Spinning Wheel

What goes up must come down. That is how we started our adventures today driving through the hilly Galilee.

Woke up to another perfect day and I took a stroll around our quiet neighborhood. The place is called Yuvalim and it is a settlement founded in 1982 to encourage Israelis to live in the Galilee. Beautiful homes and shrubbery are everywhere.

There is a famous artist, Dalia Meiri, living here and her sculptures line the entry streets and a little park adjacent to her home. I saw some awesome pieces of art and met two nice dogs on my journey.

Lots of birds here and I spotted a common one called a bulbul which lives in Israel and Lebanon and sometimes as far as Turkey.

Around 10:00 we four adventurers set off and explored an industrial park and then continued to Ma'alot, a small Jewish city famous for sculpture. Every year they have a contest with artists from around the world all creating for one theme. The stone is supplied and the finished pieces remain along the city streets. The place is gorgeous with many fountains with the lovely sound of flowing water. 

Shulamit had visited a gallery here and we found it and entered. The art has been created by an Arab women to protest abuse of females in her culture. Her name is Fatima and she uses her father as a model and pieces of her deceased mother's hair in her mixed media work. We were very impressed by her talent and courage.

Happily the art center has been donated by a family and community in the Bux-Mont Jewish Federation which was adjacent to our Federation in Pennsylvania before we moved. We also saw a JNF park in the town donated by British and Irish communities.

Moving on we visited another gallery in a nearby town. The artist belongs to a quilting group with  Shulamit and this was opening day. We stayed a short time since it was very crowded and enjoyed seeing the beautiful homes in the area.

Next stop was lunch in the adjacent Arab town. Touted as one of the best places for hummus, it did not disappoint. First we walked through the Arab outdoor market with beautiful fruits and vegetables. Huge displays of nuts, seeds, candies competed with clothing and home goods. A great experience and Jeff was able to get some peas in the pod which he loves.

The restaurant was busy and Shulamit and I ordered hummus and eggplant. Jeff had a grilled chicken while Hannoch had hummus with meat. It turned out to be goat and Jeff was a good sport and tried it. Everything came with warm pita, olives, tomatoes, pickles and a giant plate of fresh tabouleh with lots of mint. They brought green, minty tea in glasses to finish off the meal.

We walked back to the car and headed home after stopping off at an ATM. Shulamit and Hannoch packed up and left us alone. He is flying to the states tonight to speak at a scientific conference. Hope to to see them again before we leave. Could not ask for better hosts or friends. We will stay tonight eating leftovers from last night's dinner and other items we purchased at the supermarket.

When we saw our landlord/rental owner he invited us to have dinner with him. That was so sweet, but we are anxious to have some down time. I am sitting outside writing as it is getting dusky. Lots of birds are chirping and I got some pictures. In the distance I can hear chanting at the mosque in the Arab village across the valley.

Now the muezzin is broadcasting and it is really loud. Jeff says we are hearing the chanting from two different mosques. And sadly, I just heard lots of gunfire, probably coming from Lebanon many miles to the north. Found out in the morning that it was gunfire, but happy noise. Apparently it was a wedding and the guests fire rifles into the air to celebrate. Wonder where those bullets come down?