We decided Saturday was a good day for a tour at the Baha'i Gardens considering almost everything else is usually closed on Saturdays. We took a taxi up to the top of the gardens, which begin at the top of Mount Carmel. My goodness there is a good view of Haifa from up there, although it was a bit hazy that day so the pictures aren't as clear as they could be on a clear day. The tour was in English and it was odd to be around so many English speakers in one place. It actually sounds weird to me when I hear someone speaking American English, like a little piece of home was transported here.
The gardens were beautiful. They are made up of 19 terraces (our tour was just the first half, but the terraces repeat themselves so that's ok) that are connected by many many steps that make their way down the mountain. According to the Baha'i religion, you can only go down the steps, never up, so when you get to the end of the tour you have to find your own way back to the top. Luckily for us, we didn't want back up so we just kept walking down into town. By the end of the tour though our legs felt like jello and we would have gladly accepted some uphill travel. But alas, it was all down from there.
Here are some pictures from the gardens. I think the most interesting thing about them to me was the grass. Oddly, the grass is not really on the ground, but suspended about a meter above the actual mountain by really strong netting (strong enough to hold the gardeners). Very odd to imagine...actually I still can't quite picture it myself!
After the tour, we headed down to the market and wandered a bit before meeting up with some family friends, Eli, the one who took us to Hummous Said, and his wife Rena. They gave us a tour of Mount Carmel. We saw some of the same places we had already seen earlier in the day, but we also got to go into a church on the top of the mountain. It was very pretty and when we went inside everyone in there was singing. I was looking around for the choir and thought maybe I just couldn't see them...but I was surprised to find out that the booming, beautiful voices I was hearing were coming from the people all around me... it must have been something about the acoustics in the church because there weren't that many people, it was amazing that they could produce such a sound.
We watched the sunset with Eli, Rena, and their daughter and son in law on the beach and then headed back to our hotel. We treated ourselves to some chinese food (missing the variety of the U.S. a bit) and an amazing desert consisting of a waffle, ice cream and whipped cream...oh my! With our full tummies and aching feet we taxied back to the hotel, watched a bit of our favorite channel (national geographic) and went to sleep.
Note: Soon after we left the Haifa area, a huge forest fire broke out. Here is a bit of information, although you can find much more.
The fire lasted four days and is considered to be the worst in Israel's historyA massive wildfire which killed 42 people in northern Israel has now been extinguished, emergency officials say.
The blaze, which broke out in forests close to the city of Haifa on Thursday, had required international firefighters and equipment to stem it.
Israel's highest ranking policewoman, Ahuva Tomer, who was caught in the fire on Thursday, has since died of her injuries, her family said.
A 14-year-old boy has been identified as the "prime suspect" in the blaze.
The police said he admitted to starting the fire accidentally, after he threw some burning coals from the water pipe he had been smoking on Thursday into an open area of the Carmel forest.
The teenager said he panicked, fled the scene and returned to school without telling anyone, according to police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who has faced calls to resign over his handling of the disaster, has ordered a commission of inquiry.
Emergency aidRains fell overnight on Sunday, helping firefighters in their final efforts to contain the blaze.
The fire was the worst in Israel's 62-year history, and the government has faced criticism for not being prepared for it.Foreign firefighters were due to leave Israel late on Monday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said.
Firefighters ran out of flame-retardant chemicals shortly after the blaze began, and crews did not possess any firefighting planes, reports said.
A total of 24 aircraft were flown in from abroad to help, while the Palestinian Authority dispatched three fire engines and crew.
Ahuva Tomer, Haifa's deputy police chief, died after being seriously burned when her vehicle was engulfed in flames on Thursday.
She had been driving behind a bus of prison guards sent to evacuate 500 inmates from Damon Prison when both vehicles caught fire. Thirty-six trainee prison officers on board died in the incident.
The fire also killed three police officers, a fireman and a 16-year-old firefighting volunteer.
Officials say the fire has destroyed more than 12,300 acres (5,000 hectares) of land, more than five million trees and 74 buildings.
Mr Netanyahu has pledged to rebuild the damaged area quickly, and has approved an initial $16.5m ($16.57 ()m) special emergency aid package.
Most of those evacuated during the fire will now be allowed to return home, the fire department said on Sunday night.
I am totally lost on the suspended grass, but it sounds like you had a great trip. Keep up the blogging! :) Miss you!
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