I love Medieval style architecture like this city gate built in the 11th century

You would think in a tiny country like Israel we would have done it all and be bored by now ! Well... There are plenty of places we didn't make it to and today was our last outing .

What is it that they always say ...Save something for next time : )

I picked the boys up at Daniel's after their long weekend away. Since we were in the Galilee we visited the Church of the Franciscan on the top of Mt . Tabor...Where according to Christian tradition, is the site of the Transfiguration of Christ, during which Jesus began to radiate light and was seen conversing with Moses and Elijah. I am a fan of the New Testament and I have really enjoyed these places. This mountain has a long biblical history and is mentioned in the Old Testament as well. Like most of the ancient cities in Israel... The city on Mt. Tabor has been conquered and destroyed and rebuilt several times ...

Israel ... Always an architectural Kaleidoscope...
Mason and me inside the Ruins of the 4th century byzantine church

Now time to clean and pack (oh the joys of moving) And hopefully visit our favorite beach one more time.

I am very excited about going home ! At the very same time I am sad to leave !!! Israel is a truly a special place . Each town has a uniqueness unlike the other ... We have all been talking about our favorite place and memory as we get ready to leave . Jerusalem and Jaffa are two that top my list ...But if you ask me tomorrow my answer might be different !

Eric and I are exhausted ... Moving takes a lot out of a person ! Whew ! We have been cleaning,packing getting ready for the movers all week and at the same time trying to visit with friends and hit those last few places we have been meaning to see !

The movers came today... now Eric and I can relax a little

Four more days to pack and organize for the big trip home

Caden and Mason are spending the weekend with their friend Daniel up in the Galilee (Daniels family use to live on our street but recently moved ) We spent yesterday with Daniel's parents sight seeing around the Sea of Galilee, the area most known for being associated with Jesus' life ... Ken and Tali were so nice to show us around (and take our kids all weekend ; )

Who says you can't hike in 100 degree weather

The Sea of Galilee

On our way home Eric and I stopped in Nazareth to pick up a few souvenirs...We have been there a few times (we love Nazareth) The church in the picture is the The Church of the Annunciation, one of the most important churches to Christians-this church is visited by many people from all over the world every year, as you could imagine -Funny sign out side on the main street !If you click on the picture you can see it better !

I am passionate about bringing my children to museums ...You get to pretend to be a naturalist ,an archeologist, an astronaut... or maybe a scientist or an artist! Learning has never been more fun!

But should you bring your children to a museum about the darkest period in modern history ?

The recommended age for visiting the Holocaust Museum is 10 and up (and even that is up to your good discretion) I decided to bring my boys ages 11 and 9...

Our friends and neighbors here have already personalized this horrific event for us . I figured visiting the museum would give an entirely different perspective,and it did ...we all learned alot

But as I write this ...I wonder if this was the best decision ? Mason (the younger one) didn't look at the exibits very close , he didn't seem very interested . He walked through the crowded museum quietly and respectfully. Caden on the other hand ... looked too close, reading everything ,the stories the documentaries,the grafic pictures, everything... and seemed to be very affected by what he saw. He came out of the museum in such disbelief - I didn't have many answers for him.

It was now time for ice cream therapy...

or a mythical Journey you get to choose ! Banias waterfall is a stop on a beautiful hike up in the northern part of the country. Banias is a special place for Christians because it is mentioned in the Bible as the place Jesus brought his disciples and asked them "Who is the son of Man" Matthew 16:13-17

I can see why he would choose such a beautiful place. Near by there is the Temple of Pan . The Greek god of shepherds and flocks. You know the half Goat half man, flute playing mythical God? PAN. The Temple of Pan dates back to 87 CE . As we moved on the trail along the spring we passed by an 2,000 year old Roman Bridge ,some crusader ruins from 11th century and a flour mill from the 14 century ...In ancient times this area was known as Caesarea Philippi-

Temenos to Pan and Echo, the mountain nymph, dated to 87 CE (yes we learned some new things today)

We see these kinds of Ruin's almost daily ...They are spread out all over along the Hwy's and in-between towns - There are many like this one that are not listed in the guide books. What was here ,what happened here , was this 3,000 years old or was it from the Middle ages ???

I sure have some awesome neighbors always willing to help me with my brave food choices : )I can always count on them for help with cooking directions ,reading labels etc...So I am not afraid to try new stuff at the store...Just another example of the warm inviting Israeli hospitality . Haiya who lives next door promised she would show me how to make this Moroccan fish dish and when she does I will post it on the blog -I can't wait to learn how : ) I have had it and it is fantastic!!!!!!!!!

The food in Israel is limited, but healthy,simplistic, and light... One exception ! This dish

Malawach with Tomatoes (Resek Agvaniyot)

Malawach ...Ma' low 'ah is a Yemenite dish of fried pastry dough. It is absolutely yummy. You can buy Malawach in the freezer section at the grocery store in Israel .It's not as good as fresh Malawach, but yummy. Not to mention way easier to make ! The locals eat this many ways (my neighbor layers the pancakes with meat ) I like it the traditional way with a Mediterranean salsa
Basic dough ball recipe for Malawach
4 cups flour
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
2 cups water; or enough to make a soft dough
1/4 lb. butter at room temperature

Mix everything except the butter -knead a bit for smoothness. Let rest , covered, for 3 hrs. Divide dough into 8 pieces. Flatten out 1 piece to about 6 inches in diameter. Incorporate about 2 tsp of butter into dough circle, pushing and kneading it in but maintaining the circle Cut a line open form the center of the circle to the outside edge. Take one end and roll it around into a ball. Prepare all pieces of dough in the same

Flatten out the ball to about 10 inches in diameter to make a pancake that is not more than 1/4 inch thick Heat a skillet and melt more butter over moderate heat(I use oil) Fry pancake until brown and crisp, for about 5 min. on each side

Now for the easy part Resek Agvaniyot -Cut the tomatoes in half and grate them into a bowl,flesh side on the grater ( I had never heard of grating tomatoes before I started my Israeli food adventure,it works well) I used four


Add 1 Tbp. of spicy chile sauce. The secret to the tomatoes...I hope I can find these Yemenite ones in the states they are so good .Try your local Asian market, any variety will work

Almost everything in Israel is served with Cucumbers and Red peppers
I also made an Israeli corn salad with dill . Malawach is served with Givina ,but you could use sour cream. Gavina It is a local cheese that is amazing and low fat.It tastes nothing like sour cream or yogurt. It has its own taste -There are so many different kinds of white cheeses here that look the same but taste completely different!

Happy children!

Apparently there is nowhere to get a haircut in Israel : )

Birthdays in Israel

My Baby turned 9 this month ... the second birthday our family celebrated in Israel . Eric had a birthday in April. We were in the middle of the Sinai Desert on our way to Cairo -adventure bound- when he turned 36! Before packing up for Egypt we celebrated with friends - His Mom was visiting at the time and made his favorite cake. Needless to say no one was home sick

Not the case this time. Mason is missing his Friends and Family in AZ . He gets the birthday blues back home too, around this time every summer it seems like everyone is on vacation -Same : ( I think it is easier at this age if your birthday is during the school year !

Thanks to a friend I knew about this really impressive candle

After the sparkle fades , all the canldes light and the flower spins around playing happy birthday in Hebrew Yom Hu׳le׳det Same'ach -

None of the boys minded that there was a flower on the cake !

Mason in the Jordan River

The Yardenit Baptismal site, Where Christian Pilgrims from all over the world come to be baptized or reaffirm their faith in the Jordan. Caden and Mason had not been Baptized, and this was something I wanted to have done while we are here in Israel.

If you are with your church than you would be with your Pastor, Reverend, Minister or some other Christian clergy who can Baptize.

We aren't here with our church, We don't belong to a church here either. We stopped by hoping to join in on a Baptismal (People say if you ask... Excuse me, we would like to receive the lord...can we join you? For obvious reasons any man of the cloth would have a hard time saying no) This was my plan !!! The only problem was we went there on a really,really slow day for Pilgrims! Suddenly I found myself staking out the place for a Baptizer! The Yardenit is a place people come to see even if they are not getting baptized. It is the spot believed to be where Jesus was baptized ,they have a nice fish restaurant and huge gift shop so many people were coming in and out for other reasons SIGH! I kept saying to Eric do you think he is a Pastor ,what about him etc...

Finally a man came walking in with a small group swim suits in hand : ) I knew that was our only chance!!! I politely asked... he said he would love to ! Turns out the nice man from Australia is a International Chaplin for the United States Military and a Non denominational Christian ...Just what I was looking for. The boys have now Baptized in the River Jordan

Zippori or Sepphoris, Israel is a unique archaeological site near Nazareth. It's history is tied to many religions. For Christians - The parents of the Virgin Mary, Anna and Joachim, were from here.

One of the most fascinating aspects about living here for me is all the History and Ruins. I heard about several programs were you can participate in an excavation. I was able to find a live dig near the house (45 min drive)There are 13 live digs going on around the country right and all need volunteers for digging, shoveling, hauling baskets ,cleaning and more. These digs are done in summer because they are usually done by the Universities . Archaeology students from all over the world come to do this hard work on their break in the heat (they must really love what they do)We were able to see first hand how it's done! The Prof. in charge of the dig invited the boys to come back and wash Pottery on Friday.

Archaeology students using small spoons to uncover a Roman Road

Zippori was established as a city in the 2nd Century BCE . Other digs going on in Israel date back to the second millennium BCE (4,000 years ago) The team we met is in the long process of uncovering a whole city

One of many Beautiful 2,000 year old mosaic floors in Zippori National Park

Five weeks left in Israel ! Yep we leave five weeks from today ... And so much left to do in this tiny country .

We went up to Mt Hermon the highest point in Israel . It is so hot and humid in the rest of the country right now , Mount Hermon is still enjoying cool weather .The slopes of Mount Hermon have some awesome hiking trails . Part of the area is classified as a military zone and that is very obvious when you get up to the top !!! We took the ski lift up and we were able to see far into Syria and Lebanon and Jordan. We stayed at this adorable Chateau in the mountains. Hard to believe there was patches of snow up there.

Heading back down on the Ski lift you can see Lebanon

Caden getting a closer look at Syria

Nimrods Fortress

A Medieval Castle from around 1229