Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 50.

The Real Reason behind our 2000 1st Anniversary trip to Israel.

A year has elapsed since our wedding in 1999. Just after Christmas of that year, it was not only the beginning of 2000, but also the start of a new century and a new millennium. Therefore, of a generation that saw a triple phenomenon that occurs every one thousand years, New Year's Day, a new Century, and a new Millennium, all three converged onto one day. Yet, there was no thunder, no phenomena in the sky, no earthquakes, nothing out of the ordinary. It was just another day like all those that preceded it. 

The next day, January 2nd, we boarded a train for an afternoon trip to London. It turned out to be a waste of time and money. Never before have we seen the West End major shopping precincts, Oxford Street, Regent Street, and Piccadilly Circus, devoid of people and all the shops closed. Indeed, the city looked as it did during the 2020 Covid pandemic, when all trading ceased during the lockdown.

During the spring of 2000, Alex kept expressing her wish to see the Holy Land after hearing my stories while I was there during the nineties. I thought it was a good idea to make peace with Stella Carmel, the Christian Conference Centre and Guesthouse in the village of Isfiya, on the summit of the Mount Carmel ridge.

The two months I spent there as a volunteer in 1994 were a disaster. I was looked on as a pariah by other volunteers, especially by the women. To them, I was an Italian Neanderthal who had not kept up with modern culture and education, the rise of the domesticated New Man, and female leadership. Instead, I believed in the old adage that men should be men and women should be grateful. The result was that I was dismissed as a volunteer after just two months, when I should have stayed for a whole year. My Christian faith was also affected to the point of falling into apostasy.

A full blog on this 1994 experience is found on Week 54 of the main Biography, where I detail in full exactly what happened. I have provided the link below, and instead of directing you to the Index, as I normally do, this week, the link takes you directly to the blog itself.

So, in the spring of 2000, we returned to London. At Trailfinders, we booked a flight to Tel Aviv, with take off scheduled three days before our first anniversary. What I wasn't aware of was that it was the week of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. It was also the week that commenced Sukkot, the feast of tents. A couple of months later, we discovered that Alex was pregnant. I had to do some research on whether she was still safe enough to fly in her condition.

We found out that she would be 18 weeks pregnant at take off, and twenty weeks on our return flight home. Both fell within the 28-week limit. I was relieved that we didn't need to cancel the trip.

The flight was an overnight one, quite unusual for Tel Aviv. As I sat by the window, the night sky was clear as we flew over southern Germany. On the velvety blackness beneath us, the city lights gleamed bright, resembling illuminated diamonds glistening. It was a fascinating sight. It was already daybreak when we landed at Ben Gurion Airport.

A Menorah, symbol of Israel, at the Cardio, Jerusalem.

We spent a couple of nights at a moderate hotel in Tiberias, on the west bank of the Sea of Galilee. Here, bicycles were rented out to the public, whether the hirer stayed at the hotel or not. I already knew about the bike hire from 1994. Back then, on one of my days off, I took a sherut to Haifa, then a bus to Tiberias, rented a bicycle, and rode the entire circumference of the Sea of Galilee, a distance of 68 km, or a little over 48 miles. On the route, I stopped at Capernaum, Ein Gev, and Yardenit, before the final leg to Tiberias.

And here was my first big mistake. I wrongly assumed that Alex could do the distance with me in 2000, as, like me, she was a keen cyclist. But her pregnancy proved otherwise. When we hit a hill, between two to three miles into the ride, she collapsed and confessed that she couldn't go any further. I let her rest by the roadside, and a car pulled up. The driver offered to take her to a hospital, but we both declined his offer. The ride was aborted, and we slowly and gently made our way back to Tiberias.

On the third day after arrival, we boarded a bus to Haifa to catch a sherut to Stella Carmel. I knew where the pick-up point was from 1994. But when we entered the city, we found it to be deserted and all the shops closed. Furthermore, I was stuck with a wedge of traveller's cheques and no cash. I was expecting to find a bank in Haifa and cash a cheque before proceeding to Isfiya. Before the start of the journey, the banks were still open. Closing time fell during the journey. How could I be so thoughtless? Now we were stuck in Haifa with no money. And I was supposed to be an experienced backpacker!

I quickly found out that this early closing was on the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year and a national holiday. There was a path through a housing estate built on the east slope of Mount Carmel. With a heavy rucksack on my shoulders, we made our way up by foot. When we arrived at the summit, the view of Haifa and its harbour was fascinating.

I expected a short walk from where we were to Stella Carmel. We were at Merkaz Hakarmel, a handsome town on the mountain's summit. Halfway from the town to the Conference Centre was a tall skyscraper which was part of the University of Haifa. When I saw it, it was much further away than I was expecting. Stella Carmel was twice as far. I knew that with our luggage and her pregnancy, we couldn't make such a long distance on foot.

We saw a nearby bench, and we sat on it, feeling gutted and realising that we were stranded by the main roadside. I felt so helpless and distressed, although Alex seemed to have taken the situation in a better stride.

We sat on the bench for quite a while when a car, heading in the opposite direction towards Merkaz Hakarmel, stopped in front of us. The driver leaned out and shouted across to us in English whether we were all right. I called out that we were heading for Stella Carmel and found ourselves stranded. The driver then instructed us to wait where we were and drove off.

Soon afterwards, he returned on our side and told us to get in. We did, luggage and all. He then explained that he was a pastor of a church in Haifa, and he knew Stella Carmel well. He then paid us ten shekels to tide us over until the banks opened. We passed the university skyscraper and drove on, quite a distance, to the driveway leading to the Conference Centre.

We spent three days at Stella Carmel. During that time, I was 'reconciled' to the guesthouse. Of the permanent staff, three were still there from 1994: Trevor, who married Margaret, who was the cook, and Andrew, who was in charge of Maintenance. The other two members, Patricia and Heather, had long gone, along with the manager, Peter, and his wife. However, there was one big difference. The Keliat Ha-Karmel Congregation, which met every Saturday, had their own D-shaped church built in the grounds once occupied by the waste bonfire. On the Saturday after we arrived, we both attended their Hebrew/English service.

Click here to be directed to Week 54 of the Biography.

Click here for the Index to the link of this 2000 trip to Israel as a couple, Weeks 123-128.

Photos of our 2000 Trip to Israel to celebrate our 1st Anniversary.

The departure lounge, London Heathrow Airport.

We arrived in Tiberias, northern Israel.

We looked across this view to the Sea of Galilee.

Tiberias' main square.

The Sea of Galilee is also called the Lake of Kinneret.

We hired bicycles, but we had to return them quickly.

At the beach, north of Tiberias.

Outside town, access to the beach was free.

Swimming was also free here...

While Alex, being pregnant, remained dry.

From Haifa, we walked up Mt Carmel.

After a miracle, we arrive at Stella Carmel.

My very first task in 1994 was to sweep this corridor.

 On the rooftop. A wedding took place here in 1994.

This view of the main road hadn't changed since 1994.

A view of the Druze village of Isfyia.

Stella Carmel has its own chapel.

This didn't exist in 1994.

This church is owned by the Keliat Har-Karmel Cong.

The worship band in action.

The chapel is shaped like a 'D'.

People openly dance here.

After the service, refreshments were served outside.

Wearing a tie in church? Such were bygone days!

View from Isfiya, the forested Mt Carmel.

Looking down at the Plain of Esdraelon.

On our Anniversary, we took a stroll at Mt Carmel NP. 

Mount Carmel National Park.

Enjoying romance alone together.

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Next Week, we head for Jerusalem.

Travel Biography Photo Extravaganza - Part 49.

How Marriage Changed Travel, and our Honeymoon in Rhodes.

The day we stood at the front of the church to exchange our wedding vows, a change of destiny took place. And this in front of a sanctuary filled with people. Among them was a young family whose bored son was fidgeting, causing a level of distraction. There was another couple who were my window cleaning customers, and there were relatives and friends of both our families present. Among them sat Alex's late grandmother. While we were waiting for the bride to be escorted in by her dad, Derek (a very tense moment!), she looked across the room at me, looking very forlorn.

I already knew what she was thinking. She never approved of our nuptials. However, her husband, Alex's maternal grandfather, had passed away some years earlier. Otherwise, he would have put a stop to her coming around to my apartment in the first place, let alone allow the wedding to take place. The reasons weren't difficult to fathom. First of all, there was a massive age difference between us. Literally, I was old enough to be Alex's father. Secondly, and more relevant, was that Alex could have chosen a younger, better-educated individual who held down a professional career and guaranteed a good income.

This was further endorsed by the dear lady herself, who had actually created her granddaughter's wedding dress. The reception venue was the church's social hall, located separately from the sanctuary but within the same building. Therefore, there were no rental fees. The cake was baked by Derek's mother, and the photographer, who sat with us at the reception, was a friend of my brother, who was our best man.

With the groom unable to afford to pay for the wedding, as tradition demands, little wonder that the bride's maternal grandmother had reservations about the bride's choice of groom!

Over 26 years have elapsed since our wedding day. We passed through challenging times, but I'm happy to say that to this day, our marriage is strong and robust, with my window cleaning business having sustained both of us without the need for her to work for a living. That is, until I retired from paid work in 2015 due to poor health. I have cardiac failure to this day, according to the medical team.

As already mentioned last week, we chose Rhodes for our two-week honeymoon. Rhodes is one of the archipelago of Greek islands known as the Dodecanese (meaning twelve). As I said already, our 1999 honeymoon was a package holiday, the first since 1972. There we were, about to take off from London Gatwick. But this time, all seemed strange. I no longer sat alone. And unlike the 1997 scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Singapore, where the aeroplane was nearly empty of passengers, this Thomson flight was packed full, and after arriving at Rhodes, a bus took us to our pre-booked hotel. And next to me, Alex sat. All these, to me, defined the difference between backpacking and a beach vacation.

Oh, the joys of our new life together. Alex wouldn't go near a backpacker's hostel to bed down among females. In turn, spending an entire vacation lying on a beach was a sacrilege, especially when the island had much to offer for sightseeing. No hiking trails? That didn't matter too much. The 10 km roadside hike from our hotel at Lardos Bay to the medieval town of  Lindos, with its Acropolis, was an adventure in itself, as I showed her the ins and outs of hiking, including drinking an adequate amount of water and the on-route consumption of the right foods.

The Acropolis was built on a hill overlooking the town. However, the pinnacle of the Acropolis, the 2nd-century BC Temple of Athena, was wrapped in modern scaffolding as it was under restoration. The ugliness of the building site has kept the one photo of it out of last week's digital album.

During the first week, we spent a day at Faliraki, a diving resort in the district of Kalithea. It was a 20-km sailing from Mandraki Harbour in Rhodes town. After arriving at Faliraki, we split into several groups. I was in the first group to scuba dive, while Alex sat nearby and watched. I never had air cylinders donned on my back before. It was a new experience, but our supervisors were experts in ensuring that the balance between the air tanks and my weight was exactly right, allowing me to glide through the water.

We sailed from Mandraki Marina to Faliraki.

This was quite different from coral reef snorkelling. Here, we were tightly supervised, both by the dive leader and a staff member who was floating on the surface above us. Hence, the division into different groups. They could keep an eye on a limited number of people at a time. However, the sea floor lacked any form of life, although one may encounter a lone cuttlefish. This site for scuba diving was purely for the experience rather than underwater photography.

Rhodes Town was the capital city of the island. It consisted of the Old City and was surrounded by the urbanisation of the modern city. The Old City was built mainly by the Knights of St John, and had a Medieval character. We saw that the Old City was walled, with a dried-out moat surrounding the inland side, and separated from Mandraki Marina by the twin towers of Sea Gate. The main centre is Hippocrates Square, a lively shopping mall dominated by the towers of Sea Gate. Just north of Hippocrates Square lies the ruins of the Temple of Aphrodite, and Alex and I joked about whether the goddess of love would have any effect on us. Walking through Sokratcus (Socrates Street), one of the city's main thoroughfares, we arrived at the Palace of the Master of the Knights, although, due to our budget, we didn't enter the museum. 

The mouth of Mandraki Harbour and Marina is said to be the site of the ancient Great Colossus, a 33-metre-high statue which was erected in 280 BC, and was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It collapsed from an earthquake which struck at 226 BC. Hence, it stood for just 54 years, well within a human lifespan. After its collapse, it was never rebuilt, and its broken parts were sold off. In its place are now two pillars, one on each side of the harbour mouth, and displaying two deer, one male, and the other, female. 

In all, our honeymoon was a never-to-be-forgotten experience marking a new start in life. Forever gone is solo independent travel, backpacker's hostelling became a thing of the past, as with buying groceries and cooking meals whilst travelling.

But my travel bug remained alive during the early years of our marriage, before the children were born. Therefore, in 2000, we were able to go on our final independent backpacking trip to Israel as a couple. This includes coral reef snorkelling at Coral Beach in Eilat, far from the Israeli/Arab unrest in Jerusalem.

As these are pictures of our Honeymoon, we will appear often in this album.

Click here for the Index to the main Biography covering our Honeymoon, Week 121. 

Photos of Our Honeymoon in Rhodes - Section II.

Faliraki Diving Platform and Beach.

We left Manraki Harbour for Faliraki.

We leave behind the Palace of the Knight's Master.

We arrived at the Faliraki diving platform.

Our platform is on the right as we prepare.

I'll soon be underwater.

After my dive, Alex and I went exploring.

We had a good view of Faliraki's rocky beach.

We walked to a disused spa house.

At Faliraki Beach.

Rhodes Town.

Alex poses at the ruins of the Temple of Aphrodite.

We approach Hippocrates Square.

The Street of the Knights.

Hippocrates Square with the Sea Gate behind.

Along Socrates Street.

Another view of the Temple of Aphrodite.

Feral cats are common in Rhodes.

Further along Socrates Street.

Outside the Master of the Knights.

Entrance to the Palace.

At the Church of St John.

A view from Amboise Gate of the city wall.

A section of the city wall.

At the Garden by Platia Simis Gate.

Lightheartedness in the dried Moat.

At Mandraki Harbour and Marina.

Looking across the mouth of the harbour.

Close-up of one of the Deer.

The possible site of the Great Colossus.

The Mandraki Windmills.

The Honeymoon soon draws to a close.