Rosh Hanikra and Akko, Israel, 07/06/06

Another day waking up in Nahariya. Today our mind was set on Rosh Hanikra, located at the border with Lebanon. “Rosh Hanikra has served as a passage point for trade caravans and armies between Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Egypt and Africa.” During the second World War, the British army dug a tunnel for the railway running between Haifa and Beirut to transport army cargo. However in 1948, the Israelis blew up part of the tunnel to stop an invasion that had been planned by the Lebanese army.

On the way there, we stopped by a monument that was erected in memory of the Ma’apilim (illegal immigrants) escaping from persecution into the British controlled promised land in the 1940’s. Many of them were returned to the Holocaust. A quotation from Jeremiah 31:17: "And your children will come again to their own country." is inscribed on one of the rocks. It’s a beautiful site that lies by the rocky seashore.

We continued up the road to the end of the country. At the foot of the hill, there used to be a parking lot for United Nations vehicles were parked before proceeding to cross the border into Naqoura, Lebanon. We crossed the border many times to visit my father when he was working there in the 1980’s. There was no sign that the United Nations was ever there. What used to be the parking lot was now green where wild flowers had grown. We parked further up and walked up to the top. It was a marvelous view looking down at the northern surroundings of Nahariya by the sea.

We waited in line to catch the cable car that would take us down to the caves of Rosh Hanikra. There were several friendly fishermen that were eager to get down there to catch their evening dinner. The ride to the caves was about a minute. The caves were naturally formed by sea movement on the white chalky rock, but we know who is in control. It was a great feeling walking inside the tunnels and stopping by what seemed to be natural windows by the water with different shades of blue and green. It was beautiful.

After catching the cable car back up to the top, we walked up to the gate that I had seen opened so many times on my way to Lebanon to visit my father. Many memories came crashing through my mind as Carlos and I discussed the old days. It was pretty emotional. There was not too much movement. After hanging out for a little while, there was an army truck. Right behind it was a UN vehicle, but the plates read UNTSO, which meant that he either came from Tiberias or Jerusalem.

After talking to some Orthodox youths, we made our way back to Nahariya. We picked up Diana and headed for Akko (or Acre), one of the oldest ports in the world and the oldest city in Israel. The city has been conquered by many empires, most recently by the Ottoman. We had a nice walk through the old city, which is populated mostly by Israeli Arabs. We were greeted by the many shop owners in the Shouk as they tried to get us to buy their merchandise. When we got to the shore, many fishing boats were already parked. Fishing was over for the day. To finish the Akko tour, we had some ice popsicles.

We headed home. The night was concluded with some singing, when a friend of the Delgadillo family came over for their weekly Thursday meeting.