Day to Explore

NOT the St. Louis Arch
















Grown-ups' Day Out: Michael, Diane, Dan, Jessica, Bradley (old friend of Jessica's) and Richard

July 14, 2007
Rabbi Marc’s neighbors, Todd and Karen, have wifi. I walk down and sit in front of their house early in the morning to do the blog. Dogs and cats wander around the community.

Iking and Deon go back to the Arab village to Tamer’s house. Deon asks if I will see if his mother will let him stay the night. Iking wants to stay, too. The grown ups have commented on how daring the children are in the circus but how they are much less so with other things. It is about control, I think. In the circus, they are in control over what they do and what happens to them. They know what to expect.















We don’t know what the kids will be doing with their host families today. The adults have hired a guide. He takes us to a place called Caesaria. It is the site of a magnificent harbor built by King Herod and later occupied by Muslims, Crusaders and others over time.

The ruins are spectacular. Much of the mosaic work has survived. The amphitheater is still in use and has fantastic acoustics. There is an interactive museum. The ocean is a teal chartreuse there. There used to be a wood-fueled light house on the spot, in ancient times. You can see where the gardens were, the baths, the hippodrome track, the Temple-then-mosque-then-church. From there, we go to an ancient aqueduct that fed Caesaria. You can go underground and walk through the channels in the water. You can see the chisel marks on the wall from where the slaves hewed this plumbing system out of solid rock.

Dan and Jessica enjoy coffee in a Druze village

We eat lunch in Druze village. The table is piled with hummus, falafel, salads, lamb and warm pita. The Turkish coffee is served in tiny cups. I have three.

We get news from the kids. Shai’s family and Royi’s family both have the same idea and take their guests--- Lemond and Michel and Keaton and Kellin--- to some caves by the beach known as Rosh Hanikra. They found jellyfish on the beach and gave impromptu juggling lessons to some other kids, on the beach.

Shai, who has Lemond and Michel, lives in a gated community like Shorashim. His community has a petting zoo, so, Lemond gets to see a camel up close. Royi lives in Karmi’el. His family has built a wonderful house with a patio and a balcony and beautiful yard. Their bomb shelter (which they did have to use last year during the conflict with Lebanon) is the mother, Orli’s, art studio.

The girls have moved to the Arab village, Dir El Assad. They are at Manar and Manal’s house where it is their younger sister’s birthday. The boys are in the same village and have gathered a crowd as they tumble through the streets. They have made friends with some of the local kids. Tamer’s father is Achmed who is the local Arab liaison for the Galilee Circus and is also a school teacher. The village they are in was started by 5 brothers and now consists of 16 generations of the families.