A trip to Safed

Recently we re-visited the most elevated city in Israel. Safed is situated in the far north of the country, very close to Mt Meron.
The city's history spans all of the periods of Jewish life in israel. There are archaeological treasures and historic remains from the Canaanite, Second Temple, Moslem, Crusader, Turkish and British periods.

It has a very interesting Artists quarter with beautiful winding lanes of fine stonework. Most of the galleries are in the artists' homes so it is a very interesting area to visit.

As we wound our way up the mountain road towards the old city, we saw fields of beautiful wild flowers. There was a great variety of spring flowers in bloom but the red poppies were particularly beautiful. It was a very clear day so we had the bounty of a really nice view of Mt Hermon which is located on the border of Israel, Lebanon and Syria.

After our visit to Zippori, we had lunch at one of our favourite restaurant's- the Herb Farm Restaurant on Mount Gilboa. As usual the food was delicious and the service was excellent. I finished my meal with a plate of chocolate delicacies and a large cappuccino. Later in the afternoon we visited an ancient Synagogue at Bet Alpha National Park that has an amazing mosaic floor with the central section in the form of a zodiac. It dates from the 6th Century. To complete our day we then visited a beautifully designed Japanese style garden with a pool full of colourful fish.

Last weekend, Noel and I visited one of our favourite National Parks here in Israel. We went with Susan and Christopher Lyons who are two friends from Canada. The site we visited is Zippori (also known as Sepphoris) and it is located quite close to Nazareth in the Galilee. The mosaics at this site are some of the best that can be seen in Israel. The site has been excavated in the past few years and the beautiful remains of the ancient town unearthed. This was the home of Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary who was the mother of Jesus. Apart from the mosaics, we also enjoy visiting the ancient underground reservoir which is what remains of the original water supply system

I have finally managed to get myself organised to begin a blog. I enjoy reading postings by many of my friends and spend some time each day reading about their adventures. My wife and I have been living in Haifa, Israel for the past 7 years. We serve at the Baha'i World Centre which is located on Mt Carmel overlooking Haifa Bay. Haifa is the third largest city in Israel and it is the major port. Sadly, at the end of May, we will be leaving Israel and returning to live in Australia. I plan to use this blog as a way of sharing some aspects of our life here in Israel as well as a way to share our adventures as we visit family and friends on our way back to Australia.