Akko, Zoo, Shavuot, and a Visitor!

Wow! I haven’t updated for a long time—I apologize! It’s been a bit crazy here since I’ve been trying to squish everything in before I leave the country (but we’re not talking about that right now).

Old Akko
My friend and I decided to go on a half-day trip to Akko (Acre) one Friday before Shabbat began and all the transportation shut down. Being a major port city from the period of the Ottoman Empire, there is a lot of history in this town, and so we toured the Old City of Akko.


First, we went to the El-Jazzar Mosque, a beautiful complex which reminded me somewhat of some of the mosque visits we had in Turkey (minus the cold weather!). The outside had light pastel-colored marble and the inside was full of vibrant colors in the marblework, stained glass, carpeting, and decorations.



Here I am at its entrance:


We then toured the Citadel from the time of the Crusaders. The ruins there are remarkably expansive and we took along electronic guides which told us about the different places we visited, such as a dining hall or a hospital.
Some ruins:




A door my size:


Then we went through a small tunnel that took us to some other ruins nearby.


We went past the Turkish bazaar, but it was nothing compared to the one I visited in actual Turkey! It was also mostly closed because it was a Friday.


Then, we visited the Turkish bath, or hammam. It was especially nice to see one because we didn’t have time to go in Istanbul. However, the one in Akko is not a functioning one anymore. It’s an “audiovisual experience” which takes you through a slightly corny movie in the beginning, and then walks you through the hammam and tells you about the different rooms there, complete with statues to help you visualize what it was really like during the Ottoman period. I made a friend:


After saying a quick “hello” to the Ramhal Synagogue (which was closed to visitors), we entered the Templar Tunnel, established by the Knights Templar during the Crusader period. Obviously, some had been rebuilt, but it was nonetheless effective in getting us to the Mediterranean!
The tunnel:


The Sea:



A Morning at the Zoo
A few days later, we had two days off for Shavuot, a holiday that commemorates the giving of the Ten Commandments at Mt. Sinai. During the morning before the holiday began, I went with another friend to the Haifa Zoo. Being spoiled as I am by the National Zoo in DC, I didn’t have very high expectations. However, I was pleasantly surprised by the size of the zoo and the animals it had inside. (Warning: tons of animal photos below.)
Here I am at the entrance:


There were LOTS of peacocks!



Some pelicans:


Flamingoes:


We learned about wingspans:


There were so many baboons!




A leopard that posed for my picture!


Some really cute otters:


I used my scarf to pretend to be a peacock. Clearly, it worked:


Syrian brown bear:


Of course, there were camels:


At the exit to the zoo, we found a super-cool playground:


And, of course, a stage which I felt compelled to pose on:



Shavuot
Earlier in the week, I had realized I didn’t have plans for Shavuot, so I decided to make some! I invited friends over for a dairy potluck dinner (the dairy is customary for the holiday), complete with a delicious cheesecake I bought at the supermarket. It was so nice to have friends over and sit around and chitchat. We had joked about watching all bazillion hours of The Ten Commandments, but even without it we managed to have a good time.


Hannah’s Visit!
A few days later, one of my roommates from freshman year at college came to visit me for Shabbat. I went to the bus station by the beach to pick her up, and while we were waiting I walked around on the boardwalk and saw some gorgeous waves:


After we met up, I took her to the Baha’i Gardens. It was such a clear, warm day, and we got there right on time for an English-language tour!



After lunch at a Hummus Bar in the German Colony below the Gardens, we came back to the University. We spent Friday evening at the Orthodox synagogue near school and Saturday afternoon we hiked down to the beach. It took about 2.5 hours, but it was worth it. We got to have a picnic seudah shlishit on the beach and watched the sun set in time for Havdallah. It was so nice to have a visitor and be able to show someone around the city!