Israel Part 2: Bees, Trees, and Histories

So finally, I've finished with the regimented schedule of birthright and I am free for 5 days of exploring whatever I want in Israel...sort of.

The most amazing Jerusalem market.
Almost made me want to move there.

My dad met me at the hotel after the last night of Birthright. Naturally, I got only 3 hours of sleep because I had to maximize my time with these amazing birthright people in case I never see them again.

My dad and I head to the Jerusalem market. There are so many fruits, vegetables, spices, dry beans, nuts...pretty much everything I could ever want. Honestly, if they had a market like that in America I would never go to a grocery store again. So little waste and processing. However, we were only there briefly because we had tickets to see the Western Wall tunnels in an hour. After rushing to the tunnels, we were amazed at the history underneath this 2000 year old structure. In fact, some of these areas are so religiously significant and old, that no excavation happens for fear of starting a third world war. Crazy.

If excavated, this are has the potential to start WW3.

What's even crazier is that after the Western Wall, we saw my dad's friend Jenya's museum, located in the first Villa built outside the Old City of Jerusalem, which still retained that millennia old architecture. In this Armenian Villa, existed a cute Natural History Museum and a community garden, both curated by Jenya himself. After working in agriculture for a few months, I have such an appreciation for how he has transformed this rocky soil into a magical permaculture garden, which is now fully sustained by the community. And then a few miles away we find his son's archeology lab, teeming with artifacts all being preserved from as long ago as seven thousand years ago.

Jenya's bee station overlooking a Palestinian settlement.

We are not done yet..we then dine on Ben Yehuda Street and mosey down to King David's tower, all along the walk hearing Hannukah songs and being followed by Menorahs. At the tower, we watch a fascinating light show on the tower of the history of Jerusalem. By now I am so wiped and ready for sleep.

And then began Day 2 with my dad and Jenya. I will spare you the details from the next 5 days, but here is the Sparknotes. We go to Jenya's home in the Shamron mountains, a Jewish settlement amidst many Palestinian ones. It was incredible learning about bees from such an expert, yet painful how so much of his honey gets stolen and equipment gets burned by his neighbors. After our beekeeping lesson, we had some healing honey and propolis, and drove to Hadera where I met up with my grandpa's sister's family. I met three new cousins and their families filled with babies and teenagers. We explored the Ralli Museum, the historic port of Caesaria, the Rothschild botanical garden and crypt, and amazing food. After two days with the family, learning about my cousin's (one of which who started an awesome Israeli allrecipes/buzzfeed website), I felt so connected to a side of my family I did not even know existed.

Arriving at Rosh Hanikra, the tip of Israel bordering Lebanon.

But then they returned to their lives once the work week started on Sunday, and we continued our tour of Jerusalem starting in the North. We went back to the Golan Heights, where we learned more in depth information about Mount Ben Tal and the Syrian border, Rosh Hanikra and the Lebanon border (got to put my foot in Lebanon!), and Sefat and the ritual matchmaking dome (no link available, comment with questions). We also saw Gamla, (where a beekeeper gained control of the Roman empire in the time of King Herod and Emperor Nero), Akko with its amazing fish from the Sea of Galilea, and Capernaum where Jesus revived a shady fishing village. In each of these places I learned a unique story from Jenya's point of view that hopefully I'll get to share in future posts. But for now, I'll just say, walking a land of history is fascinating in a way a textbook just can't really convey. After our final stop in the oldest area of Tel Aviv with the Bauhaus style architecture (the rest of Tel Aviv barely matters, according to Jenya, because it doesn't have much history), we were off to the airport, exhausted but satisfied.

So after all this traveling, I felt much more connected to Israel through my family connections, the fact that I know more Israeli history than New Jersey history, and the majesty of the land. I can see why three religions hold this land dear because it is truly a marvel; and one that I hope to return to soon.

P.S. For the first time ever, I was able to get a cold and rid myself of a cold in just 3 short days. Here were my remedies:

1) Bring 2 flasks to every meal: one with Cognac and one with Vodka and drink liberally. For breakfast, it works best with caviar.

2) Shove garlic cloves up your nose. Wrap them in toilet paper to keep them in there. Breathe for at least 10 minutes before taking them out.

3) Find a beekeeper and eat their fresh honey and propolis. Propolis is the disease-resistant glue bees make that can fight human diseases too. Drink in vodka.

4) Find a hotel with a hot tub and sauna by the beach. The steam really helps.

5) Skip the Dayquil and find your herbalist's Elderberry Syrup and Echinacea tincture. Luckily, dad's friends were well supplied.