June 14 Our LAST DAY in Israel

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All good things must come to an end. The Israel portion is about to join the fond memory books. Today is the last day of our Israel portion of the tour.

We got up a little later today, almost like we were on vacation, and prepared for our final 1/2 day of touring. We traveled around Tel Aviv and came to the site where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was fatally shot by an assassin in the center of the city. Politicians in Israel, like politicians everywhere, have their lovers and haters. Rabin was loved by many but a radical few felt he had sold out Israel in favor of a peace accord and, for this reason, a radical hater ended his life during - of all things - a peace rally. It is a chilling experience to be in the very spot where a great man was killed.

We then headed to the old Port of Jaffa. Legend has it that the cedars of Lebanon were shipped from Jaffa to build King Solomon's Temple. It was also off the coast of Jaffa where Jonah was swallowed by the whale, so be careful if you are planning a swim!

Jaffa Port also has another legend this one involves the Gods of Greece. When you come to modern-day Jaffa and look out into the port itself, you will see some very jagged blackened rocks. These are the Rocks of Andromeda. The Greek myth tells us that Andromeda's mother boasted so much of her daughter's beauty and claimed it far surpassed the beauty of Posideon's own daughter. Now we may recall that Poseidon was the God of the Sea so he sent a sea monster to prey on the people of Jaffa as punishment.

The king decided to assuage Poseidon by sacrificing the beautiful Andromeda. She was captured and taken away to be chained to the rocks in the harbor. The legend continues when the mighty Perseus, God of the Sky and Thunder kills the monster and rescues Andromeda. He later marries her.

Jaffa may be one of the oldest towns in the world. It is mentioned in the Bible as JOPPA and was said to be founded by the son of Noah.around 950 BCE during the reign of King Solomon himself.

Because of its strategic location and fertile soil, Jaffa was captured by the Byzantines, the Arabs, and the Crusaders. The city was part of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years. In 1820 the first Jewish guesthouse was established making Jaffa the gateway to the heart of Jerusalem. Today Jaffa is part of modern Tel Aviv but retains all of its historic charm.

We visited the historic Shok, or market, where there were hundreds of stalls selling all kinds of goods from food (the pretzel I bought was to die for), household items, jewelry, and of course miles of crapola. It was great fun.

Our final stop was a Be My Guest Experience in the local Ajami neighborhood. Here we were treated to lunch in the home of Doris Hifawa. Doris is a very modern Christian Palestinian Israeli who owns a coffee roasting business and also invites tourists into her home for lunch and conversation. The Haifa family has been making coffee for several generations, spanning over 100 years of roasting and grinding Anton Beans Coffee.

She and her family prepared a feast of salads, shwarma, bread, desserts, and much more. We sat around and listened to Doris tell us what life was like for a strong woman growing up as a Christian Palestinian. She began her life subject to the decisions of men; she was betrothed at the age of 15 and lived a simple life under the rule of her husband and mother-in-law. Over time, she wanted more but the challenges of growing up Christian in a Muslim area were hard to overcome. But with perseverance and the love of her family, she succeded in making herself a more independent woman. It was a moving story of a powerful woman.

Now, the day was half over and it was time to head back to the hotel to say our goodbyes to Evan our Tour Guide and to Khadar our Green Bus Driver, (his name means green by the way!)

It is always a bit sad to say goodbye to new friends and fellow travelers. Many of the folks were heading back to their homes in the morning. Some were going on to other tours, or private holidays. Some of us were to continue on to Jordan. More about that later.

We took a bit of a rest until dinner time when we met Doris and Greg, fellow travelers and our companions for dinner last night. Our hotel was very well situated, with the Mediterranean on one side and the old Jaffa on the other. We decided to walk back to the Shok for some shopping and some food and drink.

It was a lovely evening for a stroll. It wasn't long before we got back to the market and decided it was time for a drink! We found a very nice place on the corner where we could watch the world go by and enjoy an adult beverage. We soon learned it was happy hour: buy one and get the second for free. Sign me up!

We ordered some Margaritas and a Mojito and a few snacks when we spied other fellow travelers from our group, Jason and his mom, walking by. We called out to them and soon we were a party of six enjoying the food, beverages, and conversation. After a few drinks, we headed out to explore, only to find some of the shops closed as early as 6. It was nearly 7 PM so we decided to find a spot to dine. Jason said his mom was wiped out and they headed back to the hotel while the remaining four of us looked for the perfect spot for dinner...and we found it.

Across the street and up on the second floor, we spied a restaurant. We met a man with a Fez. You gotta love a man in a Fez, right, and he directed us to the roof where we found the perfect local restaurant. We dined on an assortment of salads, fish, steak, and an assorted mixed grill. The food, drink, and company were excellent.

Our meal over, we walked back to the hotel where we bid goodbye to Doris and Greg and headed upstairs for some much-needed sleep. A beautiful last day in Israel

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