creative jewish mom

The New Mediterranean Seashore Trail Starts In Rosh HaNikra, Israel

If you love hiking, Israel is full of amazing trails, both moderate and difficult, so there is something for everyone. Despite the small size of our country, there is a huge variety of experiences, from mountain, to lake, to sea, to volcanic plateaus, to rolling hills, to dessert, to red rock canyons, together with a huge range of temperatures and weather conditions as well. There is a national trail that goes from the top of Israel to the bottom, which many do in sections, and there is another famous trail called "Yam Le Yam" meaning sea to sea, which is from Naharriya to Tiberius, which even my daughter has done, as it is a two night camping experience and thus reasonable for the not so experienced. On our visit to the Rosh HaNikra seashore we discovered, via signage, that there is a new Mediterranean Seashore Trail, that starts in Rosh HaNikra, and goes to Kibbutz Zikim, (which is 150 miles) located in the northern Negev Desert just above the Gaza strip! Keep on reading for more important info....

An Ancient Rock Quarry On The Mediterranean In Rosh HaNikra, Israel

One of my very favorite sites in Israel, Rosh HaNikra just got even more special, as I seriously did not know that seashore area below the famous cliffs is a huge archeological site, who knew? I did notice that the rocks were an interesting shape, but until Iooked it up it did not occur to me that this was once an ancient quarry, like really ancient! So now you can enjoy this incredible spot and learn some important history about this very special spot!

For thousands of years a Canaanite people known in the Torah as the "Sidonians", and known to the world as the "Phoenicians" (starting from the 19th century BCE up to the 9th century CE). lived along the coastal stretch reaching from Sidon - located 40 kilometers north of Rosh Hanikra - to Haifa, situated around 40 kilometers south of Rosh Hanikra. In spite of their being Canaanites, peace and friendship reigned between them and the Jews during most periods.  In the days of the Kings David and Salomon and their successors, covenants were made between the kingdoms of Sidon and Israel.  They helped each other not only in times of warfare defending against outside invaders, but also with trade and construction. As experts of the ancient world in woodwork and stonework, they supplied both the building materials and artisans for the building of the First Temple. Wow, right? Keep on reading for more photos!

The Rosh HaNikra Seashore

At the very northern tip of Israel, on the Mediterranean Sea and just below the border of Lebanon lies one of my very favorite spots, Rosh HaNikra. For years and years I'd only visited the mountain top area, never venturing to the shore below, until this past passover holiday week, when I suddenly realized that I needed to be close to the water, and directed my husband to make a left turn, which took us into a dirt parking lot, which happened to be right next to a path to the shore, magic! The tide was low so we enjoyed the rocky shore, the views and the fact that despite it being a holiday week, there were very few people there, the best! So friends, visit Rosh HaNikra, the mountaintop with the fenicular that goes down into the grottos, but also visit the seashore below, it is something special!

Sea Lavender ( עדעד כחול) Blooms On The Mediterranean Coast In Israel!

Who knew that purple statice, the flower seen in so many bouquets that dries nicely has a version that grows by the sea and is actually called sea lavender? This was a huge delight to me this past Passover when we visited the rocky beach just below Rosh HaNikra in Israel, just below Lebanon. Wow, statice growing on the beach, amazing! It looks very similar to the statice we all recognize, just grows on shorter stems and close to the ground, certainly to avoid all those winds coming off the sea! So enjoy my photos, and do visit this lovely area (more photos to come) especially in the spring to see the wild statice, or sea lavender, in bloom!

Rain Clouds Over The Mediterranean In Northern Israel

My two teenage sons, 15 and 13 are attending a sleep-away Yeshiva about an hour's drive from home, and we miss them dearly! They do come home every-other shabbat, and we try to visit now and then on weeks when they won't be coming home. This week my 15 year old really sounded like he needed us to visit, which is rare, so I re-organized my schedule in order to visit them this afternoon. I was somewhat worried about driving in stormy weather, as visibility around our mountaintop city can be very low during rain, but fortunately there was a respite from all the wet weather we've been having, and the drive, one hour each way, went smoothly.  And, as a reward for our efforts we got to witness the stormy winter Mediterranean with dark grey rain clouds overhead, so very beautiful indeed! After I finish 100 flower paintings, I'm planning on giving clouds a try, so I will surely refer to these photos as reference, though once painted no one will actually believe clouds can look like this! Enjoy my stormy sea photos taken from the pier on the Nahariya boardwalk.......

A Visit To The Nahariya Boardwalk In The Winter!

Now that my 14 year old son is in sleep-away yeshiva high school in Nahariya he only comes home every other shabbat, which means that every other week we go to visit him. And I have to say I am certainly not complaining as it forces us to visit the Mediterranean Sea, and the drive across the North of the country heading west is indeed quite lovely. Yes it is true it is an hour there and an hour back, but staying connected with our son is of the utmost importance, and at times I feel so very fortunate that his yeshiva is located just ten minutes or so from my favorite stretch of Israeli Mediterranean coastline!

A few weeks ago we decided to check out the boardwalk in the center of Nahariya, a very lively place in the summer, and a very quiet place in the winter! I have to say, I always appreciate beaches much more when they are devoid of crowds, so just enjoying the stretches of sand and the hues of blue in the ocean was truly a treat. Wont you join me?

A Visit To Rosh HaNikra, Israel On The Mediterranean Coast

Once every two weeks or so, my husband and I drive about an hour west to visit our 14 year old son who is in sleep-away Yeshiva in Nahariya. Fortunately Nahariya happens to be on the Mediterranean, and so after years of being starved of the ocean views that I crave, I am now happy as can be, as each visit we generally go for a drive and visit a site somewhere in the vicinity. This time we decided to visti Rosh HaNikra, which is less than a 15 minute drive (10km/6 miles) from the Yeshiva, and one of my very favorite places in Israel.

Rosh HaNikra, "head of the grottos" is on the border between Israel and Lebanon, located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It is a white chalk cliff face which opens up into spectacular grottos which are accessible by a tram. i have actually never been on the Rosh HaNikra tram, known as a cable car to some, and hopefully we'll have the chance to do it in the future. This visit we just enjoyed the view and inspected the border, and with lovely cool and sunny weather it was a perfect little outing. Come join me for a little visit.......

Low Tide At Achziv On The Israeli Meditteranean Coast

We are very very busy preparing for the seven day holiday of Succot, (followed by another holiday called Simchat Torah) but I'm just popping in to share with you some recent photos of one of my most beloved spots in Israel: the rocky yet accesible coastline just above the city of Nahariya in a place called Achziv. As it turns out my fourteen year old son is now going to high school/Yeshiva in Nahariya, so while we miss him terribly, as least when we visit (on the weeks he does not come home for shabbat) this lovely spot is just about a ten minute drive from his yeshiva.

So, while I was very mixed about sending my son away for school, we do get to visit him and see the ocean together, something that I'm always missing! On our last visit we just sat in this spot and put our legs in the warm water.......a nice break for him from all the intense studying, and a wonderful way to spend a little time together.

Mediterranean Sea At Sunset

Yesterday after a very full afternoon of sourcing supplies for a design project my husband and I are working on, with two little boys in tow, we at long last made it to the seashore, the Mediterranean Sea, ahhhhhh. And while the sun was setting as we arrived, we still had a wonderful time, as there is something truly special about the beach at this hour!