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!

Stunning Mountain Views From The Car In The Galil

The views we experience on almost any car trip are just so inspiring and often take my breath away! I'm hoping to start painting using these photos as inspiration, but in the mean time I wanted to share them with you. This photos above is the end of the Meron mountain range, the view we see from our home, but experiencing the length of the range and understanding what we are looking at is so interesting. Here I've compiled photos taken from the car as we approach the city of Tzfat, or Tsfat or Zefat or Safed, though I spell it Tsfat! Enjoy!

Stunning Views From The Car Of The Kinneret And Mount Arbel

On our drive home this week after 2 nights in Jerusalem, I just had to whip out the camera to capture the incredible beauty of our country to share with you, and to have on hand for when I hopefully get around to painting landscapes of all this amazing inspiration! The Galil or Galilee, the area that we call home is in Northern Israel and really in my opinion the most stunning area due to the mountain ranges and of course the Kinneret, Lake Tiberius. Seeing the lake always takes my breath away, as we see in when we leave our mountaintop town anytime we are heading south. I don't have time to write an essay about this at the moment, so just enjoy my photos taken from the car!

Lake Ram, A Crater Lake In The Shadow of Mount Hermon, Israel

On our 3 night vacation just before Passover, we explored so many beautiful spots in the Golan Heights in Northern Israel. One such spot that I'd never even heard of is Lake Ram, a crater lake in the shadow of Mount Hermon, and in the middle of a Druze village. With pick your own cherries orchards right next to the lake, and the cherry trees in bloom, it was a stunning destination and truly different from any place we've been in Israel. And of course with a bit of snow still on the peak of Mount Hermon, wow, it was magical! Okay, lets take a closer look!

Stunning Views From The Car On A Golan Heights Road Trip

Imagine seeing a snow capped Mount Hermon as you are driving down the road? Yes my friends, that was in fact the case on our road trip across the Golan Heights just before Passover, and there were so many great sights from the car window that I just had to share them with you! This was new territory for us, more or less, so it was also really exciting to be not all that far from home and yet see things that were totally different from anywhere else we've been in Israel. And in case you are wondering, spring is hands down the best time to visit Israel and especially Northern Israel, to experience the green hills, a bounty of wild flowers and blooming trees! Okay, lets take a little ride, shall we?

A Walk To See The Stunning Hilltop Views From Moshav Keshet, Israel

A stunning snow-topped mountain with a lovely pond and blooming fruit trees in the foreground, mingling with rolling green hills? It doesn't get much better than that, especially on a cool spring day with blue skies! A few weeks ago we were able to work really hard preparing the house for Passover and take a 3 night vacation for shabbos HaGadol, the shabbos before Passover. We choose Moshav Keshet in the Golan Heights, as a newish neighbor of ours had lived there for 30 years and it was totally unfamiliar to us. And wow, what an amazing location and change of scenery just an hour or so drive from home. The red bud trees were blooming on the moshav, and you can see that here, and we even discovered a very rare wild iris here, and enjoyed cyclamen (a flower native to Israel) blooming everywhere, here. And now I'd like to share with you some of the stunning views from a bunker hill just above our vacation rental......a hill that I climbed twice as I just had to make sure that all the family members got to experience it! Okay, join me, will you?

Cyclamen Bloom In The Golan Heights!

This past week we spent three nights in a lovely Moshav (agricultural community) by the name of Keshet, and wow, all the flowers in bloom made our stay even more lovely. Many of the stone walls were home to bunches of cyclamen in bloom, and while they may have been planted and are not wild, some definately did look exactly like the cyclamen I've seen growing between rocks in my area. Cyclamen in native to Israel, which is so very special! I'm in a rush to finish all the Passover prep, so enjoy my photos and if you want to know more about visiting Keshet, simply drop me a line or leave a comment. Okay, lets take a look at cyclamen and more cyclamen.......

Judas Tree Blooms In Keshet, Israel

One of my greatest pleasures when spring comes to Northern Israel are the abundance of flowering wildflowers, bushes and trees, in addition to orchards full of fruit trees! The Judas Tree, or Red Bud tree, or in hebrew klil hahoresh blooms with bright pink flowers and native trees dot the landscape with pops of color that are just so very beautiful. While the tree is a native here, of course some are planted in residential areas and in city parks as they are quite simply stunning. After working for a good week cleaning our home for Passover we took a 3 day break to explore the Golan Heights, spending shabbat and our nights in a special spot called Moshav Keshet, which I highly recommend. The weather was chilly and sunny, perfect for local nature walks and there were so many beautiful things to see, which I'll be sharing with you here! But first, a look at my beloved Judas Tree, now in bloom in Keshet! And then take a look at my previous post from 2018 to see some lovely up close shots of the flowers, here. 

Ah yes, and if you'd like to read more about our abundance of wonderful native plants, take a look at all the posts in the category called Native Plants of Israel.