Haifa and Rosh HaNikra

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Well, EVERYBODY woke up late today. We ate cake and oranges for breakfast, and putzed around for most of the morning. The kids worked on an "always 15" math puzzle for a while, then eventually figured out how to work the TV, and watched Nickelodeon with Hebrew subtitles.

Around Noon, we all drove north to Rosh Hanikra, right at the border with Lebanon. There are amazing white cliffs with a great view down the coast--we could see all the way back to Haifa.

After taking in the the view, we took the cable car down to the park area. As with most places in Israel, it has a checkered past, but it is currently a national park, with a protected breeding ground for green sea turtles, and a nice tourism area. The sea has worn away the rock to form amazing grottoes or watery caves, which we wandered through in great awe.

During WWII, the British built several tunnels through the rock cliffs, and put a railway there that went from Haifa to Beirut. The railway was bombed during the war of independence, and now the tunnels are used for tourism and parties. Dan enjoyed the echoes in these tunnels, so I suggested he have his bar mitzvah party there ;-)


Following Rosh Hanikra, we drove south to Acco (or Acre), took in more views and ate dinner.

Finally, on the way home, we did a drive-by of the Baha'i garden at sunset--stunning!

Lilah tov (good night) only one more day...see you all soon.

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Photos

The cable car
The cable car took us down to the railroad tunnels, for a small fee. One used to be able to drive straight to the tunnels, but apparently they preferred being able to charge for the ride down.

Jim and Sammi
Standing in front of the cliffs at Rosh Hanikra

Baha'i Garden at night
a little fuzzy, out the car window

Comments

[K.C.]

Cool!
Awesome stuff, folks!! :) I was thinking of asking if you guys were going to pass by the Baha'i Gardens. I have some childhood friends that are Baha'i. I've been to many Baha'i fundraising events that were supporting the purchase and construction of that place - which I believe was opened fairly recently. I believe the Baha'i prophet Baha’u’llah was buried in Acco. Anyhow - Wow, it's probably your last day there now. An amazing trip, thanks for sharing it with us! Oh, and Jim: the Steelers won their wildcard playoff game (31:17 against the Bengals), so they're in the playoffs. :)