Almonds Give the Sign

When the almonds blossom it is the sign we are all waiting for.

Winter can be cold in some parts of Israel, particularly in the mountains of Judea, Jerusalem, the Galilee and Golan Heights. When we have good winters, the rain comes, and interspersed with sunny days.

It is also the time when the country goes green. Finally the trees have been washed clean of the summer dust, and grasses and wild plants sprout. The fields are also sprouting, and there are sometimes so many different shades of green that I find it hard to name them all.

Many tree, especially the fruit trees, stand bare without leaves. Then comes February with its good tidings. The almond trees are the first trees to burst out in flowers, like pink or white cotton candy scattered over the country side.

This is what we have been waiting for. Now we know we have reached the peak of winter, and spring will soon come, with its new abundance of colors.

 

Dead Sea Flash Flood

We were on our way back to Jerusalem from touring Masada. What we experienced yesterday is one more reason, why I never get tired of touring to the Dead Sea.

We were lucky, just as we started heading back toward the cable car, we had one of the rare experiences – it started to rain. To begin with just dripping, but before we got to the cable car, it was pouring.

The shelter is built to give shade, not against a desert torrential downpour, so we and all the other people waiting to go down got pretty drenched. Still, an experience, so we took it in our stride. We also knew that within long we would be indoors, and heading toward the car.

It kept raining, but I was not worried. After all it had been dry the better part of the day. [Read more...]

Water Water Flowing

There are things that can only be experienced at certain times of the year in Israel. You have to know when and where to go for these special experiences.

Nahal Saar is one of those experiences. Nahal Saar flows between the Hermon Mountain and the Golan Heights in the north of the Israel. The word nahal means stream, and as with many streams in Israel water can only been seen in late winter and early spring. This on condition that there has been a good amount of rain through the winter, and hopefully also some snow on the Hermon Mountain and the northern Golan Heights.

This year has been like this. I was fortunate that the other day I was touring up in that part of the country with my tourists, and I had the time and they had the interest to stop for this special experience. The day was glorious, way too warm for this time of the year, but we made the most of it. So we stopped at Nahal Saar, where it has created a fairly large waterfall.

I have to tell you that we were not the only ones there. Though I did not film it, I could hardly find parking place on the other side of the road. Some people even hiked up for an even better view, but we made do with the low view. This is what I am sharing with you here.

Storm on the Dead Sea

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As a tour guide I am always on the road. I see the same places again and again. But every so often land and nature give me surprises.That happened yesterday, as I was touring Masada and the Dead Sea.

On purpose we had chosen yesterday to go to Masada and the Dead Sea. Weather forecast was for rain and storm, and the previous days had been just glorious. It’s always good to get out of Jerusalem, when there is that kind of forecast. At least down at the Dead Sea there is less chance of rain. After all, it only rains 5-10 days a year in the southern part and a little more in the northern part.

Despite the extraordinary strong wind we were able to see Masada in all its glory. And this time the starlings played along, and I was able to get a lot of good shots. [Read more...]

The Jesus Trail – A Spiritual Journey

portrait-2I just love it, when new experiences are added to the map of exploring Israel and the Holy Land. That is what this latest development is all about.

The Jesus Trail is a hiking tour through the Galilee that Jesus would have known. The moving force behind the development of the trail are Maoz Inon, an Israeli entrepreneur, and David Landis, a Mennonite from the US. [Read more...]

Israel National Trail – A Different Visit to Israel

portrait-2This is a little outside my normal range – The Israel National Trail (INT). I have never done it myself – hiked the Israel Trail, but this blog is also to give information for a different type of visiting Israel.

Hiking in early spring

Hiking in early spring

The Israel Trail was officially opened during Passover of 1995. It was the brain child of Avraham Tamir, a journalist and writer, who had hiked the Appalachian Trail in 1980. He proposed the idea of an Israel [Read more...]

Taste of Spring in Israel

Late winter and spring months are the most spectacular months in Israel.

Israel being a semi-arid country with long  dry summers, six months, the other seasons tend to be short. There are some years, where fall is almost non-existent, where the country goes from warm to rain and cold.

Winter months are generally rather pleasant, and we all bless it, as the rain falls. Without the rain [Read more...]

Have A Date With Israel

There are foods that are an integral part of a country or regions lifestyle.

Date Palms

Date Palms

Dates are one of them. The date palms grow abundantly in all parts of the country and of course the Middle East. There are in fact several types of dates. The most common is the big dark brown almost black date that most are familiar with. [Read more...]