Allan and Muna: April 2009

Spring is here in Haifa and the flowers and trees are in fabulous bloom. There are so many flowering shrubs in and around Haifa and of course the Bahá’í terraces are ablaze with colour as well. Here is the entrance to the carpark where we serve – one of Muna’s favourite vistas.

A special festival of Naw-Ruz (New Year) is held on 21 March each year and friends from the UK and the USA joined us this year for a lovely dinner.

Naw-Ruz also marks the end of a period of fasting. It is a Holy Day and we celebrated it in the beautiful Bahá’í gardens in Haifa with all the World Centre friends and hundreds of pilgrims. After the program we have the chance to catch up with dear friends

and to say good bye to others who are leaving soon.

A friend here invited those people who had made her first 2 months of service special to a “gratitude dinner”. After eating sumptuously, she personally thanked each one and spoke how some little act of kindness had meant so much to her. Here is Allan with Ann,

one of the attendees, from the Caribbean.

Spring is also the best time to see Israel’s national parks – right after the winter rain, which at 477mm was 88% of the annual average. Still, the countryside is so very lush and bursting with colour. So in early April we set off with some friends to explore the northern-most part of Israel.

Early spring is wildflower time in the Golan Heights—a place of exceptional beauty in Israel. We had not yet been to the most northern part of Israel near the border of both Syria and Lebanon. Mount Hermon (the source of the Jordan River) is found here and it is the only area in Israel

where snow falls in winter—the ski fields are naturally very popular. Snow used to remain all year around; not these days. These two photographs of Mt. Hermon were taken 3 months apart, the latter one taken on our recent trip.

This map shows our journey - from Haifa to the southern section of Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee);

up the border of Israel with Jordan and Syria

to Nimrods Castle. In our January blog we showed photos of the Israel/Jordan/Syria border region and here we show just how special Nimrod Fortress is and also Banias—an amazing stream of melted snow straight from Mt. Hermon.

Known to the Arabs as Subebe and to the Crusaders as L'Asibebe, Nimrod's Fortress is the popular name by which one of Israel's largest Crusader fortresses is known.

It is thought to have been built in the 13^th century by Muslim armies

in order to defend themselves against the invading Crusader armies and to protect the pass.

Here are some examples of Arabic inscriptions found on site.

Conversely, others believe the fort was built by the Crusaders themselves in defence against the Muslims. It seems to have changed hands several times until subsequently the invading Mongols brought about the destruction of the fortress. Then the Mamelukes defeated the Mongols and reconstructed it to its great splendour. This is an example of motifs that can be found.

The use of arches is mind boggling—ceilings more than 5m in height.

With the retreat of the Crusaders the importance of the fortress diminished. It served as a prison in the 15th century. Afterwards it was abandoned to the shepherds who wandered in that area.

First the entrance to the fortress is impressive with large walls built with huge stones—it staggers the imagination as to how only human and animal labor could build such edifices.

Inside the fortress, there are many rooms of various sizes, all fitted with those special windows that are wide on the outside and narrow on the inside. This permitted the defenders to see their attackers but keep themselves concealed.

The front part of the fortress is divided into three floors

which can be accessed via a narrow winding staircase impressively built from individual stones.

Below the entrance level is a huge room that was the water reservoir.

It still has some of the original plaster on the walls, and from the look of the water in the reservoir, it is left over from the Middle Ages.

The fortress is divided into three areas

and has different architectural styles of the builders from different times.

The front is lower and seems to be the more fortified area of the fortress. The middle is not as well excavated. The walls defending the central area had several massive turrets that in turn had several rooms to them.

Here is a round turret reminiscent of the castles in Europe.

The rear part seemed to have been the administrative part of the fortress. It has the remains of a moat intended to protect it from attackers (not very effectively!!).

This section is not yet fully excavated, but from the top a breath-taking view of the front section of the fortress with the Hula Valley behind can be seen.

After a wonderful lunch,

we made the short drive to Banias springs, which begin at the foot of Mount Hermon. Waters rush with great force through a canyon-like channel,

losing 190 meters in altitude over the course of three and a half kilometers, eventually forming the Banias waterfall,

one of the most beautiful in Israel. After nine kilometers, the Hermon River meets the Dan River and the jointly into the Jordan River.

A wide staircase connects the Banias spring to the Banias cave. Long ago, the spring actually bubbled from within the cave.

The five grottos in the nearby cliff are remnants of a shrine to the god Pan, the origin of the name Panias (or Banias, as it was pronounced in Arabic). A short path leads from the cave to a white structure atop a step on the cliff, which is the graveside of the Druze Saint, Nebe Hader. Outside the cave are the remains of a temple built by Herod.

The path along the stream

leads to the waterfall

As it was early spring the water flowed strongly and this sound in a desert country is simply amazing. The cool humidity reminds one of being in a rainforest.

Our next post will show some of the amazing wildflowers of the Golan Heights with photos of recent visitors...

It’s been a long time since I was in Goulburn, New South Wales, Australia—a long time. Situated two hours south of Sydney, a lot has changed from when I was a lad. We all have childhood memories, but the reality is that as children, we see things very differently and hence those memories can be distorted. This turned out to be so true in my case.

Take for example our house. 22 Argyle Street.

I had no problem finding it—my brain GPS system has hardwired it from childhood—but I had to look twice. What I remember as a big house was actually quite modest.

It has four bedrooms—there were large families in those days, and I was the third of four children. And people change things. Where is the nasty briar bush that we always lost our cricket balls in. Where is the rose bushes that lined the fence? What happened to the garage?

Oh! They turned it around by 90 degrees. And the paint colour has changed from the last time I painted it. My grandparents' house in Albert Street was much as I remembered it but a lot smaller.

That barn was huge as a child—as big as a house—well now I see it really is just a very large shed.

The hospital that had the honour of helping me into this world, or is that the wrong way around (hehe) has also shrunk. This was where I was born and later on had my tonsils out. I was also a regular visitor late at night with abscessed ears. Too painful to remember.

Look at my primary school – it was massive to me as a child.

Maybe they demolished part of it—actually no, they have added bits on—its larger.

I seem to remember it being many stories tall. But now it seems so small. But being founded in 1868—the time Baha'u'llah came to Akka in Israel—it is very old.

The High School
on the other hand looks exactly as I remember it.
After school I had a small casual job delivering medicines each day—working from a Chemist (Pharmacy) where I rode my push bike all over town delivering medicine to those who could not come to town to get it. It's no longer Allison's chemist
and the place I used to get 3 potato scallops for 5 cents is no longer a fish and chip shop. How can they destroy childhood memories like this!!!
The Methodist church in Goulburn is a real landmark, and although I went there for many years most Sundays, my memory of what I learnt is very limited, although the harvest festivals where the farmers brought in part of their produce such that it filled the church in a most vivid memory
This is where my dad used to work—the railway workshop—terrible conditions, being dark and deafeningly noisy in those days. Behind these were the hockey fields where I used to play on Saturday mornings. Up the hill further is “Rocky Hill”, quite an imaginative name, where the war memorial stands in tribute to those who gave their lives in the great war
—a real landmark for Goulburn and a place I used to hike to with “smiley” Brian Clack, who lived in 26 Argyle St. It was like climbing mount Everest in those days. The panoramic view is just one attraction.

Behind this is the Jewish Cemetery

– I was vaguely aware of a Synagogue when I lived in Goulburn but had no idea what it was.

Goulburn has many historical buildings and they are well preserved. Here is a selection.

The Evening Post - the local newspaper used to be the Penny Post, and it has been around for a long time.
Welcome rain fell the day we were there – but not so welcome for the “Goulburn Blues Festival” and small crowds who braved the cold February weather to see some talent from around Australia.
It was held in the main park in Auburn St. This park always has a lovely show of flowers.
It was Valentine's Day and all the restaurants were booked out, so I took my bride to the Paragon Café,
an iconic eatery where many a hungry traveller has found warmth and good food on a freezing winter’s night. It too was full, but we found a table and had a delightful meal.

Bryants still make pies - I did not endulge this time maybe next time - they are a Goulburn icon.
And so I said farewell to Goulburn after buying a dozen bottles of Hopes Cordial – the locally manufactured soft drink that I had on rare occasions as a kid. It still tasted the same – I guess this is one childhood memory that remains true to this day.