Marilyn Oser
Arlene Sacks
On an unusually frigid, windy morning eight adventurous CAARI trekkers set out for a two-day journey into Jordan. Our first bit of excitement was to cross into Jordan just where the 1994 Peace Accords were signed between Rabin and Hussein.
On to Wadi Rum……where Laurence of Arabia was filmed. In ancient 4x4 jeeps we explored the rocky and sandy terrain, discovering beautiful, suttle coloring. We stopped to see the seven pillars of wisdom and view the 2000 year old drawings carved into the rock.
We continued our journey onto Wadi Musa where Moses is said to have struck the rock that produced water for the Israelites. Then we continued a short distance to our hotel for the night. We won’t tell your of our delicious Turkish baths, so you will just have to use your imagination.
Well, it is now next morning and we are on to Petra, the latest seventh wonder of the world. Indeed, it is a wonder and not just because The Temple of Doom was filmed there. It is hard to imagine without actually seeing Petra just how deep and narrow the canyons are; how astonishing the shadings of rock appear; and how spectacular the carved, temples, burial sites, and caves, along with architectural features dug into the rock. Imagine the Grand Canyon without water and you’re walking on the dried river bed. And now image just how long the walk is and how good a camel ride feels. Well, the writers of this blog can tell you firsthand-- but just like the Turkish bath, you will have to ask us.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
CAARI arrives in Eilat
Views from Timna with CAARI 2008!
Message written by Anice Stark - Toronto, Canada
Dear Friends,
Here we are in Eilat! We were excited to see familiar faces and meet many new CAARI participants. All 35 of us arrived to a warm reception , but cold weather. Eilat, the warmest part of Israel, has a cold spell. It is windy and cold - even for us Canadians and Americans! All of us packed so carefully - one suitcase for Eilat with light summer summer clothes and now we are rummaging through our suitcases to find the turtlenecks, jackets and sweaters!
The cold has not curtailed our enthusiasm and we are happy to be in Israel. Friday we began the CAARI program with a tour of Timna Park, one of JNF's tourism projects. There have been many changes since we were here last - new areas to view the magnificent rock formations and learn about the ancient copper mining process from Calcolithic times, 6000 years ago. Our day concluded with Shabbat dinner and our traditional singing of songs, led by Noami Halpern.
Many of the group decided to take an optional trip to Petra for one or two days. We are waiting to hear about their experiences in Petra and Wadi Rum. We hope they were prepared for the cold!
Arnold and I have been with CAARI for 14 years - imagine that! We always like to see how the group is coming together - like we have known each other for years. Everyone is enjoying the couple days of rest from our long journey and looking forward to our tours in Eilat this week.
We miss our friends that our not with us. Hope you are following us on the blog. If you have messages, please respond to the blog or write to caarivolunteers@gmail.com Susan and Neil will relay the messages to us!
Warmest (ha, ha) Regards,
Anice and Arnold
Barry and Bev Fluxgold - Toronto, Canada
Greetings!! This is our first time with CAARI and we are impressed with the group and what is planned for the next 8 weeks. Israel is everything that we expected and MORE. We can't believe what we are seeing and the changes that have taken place since we were last here in the 1970's. What was the center of Eilat has expanded to the east and west - new hotels, sea promenade and so many new neighborhoods. Our first CAARI tour was to Timna. We were in awe with the magnificent rock formations every turn of the bus gave us a new perspective. We are looking forward to our visit to Petra and continuing our CAARI tours.
Regards to our friends and family!
Barry and Bev
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