After spending time in the south at the Israeli Air Force museum and Negev desert monument, we went north to Rosh HaNikra at the Lebanon border, and then back south to Akko.
It still amazes me how close everything is here, relatively speaking. As an American, I don’t bat an eye at the suggestion of a drive that takes several hours. In fact, road trips are an American past time. Coming from a large country with an almost infinite number of destinations at varying distances, a road trip that lasts days won’t impress too many people in the States.
Israel is a small country though. Much smaller than you may think. In fact, Israel is just slightly larger than the state of New Jersey. As a traveler, this means you can drive to just about anywhere in the country within a few short hours.
We headed north from Tel Aviv through Haifa and towards the Lebanon border. The north is a stark contrast from the south which holds the vast Negev desert. Instead, the north gives way to a sea of farming fields, trees, and Mediterranean beaches.
We arrived at Rosh HaNikra at the Lebanon border. (Brace yourself for a short historical lesson.)
The country was previously occupied by Britain during (and after) WWII. The mountains at the border of Lebanon were a huge hassle for Britain to get goods from the south to the north. Instead of traveling up and down the mountain, they decided to blast a hole through it. If westerners know how to do one thing right, it’s blasting holes through mother nature. By 1948, Israel fought and won their independence against Britain and were left with Rosh HaNikra.
The old railroad that ran between Israel and Lebanon here has long since stopped. Instead, it’s been opened up for locals and tourists to come see the cave networks, engineering, and view of the Mediterranean.
(above) The Israel - Lebanon Border
We then drove the 30 minutes to Akko which is famous in the western world for being “home base” for the Crusaders around 1100 BC. Also notable is that Akko is where the Templar Knights creeped to after losing Jerusalem to the Muslims. It piqued my interest since the Templar Knights were recently brought back into the publics consciousness by “The Da Vinci Code”.
Historically, it was a very satisfying day. In fact, it starts to get confusing after a while trying to keep each time period straight. We went from the WWII at Rosh HaNikra to 900 years back in time to the Crusades. The vast historical significance of Israel still shocks me to this day.
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9 Users Responded in " Rosh HaNikra, the Lebanon Border, & Akko "
I was never very interested in American History. I think this is because we don’t have much of a history. I envy your discovery of some really historical places. The most historical place I’ve been is - The Alamo.
@Becki
America has a very rich history! But instead of spanning a millennium, it only spans a few centuries.
And FYI, I’ve never been to the Alamo.
American History is not as interesting to me as others.
Oooooh, yet another destination to add to my list of places to go to feed my obsession with the Templars!
Im completely ignorant of middle east history, save for some catholic thumping back in the day. but i’m very excited to see you going to all these great places! what an adventure! but i’d be happy to lecture on the origins of ornamentation if you’re interested!
have a blast!
Truely Jami,
take it all in. The Pictures are wonderful and you look great. What would excite me about traveling is not so much landmarks although those are great too to see a part of a historical landmark. I would enjoy watching the people, how they live, what they make priority in there day and what brings them joy about being isralies. You are very lucky to experience all this. I am glad you’re enjoying yourelf. How do you feel you are treated as an american?
@ Lisa
I also enjoy observing the culture more than seeing landmarks. It’s a funny thing to look at everyone and feel like an outsider. But being an outsider gives me a neutral perspective on how people function here. There are some very obvious differences between Israelis and Americans. Many of the differences are good (like knowing how to relax, take vacations, eat VERY healthy, etc.) but there are bad things too (very poor customer service, poor driving, quick to anger, pushy, etc.) Some how the positives out-weigh the negatives though.
As an American, I’m treated perfectly well here. We are strong allies with Israel and bring a TON of influence to the country (media, fashion, music, McDonalds. ha!). I’ve actually found that many people are very excited to meet me simply because they want to practice their English.
Very cool
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