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| Horseback riding in the Galilee – Vered HaGalil |
During our amazing month in Israel, thanks to Ben Gurion University of the Negev, one of the places I had to take Dan (and finally experience myself!) was Vered HaGalil (“Rose of the Galilee), the magnificent (and first) “American-Style” horseback riding ranch in Israel!
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| View from our suite’s balcony Vered HaGalil |
, Sol Baskin, who I had met through the late Major Zohar Levkovitch, told me that someday I Must visit Vered HaGalil! I was a military illustrator and graphic designer in the Israeli Army, and Sol Baskin is an artist; Major Zohar Levkovitch, the IDF historian for whom I was illustrating books, and who became a dear friend, introduced us so I could meet one of the founders of the State of Israel. Sol, a highly decorated WWII US Army Veteran of Anzio and Monte Cassino, immigrant to Israel, “Mahalnik”, (a Volunteer from Overseas in the Israel Defense Forces), a founder of the Israeli Armored Corps, became a dear friend of mine, as well, and when I had my NYC gallery for contemporary Israeli art I gave Sol the first US retrospective exhibition of his extraordinary paintings, most created during 5 wars: WWII, the 1948 Israeli War of Independence, 1956, 1967 Six Day War, and the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Ariel Sharon, former Prime Minister of Israel and my hero since childhood, wrote the forward for the catalog for Sol’s exhibition, as Sol was his officer during the Israeli War of Independance in 1948… A native of Chicago, Sol was friends with Yehuda Avni, who had also immigrated to Israel from Chicago, and who had, in what was then “the middle of nothing”- acres full of giant boulders and thistles, with nothing but a magnificent view of the Galilee- created, with his Jerusalem-born wife Yona, an extraordinary “American style” horse riding resort! This trip was my golden opportunity to stay at Vered HaGalil and ride horseback thru the Galilee with Dan- and finally meet Yehuda and Yona Avni! |
| Elisse, with Yehuda & Yona Avni, founders of Vered HaGalil |
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| Dan & Kitty, Vered HaGalil |
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| A Very sexy room! A view of the Galil from our jacuzzi at Vered HaGalil! |
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| Sunset in the Galilee… |
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| Our horseback riding guide at Vered HaGalil |
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| Night view of the Galilee from our balcony Vered HaGalil |
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| Yehudah Avni with the “Chicago Book” |
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| Banana groves in the Galil |
Our first day in the Galil, Dan & I drove to see the 2000 Year Old Boat, known as the “Jesus Boat”, at the nearby Yigal Alon Museum of Man in the Galilee! This extraordinary, one-of-a-kind 2000 year old archaeological find from the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) was discovered in 1986 by two fisherman brothers, Yuval and Moshe Lufan, following a prolonged drought that lowered the Kinneret’s sea level. It was amazingly saved and restored in record time (it was in immedaite danger of deteriorating beyond repair), and it is an extraordinary thing to see it up close and personal! Yigal Allon, for whom the museum is named, was a native of Israel and the Galilee, a founding member of Kibbutz Ginosar, an active participant in the pre-state settlement movement, an officer in the Palmach (the precursor of the Israel Defense Forces), and an Israeli government minister.
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| Dan & the 2000 Year Old Boat |
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| Restoration of the boat |
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| Modern sculpture garden at the Yigal Alon Museum |
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| Ancient Galilee Mosaic Yigal Alon Museum |
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| 2000 year old pottery & nails, discovered near the boat; Yigal Alon Museum |
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| The Flautist: modern art with sheep made by children at the Yigal Alon Museum |
We had a wine tasting of delicious pomegranate wine and jam from the Rimon Winery at the museum, and (naturally) bought some wine and jam to take home! Rimon wines are 100% pomegranate, without any added sugar, and the wine is truly delicious: light, fruity, smooth, and not cloyingly sweet! The Rimon Winery is at Moshav Kerem Ben Zimra in the Upper Galilee, and as we didn’t have a chance to visit, I’m SO glad we got to taste their delicious products at the museum!
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| Dan, at lunch: Galei Gil Restaurant Tiberias Promenade on the Kinneret |
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| Fresh fish lunch: Galei Gil, Tiberias |
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| Art Studio/Gallery, Tiberias |
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| The old and the new: Dan in Tiberias |
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| Elisse, on the Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Tiberias |
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| “Ancient” tour boat on the Kinneret |
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| Hassidic family enjoying the view: Tiberias |
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| Dan, Tiberias |
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| Modern art on an ancient theme, Tiberias |
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| Modern Art: the Tiberias Hebrew Aleph-Bet |
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| Tiberias: the ancient road, made modern |
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| Tiberias: the ancient road, still in use… |
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| Tomb of Rachel, Rabbi Akiva’s Wife |
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| Rachel’s Tomb |
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| Roman ruins: Tiberias |
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| Elisse: Roman ruins, Tiberias |
Herod Antipas founded Tiberias in 17-22 C.E., naming it after his patron, the Roman Emperor Tiberius. In the second through tenth centuries, Tiberias was the largest Jewish city in the Galilee, the Jewish People’s political and religious hub, as well as the center of Jewish spiritual creativity. A few years after its establishment, around 30 C.E., Jesus Christ is said to have moved his base of activities to the northern shore of Lake Kinneret, where several well-known miracles are said to have taken place, including his walking on the waters of the lake. As Christianity grew, many churches were built in Tiberias and the surrounding area. Tiberias has been continuously inhabited, and various buildings and ruins from various periods are well-preserved. In the Old City, built during the Crusades and the Ottoman Empire, a number of early sites are visible, including Daher El-Amar’s 18th century fortress, a Jewish ritual bath, the black basalt remnants of the city wall, and the Church of St. Peter, constructed on the ruins of a Crusader church. Tiberias is also dotted with the burial sites of Jewish sages, making it one of Israel’s holy cities; Jewish pilgrims flock to the tombs of Rabbi Akiva and his wife, Rachel, Rabbi Yochanan Ben-Zakai, Rabbi Meir Baal HaNess, and the great philosopher and sage Maimonides.
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| Tiberias |
Next: More Galilee Adventures! Nazareth Village, Nouvelle Nazareth Cuisine at Al Reda, & soaking in the Hamat Gader Hot Springs!
