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| Israel! As I mentioned elsewhere, my wife Clara is Israeli. Clara and the children have dual citizenship, and identify to a degree with both countries. To a certain extent, our lives straddle the Atlantic and we feel a pull from both places. Being stationed in Europe was good for us, not equidistant but within reasonable reach of both places, in that regard. Below are some of our pictures from various visits to Israel. Yerushalayim shel Zahav (Jerusalem of Gold)! What image could be more stereotypical of the Holy Land, than that of a crowd of Jewish worshippers congregating at the Western Wall, while above it all stands the Dome of the Rock? But when you're married to an Israeli, you get to see the Israel off the tourist trail as well. Come, I'll give you a tour... This is Clara's family home, in Beit Shiqma, her moshav. A moshav is a cooperative farming village, in contrast to a kibbutz which is a collective settlement. Beit Shiqma is located just a few minutes' drive outside the city of Ashqelon, on the Mediterranean Coast north of the Gaza Strip. Her family doesn't farm the land anymore; they haven't in a long time. The log cabin behind the main house belongs to Clara's nephew Yaniv, second son of her oldest brother Shmu'el, who decided to live on his grandparents' land, in part, in order to be near the horses - note the corral beyond the cabin. Here's Eyal riding one of the horses, looking like a proper cowboy and dwarfing the tiny rented Hyundai Getz automobile (a popular car in Israel that year) behind him. Ah, easy living on the moshav! When the weather is nice, it is very pleasant there. (This was in early January.) Here, some of the family gathered for a little lunch and family gossip on Shabbat (from left to right): Clara's mother Mazal; brother # 2 Alfonso (aka 'Fonzi'); his wife Rivka; brother # 3, Shim'on's wife Michal. Soon after our arrival in Israel, a visit to the beach is a must - even if only to dip our feet into the Mediterranean. Another must is to eat Shwarma (aka gyros, aka doener kebap). The kids and I are veritable connoisseurs of the stuff. We've eaten it all over the 'States and all over Europe. But the BEST, bar none, is in Israel. Why? Well, for one thing it is kosher! But also... ...it's the selection of salads and pickled vegetables that go with it! BTW, those of you who know us know that Eyal is not particularly shy...but here if he seems to have made himself quite at home it's because the snack bar is owned by the Mahlouf family, relatives-by-marriage of Clara's. Even when our visit is more 'family' than 'touristy' (as it is most times), we try to manage a visit to Jerusalem. We like to start at the Haas Tayelet (promenade), overlooking the Old City from near Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. When I was studying in Jerusalem I lived a short hike from Haas; when Clara and I were in the city on Shabbat we used to like to walk to the tayelet and eat lunch at the kibbutz's restaurant, which was open on Shabbat. Ashqelon has a very nice coast and beaches. Here we are on the beach just north of the marina. The sign describes my daughter in a nutshell! This arcade is on the ground floor of the Ashqelon city hall. You think Jews wanting to celebrate Christmas is only a Diaspora phenomenon??! Actually, that the sign at this gift shop offering Christmas decorations is in Russian is a giveaway. A surprising number of the immigrants of the last wave from Russia (early 1990's) were not Jewish; they were Russians with one Jewish parent, or who were married to Jews. Although they are secular people, they often think of themselves as Christians in a cultural sense. Thus, Christmas comes to Israel (not just Nazareth and Bethlehem)! The kids making the most of a chilly December day by the beach at Ashdod, a port city just north of Ashqelon. 'The Diva' wants you to notice that she's straightened her hair! On Masada. If we look winded (except Eyal), it's because we walked up the Roman Ramp on the west side...and it was August! The kids in the Ari Synagogue (named after Rabi Isaac Luria, one of the luminaries of the Kabbalah movement) in Safed. Clara and I in front of the overlook of Ramon Crater, in the Negev enroute to Eilat. This time (New Year's 2008) we went to Eilat for the first time in 16 years for me, 20 years for Clara. We stayed in the Magic Palace Hotel, behind us across the marina basin. While in Eilat, we took a day excursion to Petra in Jordan. This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip! It looks exactly as it did in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.  Of course, the kids wouldn't let us leave before they'd had a chance to ride the camel. Petra is one of those places that is so visually breathtaking that even the tawdriness that tourists attact, such as this Tchatchkes stand in the wadi, can't spoil it. If you know me, you know that I love sailboats. There were some awfully large sailboats in Eilat that take tourists out on lunch and snorkelling tours, but I was disappointed that they all move only under engine power; the sails stay furled. Therefore, we went out on the glass-bottomed boat tour instead. Enjoying one of the colorful residents of Eilat. I'd bought a new digital camera for this trip; of course, the kids had to test it to make sure it was really waterproof as advertised. I'm happy to report that it is! At the Undersea Life Park, south of Eilat on the way to Taba. The park has an undersea observatory tower. The Jordanian coast and the Port of Aqaba are in the background, across the water. This is what one sees through the underwater windows in the tower. Back to coooooold Germany! This is the train station located adjacent to the airport terminal in Frankfurt. | |
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