Page 17 - Discover Israel Magazine - 2017 edition
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what treasures were kept in the guarded
castle, and whether they included the crown
jewels of Armenia, which the King of Armenia
gave to the Order in 1228 to protect. Exactly
what they included remains a mystery to this
very day.
Good Bread Bakery - follow the tantalizing Alas, the stones cannot speak, and we are Mathanes Haddad, blacksmith,
scent of the fresh-baked sourdough bread left with the mystery and hypotheses of continues to use the same tools
that fills the alley in the early morning historians as well as the original archive that as his father and grandfather to
over the years made its way to Austria and produce the finest metal tools.
with the German name Starkenberg (strong Germany, where it remains today. However, Photo: Yoav Saks
mountain) they built just 45 years earlier, while today we are mainly left with a lovely spot, Elias improvising...
taking their treasures and archives with them. in the middle of the enchanting splendor of His musical pub,
Mamluk Sultan Baybars and his men, who the Nahal Kziv nature reserve. This reserve Shahin Music,
beat and expelled the Crusaders, looked on surrounds the channel of Nahal Kziv, the is where young
as the knights marched towards their capital longest of the the Western Galilee's streams. people come to
of Acre after formally surrendering in June The water that runs through it makes it play together.
1271. possible to swim in several cool pools, with Photo: Itay Avidar
The stones could verify the hypothesis that verdant growth that offers shade to hikers
the castle, while built in an area that offers and also includes a wide variety of animal life,
breathtaking beauty offered virtually no including over 200 Persian fallow deer that
strategic importance, and was indeed built were released into the wild as part of an effort
and used as a headquarters for the order by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to
of German knights. The same stones could bring the wild animals of the Bible back to the
describe the meetings of the heads of the Land of the Bible.
Teutonic Order (founded in Acre in 1198 to
aid Crusaders from Germany), who came A memorial overlooking
from its outposts in the Southern and Eastern Lebanon
Europe. They could share the content of their
conversations and the generous hospitality A spectacular wooden observation point was
they received. They could also tell us exactly built on Mount Adir (3,300 ft.) of heroes of
the Second Lebanon War, which ended ten
years ago and brought quiet to the north.
The location offers one of the most incredible
views not only of the Galilee, but also of
southern Lebanon. You can see Mt. Hermon
on the east, the towns on both sides of the
border, the roads and spectacular natural
landscapes, and even the Mediterranean to
the west. Not to be missed.
Craftspeople, music and good
food
"Why can't the peoples of the Middle East
get along and be friends like us?" This was
the question I was asked by Bassem the
blacksmith, the knifemaker, at his family's
ancient workshop, which he is now restoring.
His question is typical of the entire Galilee
and especially Tarshisha, which is a shining
example of tolerance, mutual respect and
community living among Christians, Muslims
and Jews.
Tarshisha, which today is part of the mixed
city Ma'alot-Tarshiha, was not a regular
village, but not a city either. It was something
in between. A center of Galilee villages that
has been home to a colorful and authentic
market held on Saturdays for centuries.
Everybody in the area, of all faiths and
speaking a variety of languages meet and
D I S C O V E R I S R A E L 17
