By: Rebecca

Although we've been in Israel for over a year now (!), there are still many places on our "must see" list. Last week we finally checked another one off. The Israel Museum in Jerusalem is the largest museum in the country and houses some 500,000 objects from contemporary art and sculpture to ancient artifacts and everything in between. 

We spent six hours at the museum and saw perhaps half of the exhibits. There is no way you can see the whole thing in one day unless you just walk through without stopping to read anything at all. We focused our visit on the Shrine of the Book, the Jewish life exhibit, the archaeology wing, and the scale model of Jerusalem. 

Originally constructed in 1962 at a hotel in Jerusalem in memory of the owner's son (who died during the War of Independence), the 50:1 scale model was transferred to the museum in 2006. It is impressive to look at, but also very helpful. After seeing it, we have a much better understanding of the geography of the Old City and how it was built up in layers over the years. 

Scale model of Jerusalem during the 2nd Temple Period

Jason conquering Jerusalem

One of the most impressive exhibits is the Shrine of the Book - a separate wing of the museum that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls and other ancient manuscripts such as the Aleppo Codex. Considering the scrolls are ~2000 years old, it is impressive that the parchment is as well-preserved, and the writing as legible, as it is. 

The Shrine of the Book

Inside the museum is just as impressive. The exhibits are well laid out and informative. We took a free tour of some of the Jewish life wing and although we doubled-back to see things that were skipped over, the tour covered most of the highlights of the collection and our guide gave excellent background on the stories behind some of the objects. Among the more impressive pieces are four synagogues that were dismantled, brought to Israel, and reconstructed in the museum. From Suriname (South America), India, Italy, and Germany, the synagogues represent a wide range of architecture and traditions from around the world. 

Chanukiot from around the world

One of my other favorite exhibits was the ancient manuscripts. There were all kinds of books, from an enormous mahzor (prayer book) to several Passover haggadot all decorated with beautiful illuminations. There was also a video detailing the processes to produce the stunning colors and gold embossing. Having read The People of the Book, by Geraldine Brooks, seeing how these manuscripts were decorated was all the more interesting. 

An illuminated manuscript

Our last stop was the archaeology wing.  Vast and covering pretty much everything there is to cover, the exhibit starts with the dawn of civilization and ends with fairly modern history. It was a lot to take in, and we skipped around a bit since we'd just been to several other museums that covered history from the Romans-present day. We did spend quite a bit of time in the glass exhibit, which I loved. We probably could have spent another hour or two in that wing alone, but there is only so much you can take it at once.

Glass in all colors

If you are in Israel, we highly recommend a trip to the Israel museum. Get the map, the free audio guide and spend a few minutes planning your visit over coffee at a museum cafe. There's a lot to see and you probably won't get through everything. We did learn that you can save your ticket and use it to get 50% off your next visit (within 3 months) so you can go back and see what you missed. There are free tours of different exhibits during the day if you want a more in depth look at anything in particular. 

For the second time in a month, we had guests visiting us in Haifa. This time, Jason's sister Sara and her boyfriend Eric were here for a week. Here's what they had to say about their week in Israel...

We just returned from our trip to Israel to visit Jason and Rebecca, and all we can say is “waaaaaahhhhhhh”.  We did not want to leave!! Our trip was full of beautiful sites, amazing stories and delicious treats.  Not only that, but we got to spend some quality time with my brother and his girlfriend, which is worth way more than a pile of baklava any day. 

The first night we were in Israel was spent with my cousin, Sharon, and her family.  It’s been 3 years since I’ve seen them all and it was a perfect start to our trip.  We played cribbage with their son Ezra, joked around with Avidan (another son) and had breakfast with the whole family the next morning.  Next time we come to Israel we are absolutely staying with them for more than one night!

We made it to Haifa in one piece the next morning, only slightly jet-lagged and ready for some adventures! Our journey started with a visit to the most incredible mosaic-tiled Tunisian synagogue we’ve ever seen (see Jason and Rebecca’s post for pics), and then a trip to Akko, a fortress city with some bangin’ hummous and a relaxed atmosphere.  Then we went to the most northern point of Israel to visit the caves of Rosh Hanikra.  Jay and Rebecca (who will be referred to as J&R from now on for simplicity sake) had already been to this site, so we explored this on our own and were AMAZED to view the caverns filled with turquoise water.  Such beautiful views all around!

View outside the caves of Rosh Hanikra

The next stop was quite unexpected, to say the least!  Achzivland is a micronation of Israel, founded in 1970 and inhabited by only two people (and several dogs and cats).  The couple literally founded their own nation, for reasons unknown, which is nestled in the northern part of Israel on the shores of the Mediterranean.  They even have their own passport stamps!!  On their land is a museum of sorts with a random assortment of pottery, statues, dolls and coins.  Their land also allowed access to the beach, where we combed the sands for sea glass and artifacts while the sun set across the Mediterranean.

Eric tries to conquer Achzivland

All four of us in Achzivland

Our next day was filled again with a visit to Capernaum, which is located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, and is home to two ancient synagogues built one over the other (circa late 4^th century CE).  Today, there is a “floating” octagonal church built over the 5^th century CE church on this site, which was quite the impressive engineering feat.

Impressive architectural church built over the ruins of
a 5^th century CE church

Next up, we hiked the cliffs of Arbel, overlooking the Sea of Galilee.  This was particularly exciting because J&R had never been before and the views were absolutely breathtaking!  Jay, Rebecca and Eric also got to try their hand at scaling the cliffs.

View of the Galilee from the Arbel Cliff

Eric and I took the next day and hiked Masada and Ein Gedi and then took a dip in the Dead Sea, which was Eric’s first time.  J&R had been to those spots multiple times, so they met up with us in Jerusalem that night, where we had a delicious dinner of flatbreads, stuffed mushrooms, tapenade and homemade pasta.  Eric and Jay went to a local bar afterward, and on the way home Eric performed his first mitzvah when he helped 5 Hasidic men change a tire! 

The following day we all spent exploring Jerusalem.  Eric and I did the underground tunnel tour of the Western Wall and then went shopping in the markets.  Eric was VERY impressed by my haggling skills as I negotiated prices with all of the vendors in the markets.  It is basically expected that you do not pay the price initially given to you and instead, cut it down by half. 

We ended our trip with a walking food tour of Haifa, complete with THE BEST falafel and literally piles and piles of baklava.  It is impossible to really describe the amount of baklava
that was in this shop, but it was jaw-dropping!! 

Hands down the best falafel in the world

Mountain of baklava

Israel is one of the most unique places that either Eric or I have traveled to, and we are so grateful that Jason and Rebecca hosted us and toured us around the country.

By: Rebecca 

As we have talked about several times, Israel's synagogues range from tiny, one-room affairs to large buildings that cover two city blocks. Some are plain and some are ornate, but none of the decorations can compare to the Tunisian synagogue (also known as Or Torah or Djerba) in Akko. 

What makes it so special? The whole building, inside and out is covered in mosaics. Walls, ceilings, floors, even the entire stairwell and the walls inside the arks are mosaics. There are panoramas of Jerusalem and Akko, maps of Israel and the Jewish diaspora, depictions of stories from the Torah, Judaic symbols, and hundreds of animals and plants. The mosaics glow in the light from the hundreds of stained glass windows. The doors to the seven arks (yes seven!) are covered inside and out with silver hammered into beautifully intricate designs. Some of the Torah scrolls themselves are also covered in mantles of inscribed silver. 

You might think that all this decoration would feel like too much, too ornate and overwhelming, but it has quite the opposite effect. Instead, it is like being inside a storybook. We had such fun trying to identify the stories and places - even reading some of the Hebrew! 

Detail of floor mosaic

The mosaic map in the stairwell

Hammered silver doors and mosaics
inside the ark

According to Zion Badasche (a Tunisian-Israeli and founder/caretaker of the synagogue), the mosaics are a work in progress. It has taken 60 years thus far. I can't imagine it will take another 60 years since there are few surfaces left unadorned. The tiles are manufactured in a nearby Kibbutz and include a variety of local stones. Zion was happy to explain things to us (in French or Hebrew) so we had to rely on Eric's French since our Hebrew and Zion's English were not so good. 

Unlike other synagogues, this one is open Sunday-Friday from 9:00 - 1:00 for tourists and photographs are encouraged! It's hard to capture the scope of the mosaics in photos, but we gave it our best shot. 

It's worth a trip to Akko just for the synagogue alone. It is outside the Old City, which makes it even easier to find!  If you can't get to Akko, you can take a look at more of our photos here. Thanks to Sara for bringing her camera!