Yesterday we had the quintessential Israeli experience – we got overcharged by a guide in Akko. However, at least he was very knowledgeable and thorough so it wasn’t a total loss. Next time I’ll know to negotiate a time and price clearly beforehand (we innocents abroad are so obvious). Among many other things, we learned that the ruler who built up Akko in the late 18th century and who successfully defended the city against Napoleon was Jezzar Pasha. He was also the first practitioner of cosmetic surgery. Except in his case he practiced it by cutting off the nose of anyone who he thought looked more handsome than he did. His nickname was “The Butcher”. We also met a member of the Baha’i faith who was one of the individuals involved in the engineering of the Baha’i gardens in Haifa.
Today we made the drive up to Tsefat (also known as Zefat, Tzfat, Safed, and Safat). This is considered one of the four holy cities of Judaism (the others are Jerusalem, Hebron and Tiberias). There are many small and ancient synagogues in this very religious city. Also many art galleries with very nice work.
Common (non-political) Lies About Israel
1. “Everyone speaks English”. Yah, sure, everyone speaks English except when you stop to ask directions because you are hopelessly lost. A major Israeli government plan seems to be to post non-English speakers to stand around in obscure neighborhoods where there are no road signs and say “No English”
2. “All the road signs are in English”. This is true as long as you never need to leave a major highway where all the signs are indeed in Hebrew, Arabic and English. But once you exit a major highway you are on your own. My rudimentary Hebrew skills are also not up to the fact that there are several rather obscure (at least to me) Hebrew fonts that they insist on using to confuse the classical Hebrew reader. My advice, rent the GPS unit (or the astrolabe if you are feeling cheap). We have been proceeding on the basis of “dead reckoning” (loosely defined as the look my wife gives me when I yell “TURN LEFT” at the last possible moment).
I really have learned a lot in Israel. For example, I never knew that the first printing press in the entire Ottoman Empire was introduced in Tsefat in 1577. I also never knew that “Tiberias” is Latin for “city without any useful street signs”
No useful street signs is a problem? But Ross, you live in greater Boston, an area where obscure, missing and/or incorrect signage is an art form. Street name signs? Who needs them? If you don't know where you are, you don't belong here anyway. Worn and faded "left/right turn only" arrows are painted on the roadway only to be revealed when the cars in front of you move up—leaving you stranded in the wrong lane being abused by everyone behind and beside you.
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