Twenty Four

Our eldest son, Nadav, turned 24 last month. I shared his 22nd birthday card in January and his 23rd in July. I am squeezing this latest card in at the end of the year so that I can get back on schedule!

Nadav moved to the southern Israeli city of Be'er Sheva in September and recently began his university studies in Computer Science there. Be'er Sheva is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel and is often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev". He and his girlfriend Hila found a nice apartment there and have made it their home. Their student flat is a lot different to the ones I lived in back in the day!

Nadav's card this year shows him using his new ASUS laptop. He is wearing his 2024/25 red Arsenal home shirt. The logo of the university where he is studying, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, is on his left. The flame symbol comprises the letters "alef" and "nun", the first letters of "Universitat Hanegev" (University of the Negev - the name of the University until 1974). The colour orange was chosen to symbolize the different hues of the desert, focusing on the vision of David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, to establish a university with a mission to develop the Negev.

Next to the logo I added a road sign pointing to Be'er Sheva, representing Nadav's move to a new city.

On Nadav's right I added a red heart with Hila's name on it. She is an important part of his life and could not be left off the card! Behind him is a photo of their apartment. They have done a great job of making it look nice. Finally, a big red number 24 marks his age. 

There was a homemade birthday cake as well, though he only got to enjoy it the day after his birthday, when he paid us a flying visit. On the day of his birthday itself there were university studies to get on with!

* This post has been shared on Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday) and Creatively Crafty Linky Party.

A Return Visit to Be'ersheva

I've blogged about Be'ersheva before. Mister Handmade in Israel and I made an impromptu visit there back in 2016. This time I took my dad. Be'ersheva is a very old city, having been in existence for more than 6,000 years, though the city as we know it today is relatively new and was only established at the beginning of the 20th century under the Ottoman Turkish rule. There were a few places I wanted to show Dad in Be'ersheva's Old City, which still retains many of its historic Ottoman buildings and buildings built during the British rule. We started with the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Memorial Centre.

The ANZAC Memorial Centre, which was dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the liberation of Be'ersheva in 2017, stands adjacent to the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Be'ersheva. The centre tells the story of the ANZAC conquest of Be'ersheva and puts the visitor in the shoes of the young soldiers who fought there 100 years ago, thousands of kilometres away from home.
The ANZAC was a military force of Australian and New Zealand soldiers under the command of the British, who fought in the First World War in the Middle East, including the liberation of Be'ersheva from Ottoman rule. Though the ANZAC cavalry had never trained for such an assault, Lt. Gen. Harry Chauvel, who led the ANZAC forces to victory, ordered his forces to charge the Ottoman forces fortified in trenches. They galloped so fast that the Ottoman marksmen couldn’t adjust their range quickly enough to effectively aim at the advancing cavalry. After crossing the plain, the soldiers dismounted and fought the Ottomans hand to hand in the trenches. By nightfall of 31st October 1917, Be'ersheva was under British control.
Our guided visit to the centre was an informative and moving experience. We learnt about the ANZAC horsemen and the historical developments of the First World War in the Land of Israel. The centre contains archaic items, testimonies from the Battle of Be'ersheva, personal diaries of the famous cavalry that participated in the battles, historical findings and more. The impressive viewing point of the Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery very much added to the whole experience.

The Old City of Be'ersheva is currently being transformed into a hub of tourism and culture and, as the development progresses, the area is becoming a cool place to hang out. The Be'ersheva municipality has begun to develop and maintain the streets, and in addition, many of the historic buildings in the area have signs posted by the Council for Conservation of Heritage Sites, making it easier for visitors to the city.
My dad and I stayed at The Ottoman House, gorgeous boutique holiday apartments located in the heart of the Old City and we enjoyed a delicious vegan meal in a lovely cafe located on one the newly renovated pedestrianised streets. The beautifully styled apartments of The Ottoman House, so different from the surrounding rundown area, were a great choice. I have high hopes for tourism in Be'ersheva!

The following morning we took a walk around the Old City, stopping at Allenby Park, named after the English General Edmund Allenby. The park that was constructed in 1902 included trees, an orchard and garden shrubs, and it served as a leisure site for those who came to the Ottoman government building in the city. The park was constructed without a surrounding wall, and within a short time it was destroyed by animals, such as goats and sheep, which ate the vegetation.
In 1915 the park was restored by the Ottoman military governor, Djemal Pasha. Trees and shrubs were planted in order to create a pretty, green area. In the middle of the park, a marble column was erected, which was engraved with an inscription lauding the victory of the Ottoman Empire.
After Be'ersheva was conquered by the British, the new rulers installed a statue of General Allenby, who had conquered the area from the Ottomans. During riots that began in 1938, Arabs shattered the statue and the British decided not to restore the image of the general on the column. In recent years a statue of the legendary General was restored in the park at a ceremony attended by his relatives. Work will soon begin on rehabilitating Allenby Park, which has been somewhat neglected, in order to restore it to its original state from about a hundred years ago.

Our next stop, and a return visit for me, was at Abraham's Well International Visitor Centre. According to the bible, the story in Genesis 21 tells of a well which Abraham dug and Abimelech's servants seized. Abraham gave seven lambs to Abimelech as witness that he dug the well himself. Abimelech accepted the lambs and the two men swore an oath in the place named Be'ersheva. In 1838 the well was identified by the American biblical scholar Edward Robinson and in 1897 a local sheikh built a modern structure above it. To this day many believe that this well is the well that was dug by Abraham and provided the name for the city of Be'ersheva (Be'ersheva means "Well of Seven" or "Well of the Oath").

The new centre, designed as a tent, showcases the life of Abraham, the spiritual father of three monotheistic religions. The well is in the centre of the courtyard. It is 3 metres in diameter and 26 metres deep. The top part of the well is lined with stones, probably from the Byzantine period, and the bottom part is cut into the bedrock.
When Egyptian President Anwar Sadat visited Be'ersheva with Prime Minister Menachem Begin more than 40 years ago, he wanted to visit Abraham's Well, the site where a peace treaty had been signed between Abraham and the Philistine King Abimelech thousands of years ago.

Our last stop of the day was also a place I had visited before but I was so blown away by the design back then, I wanted to see if dad shared my thoughts. The Monument to the Negev Brigade, known locally as the Andarta, is situated on a mountain top north of the city. Designed by sculptor Dani Karavan and built between 1963 and 1968, the memorial's futuristic sculptures symbolise the sacrifice of 324 soldiers of the Palmach Negev Brigade who died defending the region against advancing Egyptian forces during the War of Independence.
The memorial, which has won many architectural awards, is made up of 18 raw concrete objects that symbolise and reflect the events of the War of Independence and of the Palmach. The perforated tower alludes to a watchtower shelled with gunfire and the pipeline tunnel is reminiscent of the channel of water in the Negev defended by the soldiers. Engraved in the concrete are the names of the soldiers who died in the war, the badge of the Palmach, diary passages from the soldiers, the battle registry, verses and songs.
Though the memorial does need a bit of tender loving care, the place is very moving and architecturally very interesting. Walking over and through the sculpture really gives you time to reflect on the events that occurred there over 70 years ago and to appreciate the now quiet beauty of the desert.

* This post has been shared on The Good. The Random. The Fun., Creative Mondays, Sharon's Souvenirs, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Our World Tuesday, Tuesday's Treasures, Travel Tuesday, My Corner of the World

The Best of 2016 - Part II

1. Nahal Taninim Nature Reserve  2. Lohamei Hagetaot  3. Ein Afek Nature Reserve  4. Making the Desert Bloom  5. The Monument to the Negev Fighters Brigade  6. The Yehi'am Fortress  7. Be'ersheva  8. The Sharon Coast National Park  9. Cyclamen Hill  10. Tel Aviv's First City Hall

Happy New Year! When I started writing this blog back in 2008 I initially kept it as a blog purely about my papercut art. However, I soon found out that people were interested in reading a little more about me and my life here in Israel. Whilst I still don't write every single detail about myself here, I have opened up to you about my Jewish faith and many of the holidays we celebrate, and I have written about some of the beautiful places I have been fortunate to visit in Israel.
In a week's time I will be marking 22 years in Israel. It is incredible to think that I have spent almost half of my life here. Over the years I have enjoyed seeing and exploring my country, particularly when the kids were younger (they are now teens and less interested in coming out with Mum and Dad). We have been north, we have been south, east and west - though that's not so hard really since the country is so small! Along the way I have developed a knack for searching out off the beaten track places, so much so that rarely a week goes by without me getting a call or WhatsApp message from a friend asking for suggestions about what to do and where to go! I must admit, I quite enjoy my role as an unofficial tour guide.
2016 saw us visiting Be'ersheva in the South and the western Upper Galilee in the North. We went to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, spent a few days on a kibbutz and stayed closer to home to see the Rakefot (Persian Cyclamen) bloom. I have blogged about all of these places and more, but thought it would be fun to pick my top 10 of 2016. So, in no particular order, please click on the names above and enjoy exploring Israel with me!

* This post has been shared on Sunday Pleasure, Blue Monday, Mosaic Monday, Monday's Musings, Wordless Wednesday (on Tuesday), Seasons, Our World Tuesday, The Good. The Random. The Fun., Travel Tuesday, Tuesdays with a Twist, Outdoor Wednesday, Travel Photo Thursday and City Tripping.

Tel Beer Sheva

 

After first visiting the Monument to the Negev Fighters Brigade, day two of our overnight trip to Be'ersheva took us to Tel Beer Sheva National Park. Tel Beer Sheva is an archaeological site in southern Israel believed to be the remains of the biblical town of Be'ersheva. It lies east of the modern city of Be'ersheva and west of the new Bedouin town of Tel Sheva/Tel as-Sabi. Tel Beer Sheva has been excavated by archaeological teams for many years and the site is of great importance for the study of biblical-period urban planning. It became a national park in 1986 and in 2005 UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site.

At Tel Beer Sheva archaeologists have uncovered two-thirds of a city dating from the early Israelite period (also known as the Iron Age). The tel or mound (a 'tel' is a mound underneath which lies the ruins of previous settlements that once stood on the same spot) where this city was situated was then continuously occupied for about 500 years. Finds include a beautifully preserved well (possibly the one mentioned by Abraham in Genesis 26) found right outside 3,000-year-old city gates, a circular street with rows of buildings on both sides, dwellings and storehouses. During the time of Herod the Great a large fortress containing a bathhouse was built on the mound. Two plastered pools belonging to this fortress can still be seen.

A huge four-horned ashlar altar at the entrance to the park was reconstructed from excavated fragments (the original is now in the collection of the Israel Museum). Though a dramatic object, and central to the ancient religions of the area, this altar is made of carved stone, in violation of biblical law; it therefore was probably not an altar used by early Israelite worshippers.

In the Roman Period the settlement spread to the area of present-day Be’ersheva. That city was later abandoned, and rebuilt around 1900 by the Turks as an administrative centre.

Excavations at Tel Beer Sheva were carried out from 1969 to 1976. This work was funded mainly by the Be'ersheva Municipality. In 1990 extensive restoration was carried out at Tel Beer Sheva by the national parks authority using authentic materials - stones found in the rubble or mud-bricks. A lookout tower, which provided us with a wonderful view of the site, the desert, and the modern city of Be'ersheva, was added and excavation renewed. At this time the uncovering of a meticulously planned water system as it was abandoned over 2,000 years ago was completed. It consists of a rectangular 17-metre-deep shaft lined with stones with a flight of steps along its side, a plastered water system to prevent water seeping out, divided into five spaces, and a winding feeder channel that led flood waters from the Hebron streambed into the reservoir. The water system was established as part of the city's fortifications, and was intended to ensure the inhabitants' access to the water reservoir within the city in time of siege (the well hewn near the city gate met their ordinary daily needs). The system below ground was amazing - well lit and safe to explore.

Tel Beer Sheva, one of the oldest sites in Israel, was very impressive. We walked the streets and imagined the buildings as they were. It's not a huge site but, given its age, is incredibly well preserved. If you're visiting in the middle of the summer, the water system is the best place to cool down!