A Day Walking Around Haifa

First we had to find the entrance and then buy the ticketss!

Several long day trips were offered to see different areas of the Holy Land and the Golan Heights.  We had done all that on our earlier visit to Israel and so we decided to spend the day walking around Haifa.  We began by taking the "subway" an underground funicular to the top to Mount Carmel.  From there we had lovely views of the city, a large shopping Mall in the Panorama Hotel, a delightful promenade and views from the top of the spectacular B'hai Gardens.  We chose not to visit the gardens and instead walked about 6 miles back down Mount Carmel, stopping in the German Colony for lunch and then returning to our ship.
 

German Colony, Haifa

Many Live in the Old City

The Cardo

Bar Mitzvah but NO BAT MITZVAH at the Western Wall

Every week, dozens of bar mitzvah boys from Israel and the Diaspora celebrate their rite of passage at the Kotel, also known as the Western Wall, which, after the Temple Mount, is Judaism’s holiest site.  Many … families, especially from the more liberal streams of Judaism, are therefore surprised to learn that Israel forbids women and girls from doing the equivalent — celebrating a bat mitzvah at the Kotel,   According to Israeli law, “No religious ceremony shall be in held in the women’s section of the Western Wall.” Women are forbidden to read from the Torah, to wear prayer shawls or to blow the shofar there.  (From the Jewish Journal)

View of Western Wall with Temple Mount and Dome of the Rock..
Bar Mitzvahs are taking place under each umbrella.

Two days each week it is possible for a properly prepared Jewish boy around his 13^th birthday to celebrate his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall at the foot of the Temple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem.    This sacred place for Jews is divided into two areas by a 6-7-foot barrier with the larger portion being for men to worship, approach and touch the wall and the smaller, southern portion the area to which the women are relegated. 

This is the Women's section of the wall.  I did not want to get too close to photograph women praying
but you can see them in the distance touching and praying.  Some will stay there for hours.

A few years ago, we visited the Western Wall and we each made prayers on tiny pieces of paper and stuck them in the wall on our respective sides along with hundreds of others.  For me this visit was different.  Not only did the dividing wall seem taller but this time there was something special to miss on the other side.   So I joined many, many women who stood on either a long low bench or white plastic chairs to look over the wall and watch the many, many bar mitzvahs which were occurring on this day.   Moms, grandmothers, sisters, aunts and onlookers like myself stood to peer over the wall and watch.   When each ceremony was completed the families on either side of the barrier joined together to sing songs and throw the tradition of candy at the bar mitzvah boy.   When they were finished the candy was swept away, the table cleared and a new candidate arrived, with rented Torah, rabbi, and accompanying male relatives of all ages.   And the ceremony began with all female friends and relatives hanging over the make shift barrier to watch.  Countless tables lined the barrier so that female relatives and friends could be present at each of the ceremonies.  For me it was quite a disquieting event.  But this was not the first time on this trip, segregation of men and women is the standard practice in just about every place we have been.  At home we are quick to forget that equality (or almost equality!) for women is a very new thing. 

Guess who climbed on a chair and joined the happy throng of Moms and other female relatives.
You can see right where I stood next to the gal (sister?) in the white sweater pictured in the
previous picture.   She is holding a bag of candy which she will soon throw over the wall.  
And this is what we saw............................

This was another bar mitzvah boy from our view over the barrier............

Here a happy family is reunited after the ceremony outside the restricted area.

Visit to the Old City of Jerusalem

Our ship stopped in Ashdod, the largest port in Israel.  It is located south of Tel Aviv and not very far north of Gaza.   Our tour to Jerusalem was to begin at 7:30am and we were to be on the dock by 7:15am.   Around 7am we were still off the port at a dead stop in the water presumably awaiting permission to dock.  As you probably know security in Israel is very tight.   (In Aqaba, Jordan we just walked off the ship with no clearance required and no authorities paying attention.) 

 Eventually we tied up.  Israeli immigration arrived and about six ship's officers carried trays of our passports each of which contained a  landing card which had been precompleted for each of us by the ship's staff.  We each then had to retrieved our own passport and proceeded to be interviewed by Israeli immigration followed by the usual airport type screening.   The standard procedure is for our passports to be held by the ship on the ship so this entire process of picking up and carrying our passports was unique.  After all this, no one left the port before 8:30am.   

Our one hour drive to Jerusalem stretched almost into two as our bus slowly made its way toward the city through heavy rush hour traffic.  We both enjoyed the ride, the guide was excellent and there was much to see along the way.  Jerusalem today is a very large city with the Old City occupying only a small part near the center.   Today the Old City is inhabited primarily by Arabs.  Christians are the next largest group with far fewer Jews and Armenians.   Many of these people live and work within its walls.   

Before entering the Old City we stopped at the Mount of Olives for an overview.  This can be seen in the following picture.

We entered from the  Dung Gate with the Western Wall shown in the left corner.

A frequent sight in Jerusalem, Ultra Orthodox Jews.   These men for the most part don't work but instead spend there day studying the Torah.   I think we were told that there are about 300,000 Ultra Orthodox men and boys in Jerusalem alone.

Entering the Arab market area

Arab women shopping.   We can tell that they are Arab as they cover their neck while Ultra Orthodox women tend  to cover their hair but not necessarily their neck.   These women also frequently wear long skirts and thick stockings.   Regrettably I  was not able to get a photo.

Military service is mandatory for all young men and women in Israel.  They can be seen all over the country and for the most part are very friendly and welcoming.   BUT there is no question that they are there!

Departure of the Suez Pilot!

Our suite is on Deck just a few feet forward of the hatch on Deck 3 that they most often open to pick up or discharge our pilots.   Every port seems to require a pilot whether we need one or not.   The other evening the Staff Captain (#2 in charge) was asked about who is in charge when a pilot is on board.  He replied that the pilot knows the local waters but he and the Helmsman, the crew member who actually is driving the ship, best know how the ship performs.   When entering and departing each harbor the Staff Captain stands behind the Helmsman and the Pilot stands besides them, issuing instructions.   The Staff Captain shared with us that should he not like the instructions or find them too extreme he gently taps the shoulder of the Helmsman.  They have already agreed on this form of communication.   Should a problem occur the Staff Captain explained that he and the Master of the Ship are held responsible.  The Pilot quickly claims that he is an onboard advisor!  Pilots are generally not held responsible!   On this trip the seas have always been calm and favorable when we take on the Pilot.  This is not always the case and in the pictures I took below seems relatively easy, is in fact a very dangerous part of the job.

Two boats were involved in this transfer and we were never quite  sure what was the role of the 2nd boat seen in this photo off the stern  of the Pilot boat.   Two men did transfer so perhaps this second boat was there  two pick up the second person!

The man below in the blue shirt is crew on the Pilot Boat and in the 2nd photo (R) you can just see the Pilot in a white shirt preparing to transfer.  A small rope ladder is put down from the ship.  In the 3rd photo (Bottom L) you can see the pilot stepping off with assistance from the Pilot crew.

    

And away they go!

Port Said and first glimpse of Mediterranean

At the northern most part of the Suez Canal there is now a new container terminal known as Port Said.  The actual city of Port Said is slightly to the west and is a major Egyptian city.  The port, port built around the turn of the century is rapidly growing and attempting to be one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean.  Al counted 20 container cranes with many more under construction.   This is on the Sinai side of the canal and looking beyond to the east is nothing but desert!   We were very surprised when we passed to note that a large section of cranes had collapsed.  A little internet research revealed that in the beginning of May a COSCO (not COSTCO!) container ship upon departure crashed into the cranes causing explosion, fire and amazing damage.   This is yet another blow to the struggling Egyptian economy.

I grabbed this photo off the internet.  The catastrophe occurred May 3,2016

Just beyond the port we got our first glimpse of the Mediterranean.   From the map you can see that it is a very short distance to our next port, overnite to Ashdod, Israel.