Sunday – October 8, 2017
Sunday is a workday in Israel since Shabbat is celebrated Fridays and Saturdays. Most of the other guests at our kibbutz had gone home on this workday, so our Sunday was quiet and peaceful. It was a lovely morning; the sun was bright and birds were chirping happily.
We were staying at Kibbutz Kfar Haruv on the Golan Heights at their Peace Vista Country Lodge – Mitzpe Hashalom, in Hebrew. The community manages 27 comfortable rustic cabins for Israeli and international tourists. Several of the knotty-pine cabins are located on the edge of the 1700′ cliff with spectacular views of the Sea of Galilee and the western hills in the distance.
One nice feature of staying at Peace Vista Lodge is that a huge continental breakfast is delivered to each cottage in the morning. Home baked pastries with cheese and strong coffee was a wonderful way to start the day. This morning we were scheduled to tour the grounds of the Kibbutz and help make lunch. One of the members gave us an excellent tour.
Kibbutz Kfar Haruv was founded in 1973 and continues the kibbutz tradition as a collective community. The Kibbutz movement began in Israel in 1909 as agricultural communities combining socialism and Zionism. In recent decades, some kibbutzim have been privatized and changes have been made in the communal lifestyles. Kfar Haruv has a population of 387 people.
A large dairy is one of the successful businesses which the Kibbutz owns and runs. We visited the cows and also saw many calves. The settlement also tends orchards of almonds, avocados, and peaches. The international community considers Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights illegal under international law, however the Israeli government disputes this.
On our tour we saw homes, schools, playgrounds, and the medical center for the residents. The grounds were very beautiful and well maintained.
The kibbutz owns and operates the A.R.I. factory which manufactures hydraulic equipment. This is the largest employer of the settlement and provides the most income to the members.
After our tour, we returned to the main building which houses the cafeteria and kitchens. The OAT group pitched right in and helped the kibbutz by peeling many pounds of potatoes and carrots. Afterwards, we had a tasty lunch and said our goodbyes to the lovely friendly kibbutz members we had met.
We set off in our tour bus down from the Golan Heights to the vast Jordan Valley, through the desert on our way to Jerusalem. Notice the hair-pin turn on the left in the photo below:
The terrain changed along the valley as we traveled southbound. Below are young date palm trees.
We passed many miles of white-sand desert.
When we ran into a significant amount of traffic, we knew we were near Jerusalem. The bus drove up to the top of a hill and we disembarked to get our “first view” of the famous magnificent city. Although the sky was overcast, the gold Dome of the Rock Mosque was unmistakable and it glowed.
The walled Old City is on top of a hill and the rest of the city spreads out along the other hills. The most surprising thing about Jerusalem is that it’s built on so many steep hills.
We checked into the Dan Boutique Hotel and relaxed a little. About 6:30 we walked to the old railroad station near the hotel for dinner. The Jerusalem Railway Station opened in 1892 and was the last stop on the Jaffa-Jerusalem line.
After extensive renovations, the station reopened as a cultural and entertainment center in 2013. We enjoyed a tasty feast of many dishes: hummus, baba ganoush, stuffed peppers, pasta, fries, kebabs, and decent pizza.
This had been another thought-provoking and amazing day!