Comment tu t'appelle?

George: What is Holland?
Jerry: What do you mean what is it? It's a country, right next to Belgium.
George: No, that's the Netherlands.
Jerry: Holland is the Netherlands.
George: Then who are the Dutch??

I thought it would be ignorant to fly to Amsterdam without clarifying this issue so, after skimming the relevant Wikipedia article, I decided that I would henceforth refer to the country as its given name, The Netherlands. By the end of the trip I had reversed this position –the final vote tallied being cast by the Dutch spin-off of “America’s Got Talent”, which, as you might have guessed, is titled “Holland’s Got Talent.” I knew ahead of time that my family in Nijmegen, an eastern municipality bordering Germany, referred to the country as Holland, but soon learned that this sentiment is shared almost universally amongst the locals when referring to their home. This may not be technically correct, but, in my opinion, you can call yourself whatever you want to and that’s fine by me.

For example, my last name is Guez and so is my father’s. It’s spelled with a “U” because, along with Arabic, they speak French in Tunisia where he grew up, a language which pronounces “Gez” as “Jez.” Conversely, “Guez” has a hard G like “Guess” or “Rodriguez.” His father’s last name, however, was Elguez. My father dropped the “El” when he moved to Israel. I’m not entirely sure about this, but I feel like he’s told me a different reason for the change every time I’ve asked him. He also changed his first name from Masseoud to Moshe so, in the end, I suspect that it was because Elguez sounded too Arabic. Similarly, upon taking up a career in the Israeli Army, one of his brothers Jew-ified his last name, as was the custom in career soldiers, to Gazit, while conversely the other brother kept the original and, upon immigrating to Canada, dropped the “U”. Three brothers, three names: Guez, Gazit, and Elgez.

But wait, there’s more. Though technically my cousin, my uncle in Holland was adopted by our grandmother after his biological mother, my dad’s older sister, passed away when he was still a baby. He was raised as my father’s youngest brother, a fact he didn’t discover was untrue until the age of 8. He went through his youth as an Elguez/Guez only to find, upon joining the Israeli Army, that his last name was Maimon, the surname of his biological father, which coincidentally happens to be my grandmother’s maiden name. He also found out that his first name was different, a family name that never stuck, though that was easy enough to change. Upon marrying a Dutch woman and immigrating to Holland he to simplified (Dutchitfied?) it further to Mimon.

So who am I to call foul? In both French and Hebrew the way you ask for someone's name is to say the literal translation of "How do you call yourself?"  As far as I’m concerned, when looking across paternal cousins, I’m a Guez, she’s a Gazit, he’s an Elgez, she’s a Mimon, and all our fathers our brothers. And if they want to call it Holland then, by golly, so be it.

Return from the North

The bus and train system in Israel is fairly robust, and you really don't need a car to explore the country. That said, renting a car and driving across the north of the country was a fantastic idea. Accelerating through windy roads through gorgeous hills or along the coast with the sun shining and the music blasting was as, if not more, enjoyable an experience as the ones I had at my actual destinations. I had everything I brought with me from America in the car along with a wonderful feeling of freedom that I didn't quite have when I had a home base in Tel Aviv. There was a real sense of adventure in pouring over a map of the country, planning my route to the next location, then pulling into the first hotel I spot to get a local map of the area I was visiting. By now I’m not only used to being alone, I actually prefer it most of the time.

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Tiberias, or Tiveria in Hebrew, is a town on the western shore of Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee. King Herod had a large influence over most of the historical areas of Israel and Tibierias follows this trend as his son, Herod Antipas, established the town in 20 AD as his capital and named it in honor of the Roman Emperor of the same name. The city has a rich history of revolts, reprisals, Judaism, and Christianity. It was at one time the cultural center of Judaism, the home of the Sanhedrin (Jewish Court), the birthplace of the Talmud (the recorded oral Torah), the burial ground of Maimonides, Rabbi Akiva, and others, and a center of Jewish learning in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today it is regarded as one of the Four Holy Cities of Judaism, which are aligned with the four elements Earth (Hebron), Air (Tzfat), Fire (Jerusalem), and Water (Tiberius). Its water component is based on its location along Lake Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee, which is the lowest fresh water lake in the world, and the second lowest lake in the world (the Dead Sea).

While in Tiveria, I visited and took a dip in Hammat Tiveria, the natural hot springs. The water in the spring is rich in minerals and over 140 degrees Fahrenheit. The water is pumped up and down a hill to cool it to a more comfortable 100 degrees before reaching the spa where visitors have come from around the world for its apparent healing properties. I also visited the remains of a synagogue from 341 with a beautifully preserved mosaic depicting the zodiac, and hiked up a small mountain for a breathtaking view of the city and lake. Actually, I almost made it up the mountain. A herd of cows blocked by my way, and while I pondered the safety of walking between them with their young in tow, I spotted 3 or 4 bulls among the lot and opted against it.

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While Tiberias makes up the water component of Israeli’s holy cities on account of the Lake, Tzfat makes up the air component on account of its wind. Set high in the hills (2,650 feet above sea level), the air was crisp and the temperature was cold. Tzfat, also known as Safed, Safad, and Zefat, is the home of Jewish Mysticism, or Kaballah, in Israel. Supposedly the place where the Messiah is supposed to first arrive, Tzfat is filled with Hasidic Jews and famous synagogues, all set amongst cobblestoned streets and yellow bricked buildings. I spent Shabbat here at a place called Ascent, a Chabad center for tourists and those interested in learning about Kaballah. I met three other Americans there, each with a different reason for coming to the holy city. We had Shabbat dinner with a local family, learned about Hasidic Judaism and Torah codes, and toured the old city. It was a very nice time. The highlight of my time in Tzfat was finding the graves of my grandmother and aunt who are buried in the old cemetery there, overlooking Mount Hermon. My dad gave me treasure-hunt-style directions to the spot and I finally found it as the sun began to set over the hills. It was a very rewarding experience.

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My next destination was the Nahal Hermon Nature Reserve, also known as the Banias. Located in the north east of Israel, alongside Mount Hermon, the Banias is an archeological site, nature reserve, natural springs, and waterfall. I visited a temple, courtyard, and grotto all built in 87 AD to worship the Greek God Pan (goat-footed god of victory) and the mountain nymph Echo. It was a really nice hike and I got some amazing photos.

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After spending the night with family in Hatzor, I drove west, stopping in Karmiel to see another cousin, and ending up at my aunt’s in Nahariya, a city along the Mediterranean Sea. We went to a religious wedding together and the following day I tried to visit Rosh Hanikra, a set of grottoes and cavernous tunnels carved into the soft chalk rock by years of sea action. Unfortunately the site was closed to prepare it for the summer season.

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The last day of my trip was spent in the port city of Haifa, Israel’s third largest city where I spent time with my friend Yuval, explored the city, and walked around the outskirts of the stunning Baha’i Gardens built in the late 1800s as a shrine of the Baha’i faith. Haifa is built on a very steep hill, with winding streets cutting across the hill side. Ascending the hill by foot is extremely difficult, so Haifa is also home to Israel’s only subway, the Carmelit. More of a funicular than what one might envision when thinking of a subway, the Carmelit pulls a car underground up the steep incline via an electric pulley system. It was closed by the time I headed back to the hostel, which was fortunate as the journey downward by foot was a lot of fun. Some stairways lead to private houses while others lead to alleyways that cut down the hillside. Finding my way downward was adventurous and offered beautiful views of the city lights along the way.

I returned to Tel Aviv this afternoon for some much needed R&R. The constant travel and lack of good deep sleep has been catching up to me and I’m planning on vegging out to prepare myself for the journey to India in April. At some point I’ll head to Jerusalem and there’s been some talk about making a trip to Eilat and Petra before that. We’ll see what plays out.

On to Northern Israel

Holland is a beautiful country and I had a fantastic time exploring and catching up with friends in Amsterdam and getting to know my family in Nijmegen.  A detailed recap of my week in the Netherlands will have to wait, along with my forthcoming look back on Tel Aviv.  I returned to Tel Aviv Monday morning, leaving only Monday night and Tuesday to both plan my trip to the north and to set in motion the process of getting an Indian tourist visa.

Getting a visa for myself in Israel to visit India is cheaper and faster than for most Americans because I have an Israeli passport.  That said, the process is  still longer and more expensive than I assumed it would be and is further complicated by the fact that my passport is too new. The Indian Embassy outsourced the application process to a travel agency down the street from where I'm currently staying.  Because my Israeli passport was issued only this year, and I didn't bring the old one with me, I have to get some paperwork from the Ministery of the Interior first.  Getting there took longer than I thought (notice a trend here) and I didn't get there until 12:10 today, 10 minutes after they had closed for the day.  I'm hoping to get it all taken care of before I leave tomorrow.

The plan is to pick up the rental car at noon, drive to the city of Tiberius along Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee) tomorrow and spend a couple of days seeing the sights.  I'll spend Wednesday and Thursday night there with family and then drive up to Rosh Pina for lunch Friday with my Aunt Rashel.  After lunch I'll go to Tzfat to spend Shabbat with the Ascent of Safed.  Tzfat is the world center of Jewish Mysticism and Kabala and I've heard some good things about the Ascent organization so it should be a pretty interesting and spiritual experience.  I'll also get to see the town my dad grew up in and might bump into some older locals who knew him. 

On Sunday morning I'll leave Tzfat and head up to the north east of Israel to visit the Banias Springs by Mount Hermon and the country's largest waterfall.  I'll spend Sunday hiking the Nahal Hermon Reserve and will head back to Rosh Pina afterwards to spend Sunday night with one of my cousins there.  Monday morning I'll drive to Carmiel, have lunch with another cousin, then continue west towards Nahariya.

I'll stay with family in Nahariya and will spend Monday afternoon checking out the cave formations at Rosh Hanikra as well as exploring the city and its beaches and visiting more family in the area.  

Tuesday morning I'll drive south to Haifa to see the Baha'i Gardens, stay overnight in a hostel, then head back to Tel Aviv Wednesday morning to return the car.

I'll have my brother's laptop with me most of the time which gets Internet everywhere so at some point in all of this I should get the chance to upload my pictures and share some stories from the Netherlands.  

First things first, though.  I'm now off to see what Saint Patrick's Day is like in Tel Aviv...