Walking forward, we passed through an ancient city waiting to be unearthed, including portions of the wall Josephus records was built to repel the Roman attack that never happened. In 1982 to 1992 archeologists focused on the acropolis. One meter below the ground they discovered the perfectly paved streetss of a market, complete with cordo. Also unearthed was the seat of the bishop of Zippori in an ancient church which we were unable to enter-- it was still too unstable for the public to explore.
We left Zippori with Mitch, who took us to a friend's farm, Tali Ellin, a Jewish owned cooperative with Arab workers. On the way there, we pass a truck full of Arabs, the back filled with sheep which Mitch assures us will be on skewers at the end of Ramadan.We ride further past goats and sheep and lambs; the Tzon-El Dairy (meaning "Flock of God") is world famous for its goat and sheep cheeses. Now we move on to Mitch's farm uphill. A lovely residence, it consists of a four acre pomegranite farm and a bed and breakfast.
Our last stop for the day was the home and workplace of Ezer, who has revived the ancient methods of making mosaics. He glues cut squares of tile to a pattern which is then weighted with limestone. At the end of the process, the mosaic is turned over, the backing is removed and it is smoothed out. We had a pleasant visit, interrupted only once when Mitch's ATV rolled backwards down a hill into a ditch.
Driving back to Nazareth, we hit a terrible traffic jam, so it took us forever to reach the kibbutz. It has rained in our absence--from Zippori we had seen a dark cloud over Nazareth all day--now rain gushes down the gutters on the sides of the roads and comes down the streets in sheets.
Back at the kibbutz we had two hours to rest. On TV we had a choice between a program on melon-headed whales and the Clinton impeachment trials. We chose the whales.
At 6:30 we had Shabbat dinner in the dining hall, and at 8:15 we met in the coffee house with a few kibbutzniks to talk. Now it's almost eleven, and I'll study a little bit before bed. |
