Shalom

  We have just returned from a visit to Petra in Jordan.  Anyone who saw the Indian Jones movie where he searches for the Holy Grail has seen Petra where it was filmed.  It’s quite an amazing place geologically as well as historically.  I’m rereading Bruce Feiler’s Walking the Bible in hopes of remembering anything I might have learned years ago, so I wanted especially to see Aaron’s Tomb which is visible from Petra, as well as accessible if you have the time which, sadly we didn’t.  Randal and I did a climb the second day where we could see the tomb off in the far distance and take a photo.  I’m skipping ahead of past adventures to write about Petra while it’s fresh in 4 minds that might remember what we saw.  I want to get it finished before we return to Jerusalem Sunday and collect more adventures.  I took a zillion photos at Petra so beware of overload.

  The Red Sox are doing better so maybe my prayer at Masada did some good.  If so, hopefully my prayer for world peace will work too.

Ru

Eilat and Petra # 1

Early Sunday morning, our backpacks and bags stuffed with clothes, books, water, snacks, yoga mats, and the essential passports and cameras, we set off from the marina to the rental car company where we stuffed everything and all of us into a small, square, black Suzuki. It’s about a 6 hour drive from Herzliya to Eilat, but we made stops in Ashdod, Ashkelon, Makhtesh Ramon, and an anonymous picnic table mid-day for lunch, so we didn’t arrive until late afternoon. Our stops in Ashdod and Ashkelon were to look at their marinas and to say hello to our friend Eve whose boat is now in Ashdod and our friends David and Betty on the boat Sundance now in Ashkelon. We did find Eve but not David and Betty. Neither of those marinas tempted me to want to move from Herzliya which seems to be growing on me with its great beaches for walking and easy bus ride to Tel Aviv and Jaffa. And having a grocery store in the marina mall is a plus as there is no open air market in walking distance.

From Ashkelon we drove on to Makhtesh Ramon as our new friends Nilly and Eitan pointed it out as a stop on our way to Eilat. We did stop but only long enough to take some photos and to wish we had more time. Maybe someday.

I hadn’t remembered that an Israeli astronaut had died in the Columbia tragedy. It says a great deal about Ilan Ramon that this amazing place is named for him.

"The most beautiful parts of the Negev Highlands are the makhteshim. Israel contributed to geology the Hebrew term, makhteshim, as these types of craters exist only in Israel. A makhtesh occurs when erosion from a single waterway creates a valley with sheer cliffs, or anticlines, that enclose the crater on all sides—creating a bowl. In fact, the term makhtesh means, “mortar,” as in a bowl. For that reason, some call the Makhtesh Ramon the “Super Bowl” of Israel. I have to agree.

http://www.jpost.com/Travel/AroundIsrael/Article.aspx?id=244672

Groups of Israeli soldiers are often seen viewing the sights of their country.

The highway that clings to the walls of the great crater transports tourists today. But in antiquity, a highway crossed the makhtesh for commercial purposes from the Nabatean city of Petra. Spices—especially the fragrant gum resins, myrrh and frankincense—made the highway a lucrative route. The historian, Pliny, described the road as having sixty-five camel stops between Timna and the Mediterranean Sea.

Today, the mountains of Makhtesh Ramon surrender gypsum to commercial production—thousands of tons annually. In the middle of the crater, a factory works the gypsum into a component suitable for plaster of Paris and cement. Smaller mining efforts cull clay and quartz from Makhtesh Ramon.

http://www.jpost.com/Travel/AroundIsrael/Article.aspx?id=244672

http://www.parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~25~~306810181 is the website of Makhtesh Ramon.

"The makhtesh is the result of ancient formations of soft sandstone being covered over by harder limestone and dolomite, and then the whole area being uplifted by tectonic forces – forming a high, broad ridge. When at a later stage, the ridge was covered by a shallow sea, its limestone “cap” was removed by the action of the water, leaving the underlying sandstone exposed to the elements. Over the geological ages, water found its way inside the ridge, carving out river beds, dissolving and carrying away the soft sandstone, until what was left is this gigantic depression surrounded by precipitous limestone walls." http://www.israelyoudidntknow.com/south-means-desert/carved-sandstone-crater/

Making the desert bloom. Date palms. As kids we gave money at Sunday School to plant trees in Israel. These are probably not those trees. In 2005 dates were Israel’s leading export and are today a target of “anti-Israel” boycotts.

Our last stop of the day was Eilat, at the very southern tip of Israel. From there we would cross the border into Jordan 6:30 a.m. Monday morning when the border would open.

http://corinnehostel.com/indexen.html is where we stayed in Eilat. Cheap, clean, bathroom and shower with hot water, quiet, AC, TV and WiFi. And on street parking. Everything we needed for a night. We hadn’t come to see Eilat, but we did check on the marinas in case we ever wanted to winter over after visiting the Red Sea. But that plan is just so far away …. after our time here and then maybe a year in Turkey and then the Black Sea….so Eilat marinas not worth worrying about now.

Corinne Hostel

You go through he big doors into a kind of compound of small, individual "cabins."  Randal and I were in the one with the blue trimmed roof.  The room was spartan with a metal frame double bed with twin top sheets, but I slept like a log. We were all afraid the AC wouldn’t do the job and we’d be too hot, but I had to use a blanket and that was after Randal turned off the AC. It’s amazing how much the nights cool down; but then we are only in the middle of May. Not sure what July and August would be like.

Yitzak Rabin border crossing into Jordan.

I handed my passport to the Israeli immigration official and she asked if I ever lived in Israel or if my parents had lived in Israel. Randal, Charmaine and Linda weren’t asked those questions. When we’d originally checked into Israel with the boat we were asked questions and I said I was Jewish so the info must always come up when our passports are checked. They almost seem surprised when I said my parents and grandparents all were Americans, some naturalized and my mom’s mom born in America.

A group of Canadians had arrived at the border just before we did.  They’d come to Israel to watch the Canadian Dragon Boat team compete on the Sea of Galilee and were doing a side trip to Petra. Luckily for us they skipped the window that said “Change” but I stopped to ask what it meant. It meant that you had to stop there to pay the exit fee from Israel. All of the Canadian tour group had to go back to “Change” and pay the exit fee so we were ahead of them at all of the other windows and first in the line for a taxi to Petra.

A scenic photo-op stop along the way.  I love the dessert.

Our hotel in Petra was walking distance to the park entrance…uphill all the way back!

Hot water came and went and the manager was like the boy in the nails in the door story (a story the Rabbi told at day camp) always being kind but sometimes being so comfortable with us he said anything that came into his head without always thinking.  Our second afternoon, Randal asked Anise, the manager, if 35 Jordan dollars was a fair amount to pay to drive 4 people from Petra back to the border. We’d paid 60 coming from the border as we’d had no choice even though we knew it was too much from Linda’s research. Anise went off on a mini tirade about Israelis or Jews (as they were apparently interchangeable) always made deals with more than one taxi and then he had to rescue them from the ensuing fighting that would take place when all the drivers arrived at the same time. I got mad and said our first driver, from the border, kept telling us he would drive us on a tour of Wadi Rum and go to his village and this that and the other thing and we had to keep saying no. That gave Anise pause but I was still mad at him. Later in the afternoon when I had to go ask about getting hot water for showers he promised hot water in 30 minutes or he would kill himself. I told him if we didn’t have hot water in 30 minutes I would help him do it. He thought that funny because he thought I was mad about the water. That was annoying but not why I was mad and I never did tell him though I should have. We eventually parted as friends because he knew I was Jewish but wouldn’t take any crap from him for it. In Petra park when I turned down a donkey taxi I was asked if I was an Israeli. I said I was an American so then I was asked if I was Italian. I personally wouldn’t have any idea what country a person came from just by looking at them. I would know generalities, such as someone was Oriental or perhaps Middle Eastern or maybe African, but when it comes to “white folks” who knows? And if everyone was dressed the same, I would especially not know. How do you look Italian or French, British or Australian? And there are such a variety of people here in Herzliya who all look different from each other so can they all “look Jewish?” Life in the Middle East!

Shalom

It’s Saturday, the Jewish Shabbat and the marina is hopping with boats going in and out and birthday celebrations on birthday boats.  It’s the least calm day of the week!  All watched over by an Israeli naval ship at the entrance to the marina.  It’s very interesting how different Saturday in Jerusalem must be compared to here in Herzliya ( or Miami in the Med) where the beaches are packed with families and singles and volley ball and racket ball and everything going on. 

We are renting a car tomorrow morning and then we’re off to Petra in Jordan.  We will stay overnight in Eilat (tip of Israel) and leave the car there.  We’ll cross the border and taxi the 2 hours to Petra where we will tour and stay overnight.  Then back to Eilat and overnight there (probably) and back to Herzliya with stops to check out the marinas in Ashkelon and Ashdod to see if we want to move the boat.  Our friend Eve arrived Wednesday from Karpaz and today left for Ashdod where she will stay.

Tonight Nilly, the cousin of our Roanoke friend Gabriel Szego (and his wife Ellen,) and her husband Eitan are coming for dinner. It was Nilly who told us about the free museum day May 10th and recommended the Museum of the Diaspora which was wonderful.  We each saved the 70 shekel admittance fee!  I know you want photos and I promise to soon send some.

…………………………………………..

(May 13,2012 addendum.  Dinner with Nilly and Eitan was wonderful.  They brought 2 salads, couscous rolls filled with meat, stuffed grape leaves and dessert and melon and wine!  Randal cooked wonderful salmon and I made potato salad.  No one went to sleep hungry.  Nilly and Eitan love to travel and have been all over the world.  We will definitely have more visits while we are here in Israel.  I took lots of photos but we are rush rush this morning to leave for our trip to Petra. )

………………………………………………………….

   So that’s what’s happening. This is how my artist friend Heidi described her visit to Jerusalem “I do believe you when you say that it is a strange experience to be in Jerusalem; I also had the feeling of standing at the beginning of everything and there are ghosts surrounding you and whispering in your ears."   What a wonderful description.  It makes me thankful that there are artists among us to help us see thing.

And from Reverend Ken, married to Randal’s sister Linda (and the man who had the sense of humor to preside at our wedding!) wrote these words about his trip to Israel…..

Oh my, Ruth, you’re walking in lands of so much history and so much conflict, a lot of it in the foolish thought of defending one religion over another. I wonder if we humans will ever wake up and realize it’s not us vs them but it’s only us?

Ru

DoraMac

Ps…a little levity to lighten the moment; photos of Charmaine and Linda at the Dead Sea Sap…

I didn’t pay enough attention and thought it was just a swim at the Dead Sea and envisioned never getting the salt from my hair. So Randal and I took a pass. But that meant we could get some really fun photos of Charmaine, Linda and our guide while they floated in the Dead Sea and mudded themselves for the full “spa treatment.” While Linda and Charmaine were soaking in the sulfur springs, Randal and I heard the all too typical story of growing up in Ukraine when Stalin ruled and how an 11 year old boy had to fend for himself. We met the 11 year old now an elderly man who had eventually moved to America where his son lives in Philadelphia. So many stories here in Israel.

Charmaine, our guide facing them, and Linda walking into the water and then floating on it.

Our guide, in mud, leading by example.

Mudding it up.

I don’t know how Randal didn’t have heat stroke in all of those clothes!

Smurf!

This was part of our Masada and Dead Sea tour…an interesting mix. This email is just about the spa but I’ll write about Masada and also the sea sculpture from the Dead Sea. Both need more reading first.

Randal overlooking the desert surrounding Masada

So there was this guy writing a Torah and we could pick our letter. Mine was R for Ruth.

But I could also make a wish. I had two: World Peace (who wouldn’t wish for that) and that the Red Sox would win the World Series. I told him that my second wish was silly (especially as how the Sox are playing) but he told me that God doesn’t see any wish as silly if it’s important to someone. Convinced me!

I’m only holding the pen…no mistakes are allowed and you should see my Hebrew letters…Oiy!!!

This is the second time I’ve been this close to an open Torah. The first time was in India and now here in Israel. Never growing up as only the boys were allowed.

Writing a Torah and my Hebrew letter R is there somewhere.

Shalom,

Living in Israel the only clothing issue is whether or not it makes one look fat. It’s sort of anything goes here unless you visit Jerusalem or other "holy" places and then arms, legs, and heads need to be covered. The heat is actually the biggest clothing issue and dealing with all my hair. Wonder if it will survive?

Yesterday was International Museum Day so we took advantage and went to the Beit Ha-Tefutsot (Diaspora Museum) and the Erets Yisra’el Museum. Randal and I also visited the Palmach Museum (not free) though I got a senior discount being over 60, but not Randal as men have to be 65. Nilly Bukchin had told us about the "free day" and had recommended the Diaspora Museum. It’s a wonderful museum on the University of Tel Aviv Campus and we all really enjoyed it. Tickets are usually 70 NIS ( new Israel shekels ) or about $18 per person. Not sure if there would have been a senior discount. When we visited the Apollonia National Park we were told only Israeli citizens qualified for the discount. Anyway, lots happening though we rest on Sabbath as public transport doesn’t run and we don’t have a car yet. We are leaving for Eilat and Petra Sunday for a few days. We’ll rent a car first thing Sunday morning and take off. It’s about 280 miles from here to Eilat where we’ll stay over night. Then we’ll get ourselves to the Jordan border and across to Petra where we’ll stay overnight. Then back to Eilat for the night and then start back to Herzliya.

I chose, first, to write about our visit to the Western Wall because I was truly surprised at how being there created very unexpected feelings of being part of something larger than myself, and part of a very long story. Just being in Jerusalem in general is quite an amazing experience, though I honestly don’t know why it feels that way. I think lots of it comes from being surrounded on all sides by ancient stone; either underfoot or overhead or walls of buildings. I certainly am not the least bit religious or observant though being car-less in the marina, we are “forced” to observe Shabbat because shops close and public transport stops. The marina gets busy as locals come Friday afternoon to spend the Shabbat on their boats. Most boats here in the marina are not owned by “live aboards” but rather by locals with homes and jobs on land. There is no “morning cruisers net” or pot-luck activities. There are lots of “Birthday Boats” with singing kids and family outings. Everyone is friendly; but it’s different.

It is very comfortable for me in Israel. In many ways, it’s just like Brookline, Massachusetts or parts of New York, only we can’t read the labels on most of the food in the market. Food shopping was actually easier in North Cyprus where most was done at the Monday Open Market or the Yenierenköy butcher. The grocery store at the marina mall is just like a supermarket at home but all in Hebrew.

Being a capital L Liberal Democrat, I also am less tolerant of rudeness or intolerance so being here will definitely be an interesting experience as this email will show. I started out just researching the Western Wall (what we called the Wailing Wall at home) but turned off onto the issues of women’s rights. You just never know where you’ll end up when you start my emails. I certainly didn’t when I started writing.

Ru

The view from our hotel on Mount Olive looking down on the Jewish cemetery and the Dome of the Rock and the Muslim quarter off in the distance.

We did a quick 2 hour tour of Jerusalem and my photos aren’t that great. We’re planning to return on our own towards the end of the month and I’ll take more photos at that time. But this was my favorite view. I’d gotten up early and was out by 6 am for sunrise and to walk down the mountain to the Garden of Gethsemane and a small cruciform underground church which is where Mary was said to have been laid to rest. I could have sat for a while listening to a nun chanting but had to be back for breakfast and ready for our 8:30 am tour.

Tomb of the Virgin

“The tomb of the Blessed Virgin is venerated in the Valley of Cedron, near Jerusalem. Modern writers hold, however, that Mary died and was buried at Ephesus.” http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14774a.htm

We visited Mary’s House in Ephesus, Turkey. I’d read Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor’s book Traveling with Pomegranates in which Sue writes a great deal about Mary as a woman and as an “ear for women’s prayers.” If you could meet people from past times, I think Mary would be an interesting person to meet (if that isn’t a huge understatement.)

The Western Wall

The Western Wall is the only accessible remnant of the Jewish temple that the Romans destroyed in 70 A.D. Israel recognizes it as a synagogue, governed by Orthodox tradition with separate areas for men and women. http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/womenwall-faith/womenwall-faith/

“What craziness guides the thinking of supposedly sane men, who blindly follow what they misconstrue to be God’s wishes? How long will the politicians endorse extremism and tolerate hate?”

Rabbi Joshua Hammerman http://womenofthewall.org.il/in-our-own-voices

Rabbi Hammerman isn’t speaking about world news events; he’s speaking about the regulations governing who can do what when visiting the Western Wall.

You go through security and a tunnel to get to the Wall.

Everywhere in Israel you see young people in green military uniforms as military duty after high school is compulsory for most except the very Orthodox and Conscience Objectors.

So anyway, it was Thursday, which, along with Monday, is one of the days Bar Mitzvahs take place at the Wall. So there was more of a crowd than usual.

The Women’s side.

Women peeking over the wall of the “much smaller women’s section” into the “large men’s section” where Bar Mitzvahs take place.

5/12/2010

Question: Can we celebrate a bat mitzvah at the Western Wall in the Kotel Tunnels or any other attractive site? What are the alternatives for girls?

Answer: Greetings,

Celebrating a bat mitzvah at the Western Wall is one of the more difficult issues that we deal with here, at the Western Wall. As opposed to the bar mitzvah which includes reciting the blessings for the Torah reading, putting on phylacteries, the bat mitzvah is neglected.

The Western Wall grants a certificate but we don’t have an appropriate ceremony. You have the option to coordinate a tour of the Kotel Tunnels (there is an option for the bat mitzvah girl to guide it herself with proper preparation with a bar mitzvah guide) or the Generations Center.

Mazal tov,

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation. http://barmitzva.thekotel.org/faq.asp?lang=en&currpage=4

So all of there answer = NO.

My sister and I and all of our friends had a Bas Mitzvah. But they were held on Friday night with 3 or 4 girls together and didn’t involve the Torah. Boys were Bar Mitzvah on Saturday morning and each boy had his own. Now, I think things are different.

There were prayer books available.

And women were praying just as intensely as men.

I found myself crying..have no clue why. Maybe thinking that after everything that tried to destroy the Jewish people, we still exist.

(Or maybe thinking about how terrible the Red Sox are doing and it’s ok to combine the two thoughts as I’ll explain in a later email about Masada.) I did write a message and push it into the stones.

Out of curiosity I typed “women at the Western Wall” into Google because the wifi here is too slow to use my Roanoke County Public Library’s magazine datebase. I found an National Public Radio story so knew I could trust what I was reading!

Jewish Women Fight For Equality At Jerusalem Western Wall

July 30, 2010

Israeli law prohibits women from reading the Torah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, one of Judaism’s most sacred spots. Anat Hoffman wants to change that. She’s the chairwoman of Women of the Wall and a leading figure in the Reform movement in Israel. Earlier this month she was arrested for carrying the Torah at the wall. Hoffman tells guest host Rebecca Roberts about the incident and why she is so steadfastly working to upend the gender-based restrictions.

Copyright © 2010 National Public Radio®.

REBECCA ROBERTS, host:

Next to TELL ME MORE’s weekly conversation, Faith Matters, when the focus is on matters of faith and spirituality. Today we continue our occasional series on women and faith with a story about Judaism’s most holy site, the Western Wall in Jerusalem. Thousands of Jewish pilgrims visit the sacred spot, also known as the Wailing Wall, every year to pray and reflect.

But Israeli law imposes limits on the way women can express their faith at the stone structure a remnant of the ancient site of the original Jewish temple. For years, a debate over that law has raged among Jews and Israel and around the world. Many call the restrictions antiquated and sexist. Others deem the rules necessary to uphold orthodox values.

Earlier this month, reform activist Anat Hoffman, who leads a group called Women of the Wall, intentionally defied the rules, openly carrying a Torah, although not reading from it, near the wall while leading a procession of women in song. Israeli police arrested Hoffman. She was fined and banned from the wall for a month.

Ms. Hoffman joins us now from our New York bureau. Welcome to TELL ME MORE.

Ms. ANAT HOFFMAN (Reform Activist, Women of the Wall): Yes, shalom. Millions come to the wall every year, thousands a day.

ROBERTS: And when you visited on July 12th, did you intend to get arrested?

Ms. HOFFMAN: I intended to challenge the powers that be on an issue that was not yet clear. We were carrying the scroll to the wall for the last 21 years, except we always carry it in a duffel bag. In the last eight months, the chief of police has decided, without any explanation, to confiscate the Torah scroll from us as we enter in the morning and stash it in the back of his car. We found that not very respectful of the book and of the whole location.

And we decided that as there are 200 Torah scrolls in the men’s side, completely available for free to men’s use, and ours is the only one for women’s use, we decided that we will carry it outside the duffel bag holding it in our arms. That caused the police to be worried about safety and security because the bullies, the ultra-orthodox bullies at the wall might attack the women for holding a Sefer Torah.

ROBERTS: Well, we should clarify that that it’s not against the law of the Israeli Supreme Court. It challenges the traditional norms of the ultra-orthodox.

Ms. HOFFMAN: The supreme court ordered that women cannot read from the Torah at the Western Wall. Women were allocated to the tune of almost six million shekel in an alternate site. You in America know this as separate but equal. We were given another wall. Why? There are many walls in Jerusalem, why stick to this one? There’s a wall in my house. I’m surprised the Israeli government didn’t, in its benevolence, didn’t order that I would pray in my own living room.

We were given another site. I was walking with a Sefer Torah from the site where I’m forbidden to read to a site where I’m allowed to read. The court did not give an opinion over carrying a Sefer Torah. I run an organization, the Israel Religious Action Center, which is the legal and political arm of the reform movement. I have many lawyers.

And I came armed with quite a few legal opinions saying that carrying the Torah is legal. However, the wild card here is violence. It’s because of violence that the police decided to take me to prison and not stop some of the people who are attacking. Instead of dealing with the bullies, they deal with the minority.

ROBERTS: By bullies you mean the ultra-orthodox?

Ms. HOFFMAN: Ultra-orthodox men and women who decide that they will enforce their way of belief at the wall by using violence.

ROBERTS: Now, the publicity from your arrest is highlighted, but could be a significant rift between the direction of Jewish law in Israel and the diaspora, particularly here in the U.S. You’re in the U.S. now, what role do you think American Jews play in this debate?

Ms. HOFFMAN: This is an excellent question. I just want to add one more thing. Most Israeli Jews are not orthodox either. Not Israeli Jews, not Jews in the diaspora, the orthodox are a minority in the Jewish world. And yet they dictate life choices in Israel not just at the Wall. At the Wall, it’s very pronounced, but it’s in the issues of conversion, of burial, of marriage and a variety of other issues.

Segregated buses in Israel. I don’t know if you’re aware that there are 106 segregated buses run by our state bus company, where women are assigned to the back and men to the front. There are 2,500 rides like that every day. We’re in the supreme court challenging this, representing orthodox women. It is orthodox women that are objecting to the segregated buses.

And let me tell you another thing, the Women of the Wall are in the majority, orthodox women. The most courageous feminists I know are orthodox women challenges orthodoxy from within.

ROBERTS: And where do you think you mentioned a conversion law which is a debate that has been postponed but not taken care of. That is a debate particularly that American Jews have gotten involved with. Where do you think this is headed? What role do you think is going to form between the diaspora and the ultra-orthodox in Israel?

Ms. HOFFMAN: Well, hopefully that is my wish is that Jews all over the world will understand that Israel is way too important to be left to the Israelis.

ROBERTS: If Israel’s too important to be left to the Israelis, who should it be left to?

Ms. HOFFMAN: I think the Jewish people have to discuss, what are the values? What are Jews’ values that govern a sovereign Jewish state? What are these values? Are these values of tolerance, of pluralism, of openness, of equality or the opposite of that? And I think the Jews of the world have a voice in this. And I’m delighted that with the unfortunate conversion bill but we heard that voice. The giant has awakened. Jews from Australia and Jews from Europe and Jews of North America have made it very clear to the powers that be in Israel.

Jews have never had a pope and there’s a good reason for it. We’re an argumentative bunch by definition. If you read the Bible, it’s one long litany of us arguing with each other, with God, with the kings, with Moses, with -everyone is resigning, everyone is throwing hands up saying, I hate these people, I can’t stand them anymore and it’s still like this today.

We are a culture of argument. And we are great at debate. And I refuse to accept that in the Jewish state there will be one way to be Jewish. And that way is orthodoxy.

ROBERTS: Anat Hoffman, chairwoman of Women of the Wall. She’s also the executive director of the Israel Religious Action Center which advocates for the reform movement in Israel. Thanks so much for joining us.

Ms. HOFFMAN: Thank you. Shalom. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128872766

Copyright © 2010 National Public Radio®. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to National Public Radio. This transcript is provided for personal, noncommercial use only, pursuant to our Terms of Use. Any other use requires NPR’s prior permission. Visit our permissions page for further information.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by a contractor for NPR, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio.

http://womenofthewall.org.il/

On December 1, 1988, seventy Jewish women prayed together aloud at the Western Wall for the first time in history, and shortly thereafter, Women of the Wall read from a Torah scroll at the Western Wall for the first time. Twenty-two years later, we are still reading Torah, singing and praying at the Wall every month on Rosh Chodesh (the beginning of each new month of the Hebrew Calendar) and often share other holidays and celebrations together, despite persistent resistance and some legal setbacks.

Conducting such prayer services remains illegal under Israeli law, which singles out women. On December 4th 2001, bill number 1924 was voted on and became law in the Knesset. The bill is an amendment to the Holy sites Law of 1967 and reads, “No ceremony shall be held in the Wall’s women’s section. That includes reading from a Torah, blowing the ram’s horn, wearing prayer shawls or phylacteries. Violators shall be imprisoned for seven years.”

“From 1997 to 2011, the largest complaint was segregated public bus lines, in which women were forced to board and sit in the back. Last year, the Israeli Supreme Court ruled that illegal. But other areas have continued to pop up, including the fair that the Haredi man complained about, segregated lines at a post office and funeral parlors that don’t allow couples to stand together in mourning.” http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/womenwall-faith/womenwall-faith/

  I’m just watching our Israeli friend Eve pull her catamaran up to the security dock.  A bit of our North Cyprus life come to Israel.  With this email I am saying a last good-bye for now to our past Cyprus adventures.  Maybe in the future we will have more.  Never say never.  Thanks to everyone who made it such a wonderful visit for us.

Ru

Kaleburnu walk and lunch

Purple thistle and sheep…two of my favorite things.

Randal pose….

We were passed by a huge herd of sheep and a tiny donkey carrying a large man.

Kral Tepe Restaurant where we had melt in your mouth stone oven cooked lamb and potatoes. It tasted like my mom’s pot roast! We had salad, wonderful bread and home made yogurt. Even after our long walk we still couldn’t eat all of the food. Not by a long shot. We also had a lovely chat with the owner/chef Ayşe Gül who wanted to practice her English. In another life she would have been a teacher or writer, she was still so interested in learning and maintaining her English skills.

Sipahi Hill walking

Kumyali walk

More sheep…which were the most interesting part of the walk and it was just when we started.

Lighthouse walk and my friend Sharman

Miss you Sharman! You will always be Sophie’s hero! Love Ru

DEKS walk # 14, back to the Stone Statues

Mother and Daughter

Thanks Denise for everything! I’ll miss you. And best of luck to you Deena, we’ll be looking for you and TK when we get back to Turkey.

Love Ru

Maggie and Ken from the Carob Villas just down the road.

Victoria Sandwich Cake with lots of butter and sugar.

Up on the roof which was a wonderful space with a great view of the coast in both directions and the hills behind.

We walked off a few bites of the cake calories with a 3 ½ hour walk through the hills, back down through Sipahi and then back to the marina.

He was a cutie but too far away from the road to pat.

After a quick snack we jumped into the car to make our 4:OO hair appointments

We all left smiling but my hair is still recovering a bit as the sides were trimmed a little too short to clip back.

Ziba, our Salamis tour guide and Omar ( her boyfriend) came to visit with us and Bill and Judy on BeBe

Omar, a computer specialist worked on Randal’s ill computer and it took so long they stayed for dinner.

A second visit to Nadia.

Nadia Yildiz sitting next to her son, (a cousin of our friend Özgür Yildiz,) his friend with two children.

Sharman and I had been invited in for coffee by Nadia and during that visit we’d taken photos of all of us and Nadia’s granddaughter. Sharman removed the stove pipe from behind her head and my shadow looking mustache and I printed copies for Nadia. We stopped by with the copies and were again invited for coffee. I dumped half of my coffee on my pants right away. Sharman put on her sunglasses with one missing lens not realizing what was what, and Sophie farted just as we left. I’m still laughing about it and hope Nadia and her family are too. We certainly were a silly looking trio.

And last, but not least, our friends Robin and Julia who took us under their wing and helped us with whatever we needed. Thank you Rob and Jules !!! Have a great time in England this June for your daughter’s wedding. Love Ru

Last morning with Heidi and Kalle..for now.

Actually I should have added this photo to the previous email…we ended our long day of travel with some of Kalle wine.

Sitting around telling tales of our travels washed down with wine.

Bright and early the next morning…

in Heidi’s lovely kitchen.

Making breakfast.

All is ready…

After breakfast Kalle showed us his newly created “motorized” bicycle that he made using his bicycle and a motor. Now he can motor up hills!

Randal takes it for a spin.

All too soon it was time for farewell.

Thank you Heidi and Kalle for your friendship which we will keep in our hearts and continue with our emails and reading each other’s adventures.

Love Ru

Shalom Y’All,

  So I do remember a few Hebrew words and phrases, but that didn’t help me in the grocery store looking for yogurt.  There is very little English on anything and many of the store workers speak Hebrew, Russian, or some third language other than English. And there are about a hundred containers that look like they could be yogurt. Buffalo yogurt, sheep yogurt, cow yogurt, other containers that look like yogurt but aren’t and that’s before you get to the cottage cheese or sour cream containers! Boy, do I wish I’d paid attention all those years ago in Hebrew School though I don’t remember coming across the words yogurt or egg noodles.  Maybe they didn’t have Kugel in the time of Moses.  Learning to repeat phrases like "good morning" is nice but one needs to read Hebrew in the markets or even along the boardwalk in the marina.  Pretty much nothing is in English.  It’s almost like being back in China except we look like everyone else so they just sort of expect us to speak Hebrew.  I was really lucky in Cyprus to have had Denise to teach me Turkish!  I need an Israeli Denise!

   This email is about our second day in the Girne area which started out with a leisurely visit to St. Hilarion Castle and ended with a forced march back from the reservoir near Koruçam and a stop in town for a cold drink (tea wasn’t available?) and a quick look into the church before the drive back to Girne.

Cheese in Kozanköy

We left St Hilarion and following Heidi and Kalle’s suggestion, we followed the ridge road traveling west towards Kozanköy. Kozanköy was known for its cheese, bread and carob syrup making. When we arrived the bakery was already closed for the day, I forgot about the carob syrup option and we didn’t actually find the “cheese factory.” We did, however, find cheese. And we met a lovely mom and daughter from the village.

Sukran Zor welcomes us to her mom’s home and “cheese factory.”

We drove around town past the closed bakery looking for the cheese factory. The road we picked to drive took us up a hill past where a group of women were sitting ending at a dead end. We drove back down the hill past the group of ladies again but this time we stopped to ask. They didn’t know anything about a cheese factory but Sukran told us her mom made and sold cheese and invited us in to see. Amazingly Sukran now lives in Canada not at all far from Charmaine and Linda in Ontario! She comes home each year to visit her mom.

Zühre with a 2 kg round of very fresh, just made Hellim cheese.

We paid the “North Cypriot” discount rate and it was well worth it.

And of course, we were invited for coffee.

Mom didn’t speak English so I used my limited Turkish and my “cheat booklet” to tell her about us.

The view from her back yard.

A visit to her sheep just behind the house where she stays to look after the sheep.

Baaaaa

Sukran and Zühre

Linda, Sukran, and Linda

We were invited for lunch but felt we needed to be on our way. We had lots more to see and do. Our next stop was Çamlibel for lunch and then on to visit to the ancient olive grove in the Kalkanli Valley.

We were referred to this restaurant by a man helping his friend fix a truck. Turns out the man who referred us owned the restaurant. But the food was good and provided both lunch and dinner.

This is where we met Tuğberk Emirzade, one of our “save the environment” friends.

From Çamlibel we drove to the Ancient Olive Grove where some of the trees were 800 years old.

How can you not protect and respect something as ancient as these trees. They remind me of the knarled hands of elderly people.

Our next stop was Koruçam, a Maronite village and the nearby reservoir which might be a nice walk and birding area. It was a “too long walk” that late in the day and all the birds had gone someplace else. By the time we got to Koruçam we were too tired for too much but peeked into the church just because we were there. Then it was time to head on to our second home on North Cyprus, Heidi and Kalle’s house.

Where are those birds?

It was lovely, but hot and we were too tired to really enjoy it.

Maronite Church in Koruçam.

“For centuries the cape has been inhabited by Maronites, a Christian sect that originated in Syria and Lebanon in the 7^th century. This Eastern Christian sect, whose members proclaim themselves to be Catholic and to recognize the supremacy of the Pope, arose from a dispute between Momophysites (who postulate a single, divine nature of Jesus) and Christians (who believe Jesus to be both divine and human.) The Maronites took their name from the 4^th or 5^th century Syrian hermit, St. Maron. They arrived on Cyprus in the 12^th century together with the Crusaders, whom they served during their campaigns in the Holy Land.” EYEWITNESS TRAVEL CYPRUS

Dinner at the Ilgaz Church

We had lots of left over lunch food so decided on a picnic dinner. The tiny hill town of Ilgaz provided a perfect setting on the stone wall just front of the church. And since it was just a 3 minute drive down the road to Villa Manzara, wine with dinner was ok for all.

Food for us and some “emergency dog food” for some strays who were happy to share.

Next email, our last morning in Girne, saying "Good-bye to good friends."

  So yesterday we took the bus to Tel Aviv and then walked the promenade to Jaffa to visit the old and new parts of the city.  Today we went into Herzliya for "made in Israel" Naot sandals for Randal and me.  Linda and Charmaine got a part for their stove that was lots cheaper here, but we were out of luck looking for propane for our cooking stove.  Israel only sells butane so we’ll have to see how that will work.  Tomorrow we’ll take a walk to the Apollonia Park with findings back to 5000 B.C.  I am taking photos everywhere we go and eventually you’ll see them..probably when we get to some other country and I have time.  So for now we’re back in North Cyprus.

Ru

Morning photo from Heidi’s Kitchen

We arrived Wednesday in Heidi and Kalle’s house.  Thursday morning was Heidi’s life drawing group so everyone was up early,  we to go off adventuring and Heidi to prepare for her group.  I so wish I could have been both place!

Our first stop was St. Hilarion Castle.

“Just west of the main Girne Lofkosa road, in the Besparmak mountains, you will find the most westerly of the three Crusader castles of Kantara, Buffevento and St Hilarion. At 732 meters, St Hilarion is at the middle height of the three. It is, however by far the best preserved. The walls and towers appear to sprout off the rocks almost at random, giving the castle a fairy tale look. Indeed it is said to have inspired Walt Disney to use it as a design for the castle in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

The Gatehouse

The castle is named after a little known hermit who fled Palestine during the 7th century to live and die up here, purging the mountain of pagan demons. It is said that the hermit was stone deaf, so was able to resist the tempting cries of the demons who stalked the mountains with ease. The demons finally admitted defeat, and left Hilarion and the mountain in peace. A Byzantine monastery, and later a fort sprang up around his tomb

Owing to its near impregnability, St Hilarion was one of the last castles taken by the crusaders in 1191. The fortifications were improved by the Lusignans during the early 13th century, and the castle was the focus of a four year struggle with the Holy roman Emperor Frederick II for control of the island till he was defeated in 1232. Over the next 140 years, sumptuous royal apartments were added so that the castle became a summer residence. It also served as a place of escape in 1349 when the Black Death swept the island, and estimated numbers of the dead range from one quarter to one half of the entire population.

The castle’s Byzantine church

In 1373, during the Genoese invasion, the castle again became militarily important as the retreat of the under-age King Peter II. His uncle and regent, John of Antioch, mislead by his hostile sister-in-law into believing his bodyguard of Bulgarian mercenaries were treasonous, had them thrown one at a time from the highest tower of the castle. Without his protection, John, who had been implicated in the murder of Eleanor’s husband, was lured to supper with Eleanor in Nicosia where he was, in turn, promptly dispatched.

When the Venetians took over in 1489, they relied on Kyrenia, Nicosia and Famagusta for the defense of the island, and they abandoned St Hilarion and her two sister castles.

Although the Venetians considered the castle obsolete, it came to prominence again in 1964, when the beleaguered Turkish Cypriots used it as the headquarters of their main enclave which included several Turkish Cypriot communities straddling the main Kyrenia Nicosia road. A small garrison of teenage activists was able to fend off EOKA attacks on the castle, and the Turkish Cypriots remained in control thereafter. The castle again played its part in 1974 when it was at the centre of a battle for control of this important pass between north and south Cyprus.

Although St Hilarion is now very much open to the public, the approach road passes through a military area, so is very occasionally closed for access.

The Queen’s Window

The first part of the castle you will come across is the main gate and outer walls, built by the Byzantines in the 11th century. As the path climbs, it passes a still usable cistern and the stables. The first dramatic structure you come across will be the main gatehouse with its arch, which originally closed with a drawbridge. Along the passage you will come across the sizable castle chapel. It is built of bricks and stone blocks, and in danger of collapse, was restored in 1959. Traces of ancient religious paintings are visible, their style pointing to around 1150. However the church is considered far too large for a castle garrison, and it is thought that the Byzantine building is a restoration of a monastery, founded around 800. The area round the castle was originally part of this monastery, and the rooms to the north and east of it were the cellars, kitchen and refectory. Below this is a further series of rooms thought to be barracks for the crusader knights of the 14th century.

Passing through the crusader archway, you will find yourself in the main courtyard. To your right are what remains of the royal kitchens and waiting rooms. At the furthest end are the royal apartments, reached by following the small path through the undergrowth.

The courtyard of the upper castle rests under the natural protection of twin summits. The Lusignans called it the "Dieu d’Amor". Romantics see the name as a reference to the legend of the ancient Greek goddess Aphrodite, who has strong links with the island. However it is more likely to be a French corruption of the original Byzantine name for the fort, Didymus, the Greek word for "twin".

The richest and most popular part of the castle is the elegant gallery with its two fantastic gothic windows, one with stone window seats intact. This is where queen Eleanor surveyed her kingdom, and is known as the Queen’s Window. If you can manage a further climb up the uneven steps to the southern peak, you will be further rewarded with more superb views. Off the main courtyard, you will find the 14th century Prince John’s tower standing on a rocky promontory. It was here that Prince John’s bodyguard are reputed to have met their end.

http://www.whatson-northcyprus.com/interest/kyrenia/st_hilarion.htm

We arrived bright and early…but there was no one to let us in!

A guard at the gate…who eventually licked my fingers.

Time to open and time for food!

And time for play!

But the real boss of the place.

A pile of rock with a castle on top.

The views were worth the walking up.

Thankfully St Hilarion is not Disney Cyprus, but rather a place you can still use your imagination.

Almost 1,000 years separates them: our clothing has changed a great deal even if our behaviors haven’t.

Kitchens, workshops, apartments, latrines were all located within the castle high up the mountain.

So, where’re we going?

Up was always the answer, but the views were spectacular from the tallest tower.

The open green spaces at the foot of the mountain is the military base.

We all made it and have the photos to prove it.

Then it was back down for a drive along the ridge back down into the valley and a quest to Kozankôy for cheese.

Spent the day at the marina where there were sail boat races being held.  Lots of folks were curious about DoraMac and Seahorse Marine could probably open up shop here and get several orders!  We did a morning walk and then I did some boat cleaning which needed it.  Charmaine and Linda caught up with emails and touring research and then went off for a swim.  Randal’s foot was bothering him from our walk so he just rested.  This foot has been bothering him so maybe we’ll learn about medical care in Israel at some point.  I hear Hebrew spoken all around me but understand almost nothing.  Hopefully at the end of our time here, I will have improved.  And also not forgotten my Turkish!  But thanks to Denise, I could reteach myself. 

Anyway, here is more of our Cyprus adventure and a very fun story!

Ru

“An old friend of mine who lived in the area for several years recommended the Aphrodite restaurant in Lapta, describing it as a “crazy shack” of a place run by an ex-paratrooper, who apparently allows donkeys and horses into his establishment.” http://www.birminghampost.net/life-leisure-birmingham-guide/travel-reviews/2012/03/28/travel-visit-northern-cyprus-for-a-touch-of-the-exotic-97319-30643648/2/

We had asked Heidi and Kalle to pick a restaurant that they’d like to visit, and they would be our guests. They picked Aphrodite for many reasons; the food was really good, the atmosphere lovely, and the owner is a retired Cypriot Freedom Fighter, so definitely not the dining room of the Holiday Inn. “Cemal brews his own wines, brings his baby donkey into the restaurant and provides an unforgettable evening”…that according to a Frommer’s Cyprus guide. Well we didn’t see the baby donkey, but the meze and fish were wonderful, the wine flowed and when we were stuffed to the gills, we got up and danced.

Cemal greeting his old friends Heidi and Kalle, and new friends Linda and Charmaine

This lovely restaurant was at the end of a sandy path off the main Lapta road.

I don’t know if the building was old or built yesterday, but it was a great place with plaid cotton table cloths, lots of open space, and wonderful windows.

Cemal was quite a character, but we loved him for it.

Cemal as a young freedom fighter in the war to save the Turkish Cypriots from being driven from their ancestral homes into the sea off North Cyprus.

Fighting in the streets.

Without the help of the Army of Turkey, it’s possible there would be no surviving Turkish Cypriots. Without the intervention of the Britain and the US, the entire island might have been under Turkish Cypriot rule but the advance was stopped and the island divided giving the Greeks most of it. The world and UN are quite unfair to the North Cypriots.

We had the entire restaurant to ourselves, but then we tend to eat earlier than most Europeans.

It was if we were having dinner in Cemal’s home rather than his restaurant.

We ate cold meze dishes and hot meze dishes and they were all wonderful.

Then came whole fish for each of us, a huge plate of fresh salad, and a giant plate of hot, wonderful chips (French fries.)

And we ate every bite! And then there was a sweet pancake drenched in honey for dessert!

And 3 bottles of wine!

Maybe that’s why we danced…all of that wine. And the music, Zorba the Greek music.

First it was only Cemal…..

I have no idea what possessed me except the wine and the music!

It was so fun!!!

What a wonderful night!!!!!

  There is so much to see here in Israel so Linda and Charmaine have extended their stay until June 5th!  Tomorrow, Saturday and the Sabbath here in Israel, most places are closed.  There is a sailing race that will take place and we will have front row seats on DoraMac at our new location in the marina.  A new restaurant is opening and supposedly there is to be a loud party tonight but so far, all is quiet.  We’ve had lots of people stop by asking about DoraMac.  She appears to be quite the curiosity compared to a marina full of sailing boats or huge mega-yachts. Lots of compliments for her.  Maybe tomorrow I can get more stories written and soon complete our Cyprus stories…..at least the ones we have had…maybe more some day!

  Ru

Bellapais Abbey and Girne

Art Exhibition at Bellapais Abbey – Magic, Mysticism and & Marvelousness

I was familiar with the artwork of many of the artists exhibiting: all were friends of Heidi. It was definitely on my list of things to do while we were in the Girne area. And whom better to go with than Heidi Trautmann!

Any other time the Abbey would have been the star of the show; but our time was limited and we our main reason for coming was the art exhibit.

“ The site of Bellapais may have been the early residence of the Bishops of Kyrenia, as well as their refuge during the Arab raids of the 7th and 8th centuries.

In 1187, Jerusalem fell to the Saracens and the Augustinian canons who had custody of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre came to Cyprus. Bellapais Abbey was founded for them around 1200 by Aimery de Lusignan. It was consecrated as the Abbey of St. Mary of the Mountain.

The Augustians were soon followed by the White Canons or the Norbertines (also known as Premonstratensians), and this was the rule that was adopted from 1206 onwards. Their white habits gave Bellapais one of its names— it is referred to as the "White Abbey" in 15th and 16th century documents.

Roof and belfry of the abbey church, with mountain views. Photo: Nick Leonard.

In 1246, Sir Roger the Norman gave Bellapais Abbey a fragment of the True Cross and the sum of 600 besants, in exchange for the canons saying masses in perpetuity for his soul and that of his wife, Lady Alix.

The abbey also benefited from the generosity of Hugh III, who died in Tyre in 1284 and is believed to have been buried here. Hugh III gave the abbots of Bellapais the privilege of wearing a mitre, bearing a gilded sword and wearing golden spurs.

Thanks to its pious benefactors, Bellapais Abbey grew in size, importance and wealth. The powerful abbots were frequently in dispute with the Archbishop of Nicosia, and the pope had to intervene in disagreements on several occasions.

King Hugh IV lived in the abbey between 1354 and 1358 and added apartments for himself, but in 1373, Bellapais’ glittering treasure attracted the attention of the Genoese, who robbed the abbey of everything light enough to carry. After this, the abbey spun into physical and moral decline. By the mid-16th century, the strict Norbertine rule had been virtually abandoned at Bellapais, with many of the canons taking a wife (or two) and accepting only their own children as novices.

The Venetians shortened the long-standing name, Abbaye de la Paix (Abbey of Peace), to De la Paix, which eventually became Bellapais.

After the Turkish conquest in 1570, the abbey was given to the Orthodox Church. The buildings were neglected and fell into disrepair, but the abbey church was used as the parish church for the village that grew up around the monastery (presumably populated by descendents of the monks).

The grand old abbey impressed foreign visitors: in 1738, English traveller Richard Pococke remarked that he had seen at Bellapais "a most magnificent uninhabited convent… almost entire." When Captain Kinneir of the East India Company passed by in 1814, he saw cows grazing in the outer court.

The abbey fell further into disrepair over the years, its stone being used to build houses in the village. In 1878, the British Army cemented the floor of the great hall and used it for a military hospital. The ruins were repaired in 1912 by George Jeffery, Curator of the Ancient Monuments of Cyprus.

The best preserved of the abbey buildings is the refectory, on the north side of the cloisters. A magnificent room 30m long and 10m wide, the roof is supported by seven columns that look like they’re growing out of the side walls. It has six windows on the north wall that provide breathtaking views across the countryside to the sea, and a fine rose window high in the east wall. On the north wall is a projecting pulpit, from which a lector read from the scriptures or the lives of saints during mealtimes.

In the late 1800s, the British Army barbarically used the refectory as a shooting range, leaving bullet holes in the east wall. This impressive room is now used for concerts and lectures and hosts the local music festival in late May to early June.

Below the refectory is the undercroft, with decorative ceiling bosses. The cellarium and kitchens were to the west of the refectory, just a stone’s throw from the modern tables of the Kybele Restaurant.”

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/cyprus/bellapais-abbey.htm

Heidi’s favorite table at the restaurant at the Abbey.

All the colors of the rainbow!

http://www.heiditrautmann.com/category.aspx?CID=6487451176 is Heidi’s review of the art exhibit where you can see works by many of the participating artists.

It was a bit chilly in the undercroft below the refectory so Margaret is bundled up in her heavy wool sweater and scarf. An interesting factoid is that Connecticut born Margaret has a connection with the University of the Arts in Philadelphia where my nephew earned his Masters of Industrial Design and where he teaches classes as well as at the University of Pennsylvania and Parsons in NYC.

Margaret told us stories of her early years: Kate Fenson, pen in hand at the table, also shared the chore of manning the exhibit.

http://www.katefensom.com/katefensom/welcome.html is Kate’s website where you can read her fascinating bio and see more of her artwork. I didn’t find that Margaret has a website.

All too quickly we had to leave the abbey. Heidi wanted to show Linda and Charmaine a bit of Girne and we had to do it all and get home in time to rest and relax before our dinner reservation at 6 PM.

Looking at Girne’s old harbor.

Randal and Heidi relax on the wall while Charmaine and Linda walk along the stone harbor walls.

Girne Harbor

At the Round Tower where Charmaine bought her souvenir crocheted Cyprus scarf.

This gentleman wanted his photo taken so I obliged.

Then it was back to Heidi’s house for a walk up the hill towards Ilgaz before dinner.

As our friend Linda Levy wrote about Greece; if you want to see something “you gotta go up!” Same with lots of places in North Cyprus when you live at sea level.

What a wonderful view here!

  We are back from our 2 day visit to Masada, the Dead Sea, and Jerusalem.  I took fewer photos than usual but soaked up lots of feelings; some expected and some not.  You will eventually see them but I really want to finish the North Cyprus stories first.  We had such a wonderful time when we visited Heidi and Kalle and went off on lots of adventures in the few days we were exploring the western side of North Cyprus.  We crammed in lots in the two days we were there.  Our first top was DIZYN 74 Pottery.  Our small pitcher and olive dish were made here.  It was fun to see where it was made.  If we’d had time Randal wanted an entire set of dishes but alas, it would have taken longer than we would be in North Cyprus and I didn’t trust shipping it.  Some things are just not meant to be. 

  Ru

Girne and West

First stop Dizayn 74 Pottery where our small pitcher and olive pit dish were made.

“Dizayn 74 Pottery was established on 13th of October in 1974.

It was founded by two potters; Hasan Eminağa and Tomrul Tomgüsehan. Both of the potters are graduates from Tatbiki Güzel Sanatlar Yüksek Okulu (Applied Fine Arts Academy) Department of Pottery. Today it is known as Marmara University in İstanbul, Turkey. Since 1974, the potters have developed many different designs and motifs, mostly re-establishing the traditional arts of Cyprus.” www.dizayn74.com

Hasan Eminağa when we met him at the Tulip Festival in Avtepe.

While at his shop we learned about his children, one who had earned graduate degrees at both Harvard and Yale!

Tomrul Tomgüsehan and Heidi in the pottery shop in Girne

A new craftsman learns the trade.

Success!

Everything must be done precisely to make beautiful pieces of pottery.

“The clay which is known as the ashes of volcanic eruptions extracted from Northern Cyprus. All the work is hand-made and the pots are free hand painted.”  www.dizayn74.com

Decorating the pottery pieces.

Creating the proto-type for a ceramic yogurt container which some companies use for their yogurt.

I actually have a ceramic yogurt container from when I first bought yogurt; but one is enough when you live on a boat. Wonder what the ones from Dizayn 74 will look like and if they will be reusable which would be better than all those empty plastic containers.

Created by children on a school visit and waiting to be fired.

Linda and Charmaine having a wonderful time.

These small pots were being made for a wedding…guests inserted money and gave them to the bride and groom. Neat idea!

Charmaine and Linda have a memory of North Cyprus.