jazzar (more on him in a moment), and remained in use until the 1940s when Akko was reconquered.
We began our strange tour outside of a door with a 3 minute countdown. While most of our tours have been given by a tour guide, the tour of the bathhouse was actually a video tour with handheld sound devices. Although it felt a little silly, and the humor of the movie was excessively corny, it actually did have the effect of bringing the bathhouse to life.
The story was narrated by the real life son of the last bathhouse attendant. The bathhouse was closed in the 1940s, and the last bathhouse attendant died in 1982, so this was pretty feasable. The son, in conjunction with flashbacks of his father and some friends told the story of the bathhouse, and the types of people who came to wash up. In the steam room, a face was projected on a statue...
I've mentioned Al-Jazzar a few times already, so now, a few more tales. Al-Jazzar helped to rebuild Akko after it had been left in ruins for four and a half centuries. During his rule, he built the Al-Jazzar mosque, as previously mentioned, and also defeated Napolean Boneparte during his seize in 1799. But more interesting than this history is Al-Jazzar's nickname: "The Butcher". He got this name by being ruthless, and the video told a few stories to confirm his ferocity. The most compelling was about his 37 wives. Al-Jazzar had 37 wives, as any proper ruler in the 18th century would have. One day, he heard that one of his wives had cheated on him with another man. The evening, he came home, and he tried to figure out which wife had done the deed. He lined up all of his wives, and looked them in the eye, but could not determine who was guilty. So, he murdered all of them just to be sure!
The bathhouse itself was pretty cool, especially the ceiling with holes in it to let out the steam.
I've mentioned Al-Jazzar a few times already, so now, a few more tales. Al-Jazzar helped to rebuild Akko after it had been left in ruins for four and a half centuries. During his rule, he built the Al-Jazzar mosque, as previously mentioned, and also defeated Napolean Boneparte during his seize in 1799. But more interesting than this history is Al-Jazzar's nickname: "The Butcher". He got this name by being ruthless, and the video told a few stories to confirm his ferocity. The most compelling was about his 37 wives. Al-Jazzar had 37 wives, as any proper ruler in the 18th century would have. One day, he heard that one of his wives had cheated on him with another man. The evening, he came home, and he tried to figure out which wife had done the deed. He lined up all of his wives, and looked them in the eye, but could not determine who was guilty. So, he murdered all of them just to be sure!
The bathhouse itself was pretty cool, especially the ceiling with holes in it to let out the steam.
And the crazy statues of people
I still have not yet been to a bathhouse, but I hope it is as enjoyable as the movie made it seem. After the bathhouse movie watching, we headed down toward the port, via some side streets and the shouq.
We stopped off in this old structure, which I cannot remember the story behind, other than it was used to store horses for some time.
Then, off to sea. Akko, like Tel Aviv and Haifa, sits on the Mediterranean Sea. We still have to continually convinve ourselves that it is a SEA, not an ocean.
I tried a few times today to capture people rather than taking random snapshots. Here are a few of my favorites:
On the way back to the car, a pigeon on the mosque tower made it look strangely like a face.
Back in Haifa, we viewed the Baha'i gardens. We were unable to actually go inside because they were closed by the time we arrived, and because non-Baha'is need to book a (free) tour to visit. However, we did get to see the gardens, both from below and above.
The pictures don't even come close to capturing the true beauty of these gardens. Now, a bit of explanation of Baha'i! I first encountered the Baha'i faith through Dorri, and have learned most of what I know from her, and now through my guide book as well. The Baha'i faith is one of the newest religions, as it was formed within the past 200 years. It's main goal is to unite the world, by uniting all religions, by speaking a language everyone can understand, by encouraging interracial marriage, etc. It was initially form by Ali-Muhammad, who declared that he was the Promised One and changed his name to Bab, because it means gate in Arabic. He said that someone was coming soon "whom God would make manifest." The Bab was arrested for heretical teachings and executed in Tabriz. His remains were placed in the Shrine of the Bab, the dome structure in the pictures above. This site remains a Holy site for the Baha'i believers.
However, the Bab didn't do the bulk of the work. Instead, a man named Mizra Hussein Ali claimed to be the promised figure to unite all the world together. He too changed his name, to Baha'ullah. Like the Bab, Baha'ullah was persecuted for his beliefs, and in the end, he served 25 years of prison in citadel of Akko, where he had plenty of time to write the important texts of the religion. Baha'ullah was eventually released, but remained close in Akko for the duration of his life, eventually dying of natural causes. The shrine of Baha'ullah is the holiest place for the Baha'i religion, while the shrine of the Bab is the second holiest.
One interesting fact about the Baha'i religion, according to our tour guide, is that you cannot become a Baha'i in Israel. Anywhere else in the world, you can convert to the faith, but in Israel, it is forbidden.
It was pretty awesome to see the Baha'i gardens, even though we weren't able to go inside. Even if we had been able to go inside, we would not have been able to walk up the stairs, only down. Walking up the stairs is considered a pilgramige, and all Baha'is must make this pilgrimage at least one in their lives.
After seeing the Baha'i gardens, we drove through some Druze markets, and then returned to the Mount Carmel National Park to view the sunset. The druze are yet another faith group that was begun in the Middle East. I know a little less about them, but will share a few of the cooler points. One cannot convert to the religion. The religion was closed to converts around 1036, and to be Druze, you must be born of two Druze parents. Conveniently, the Druze believe in reincarnation, so no new Druze souls are ever created in this manner.
The Druze believe in seven precepts, which according to Wikipedia are:
Enough about Druze, and more about sunsets. (Sorry Jon)
After the sunset, we walked around on the beach for about an hour, then went to dinner in the German Colony of Haifa in a restaurant called Garden. During our trip, we've seen a lot of terrible English translations on signs and menus and such, but Garden certainly one for the most ridiculous translations, including "Beards of Pray", which had an entry for "chickeno".
But, the restaurant was actually really delicious. I got "Garden sheep" with one of the "souces", and shared some of Mike's trout, or "catfish" as the waiter kept saying.
After dinner and a few sign-squashing mishaps, we made it to our hostel. The hostel was really upscale, especially since I was expecting something similar to other hostel experiences, like a bathroom shared with random people down the hall. But we had none of that. Not that it would have mattered much anyway, as I immediately fell asleep.
We stopped off in this old structure, which I cannot remember the story behind, other than it was used to store horses for some time.
Then, off to sea. Akko, like Tel Aviv and Haifa, sits on the Mediterranean Sea. We still have to continually convinve ourselves that it is a SEA, not an ocean.
On the way back to the car, a pigeon on the mosque tower made it look strangely like a face.
Back in Haifa, we viewed the Baha'i gardens. We were unable to actually go inside because they were closed by the time we arrived, and because non-Baha'is need to book a (free) tour to visit. However, we did get to see the gardens, both from below and above.
The pictures don't even come close to capturing the true beauty of these gardens. Now, a bit of explanation of Baha'i! I first encountered the Baha'i faith through Dorri, and have learned most of what I know from her, and now through my guide book as well. The Baha'i faith is one of the newest religions, as it was formed within the past 200 years. It's main goal is to unite the world, by uniting all religions, by speaking a language everyone can understand, by encouraging interracial marriage, etc. It was initially form by Ali-Muhammad, who declared that he was the Promised One and changed his name to Bab, because it means gate in Arabic. He said that someone was coming soon "whom God would make manifest." The Bab was arrested for heretical teachings and executed in Tabriz. His remains were placed in the Shrine of the Bab, the dome structure in the pictures above. This site remains a Holy site for the Baha'i believers.
However, the Bab didn't do the bulk of the work. Instead, a man named Mizra Hussein Ali claimed to be the promised figure to unite all the world together. He too changed his name, to Baha'ullah. Like the Bab, Baha'ullah was persecuted for his beliefs, and in the end, he served 25 years of prison in citadel of Akko, where he had plenty of time to write the important texts of the religion. Baha'ullah was eventually released, but remained close in Akko for the duration of his life, eventually dying of natural causes. The shrine of Baha'ullah is the holiest place for the Baha'i religion, while the shrine of the Bab is the second holiest.
One interesting fact about the Baha'i religion, according to our tour guide, is that you cannot become a Baha'i in Israel. Anywhere else in the world, you can convert to the faith, but in Israel, it is forbidden.
It was pretty awesome to see the Baha'i gardens, even though we weren't able to go inside. Even if we had been able to go inside, we would not have been able to walk up the stairs, only down. Walking up the stairs is considered a pilgramige, and all Baha'is must make this pilgrimage at least one in their lives.
After seeing the Baha'i gardens, we drove through some Druze markets, and then returned to the Mount Carmel National Park to view the sunset. The druze are yet another faith group that was begun in the Middle East. I know a little less about them, but will share a few of the cooler points. One cannot convert to the religion. The religion was closed to converts around 1036, and to be Druze, you must be born of two Druze parents. Conveniently, the Druze believe in reincarnation, so no new Druze souls are ever created in this manner.
The Druze believe in seven precepts, which according to Wikipedia are:
- Veracity in speech and the truthfulness of the tongue.
- Protection and mutual aid to the brethren in faith.
- Renunciation of all forms of former worship and false belief.
- Repudiation of the devil,and all forces of evil.
- Confession of God’s unity.
- Acquiescence in God’s acts no matter what they be.
- Absolute submission and resignation to God’s divine will in both secret and public
Enough about Druze, and more about sunsets. (Sorry Jon)
After the sunset, we walked around on the beach for about an hour, then went to dinner in the German Colony of Haifa in a restaurant called Garden. During our trip, we've seen a lot of terrible English translations on signs and menus and such, but Garden certainly one for the most ridiculous translations, including "Beards of Pray", which had an entry for "chickeno".
But, the restaurant was actually really delicious. I got "Garden sheep" with one of the "souces", and shared some of Mike's trout, or "catfish" as the waiter kept saying.
After dinner and a few sign-squashing mishaps, we made it to our hostel. The hostel was really upscale, especially since I was expecting something similar to other hostel experiences, like a bathroom shared with random people down the hall. But we had none of that. Not that it would have mattered much anyway, as I immediately fell asleep.
1 comment:
Awesome pictures - I love your Change door picture!!
- rebekah
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