Visiting former compatriots
Haifa is the third largest city in Israel. It lies on the Mediterranean coast at the foot and on Mount Carmel. Haifa is called the northern capital of Israel. The city is located in an amazingly picturesque place and, combined with modern architecture and ancient monuments, is one of the most beautiful cities in the Mediterranean.
The city was founded in the Roman era. The very name of Haifa is mentioned in documents dating back to the 3rd century BC. As a large settlement, Haifa has existed since the time of the Crusaders.
The main attraction of Haifa is Mount Carmel. It is here that the cave of Elijah the prophet, and the Bahai temple, and hanging gardens are located.
Since almost every Russian in Israel has close or distant relatives, friends or their children, former colleagues or relatives of colleagues, evenings here were often devoted to meetings with former compatriots. They invited us to visit, asked with interest about life with us, willingly told about themselves, offered additional excursions.
On the way back from Eilat, we decided to spend the last night and the next half day before flying to Moscow not in Tel Aviv, but in Haifa. We have already been to Tel Aviv, and our friends in Netanya invited us to Haifa. Having coordinated our actions with them, we began to study the question of how to get to Haifa. It turned out that with the modern development of tourism industry logistics, this is not at all difficult. The Tel Aviv bus station is a transit point where buses bring tourists from various parts of Israel and, after sorting, are sent further to selected destinations. Having made 2 transfers, we got to Haifa, where we met with friends at the agreed place.
Our friends live in a 3-room apartment on the 2nd floor of a 3-storey building. The apartment has a large hall combined with a loggia, a kitchen and 2 bedrooms. Since there is no winter in Israel, the temperature in the room is controlled by a split system. Over the evening supper we talked about living with them and with us.
There was talk of the last war with Lebanon. Those who have not been here joke: “What war? For all the time in Haifa, only one house was damaged. ” When you talk to eyewitnesses, the situation looks more dramatic. There is an oil refinery in Haifa. And if at least one rocket hit the oil storage facility, there would be little left of the city. Therefore, the technical process at the plant was stopped, the containers with combustible materials were emptied and filled with water. These measures turned out to be timely, because during the conflict, 3 rockets exploded on the territory of the plant. During rocket attacks on the streets of Haifa, air raid sirens sounded and people hurried to the nearest bomb shelters or to reinforced rooms in their apartments. According to the SNIPs of Israel, each modern apartment must be equipped with such a room to protect, if not from direct hits, then from fragments and collapse of structures. The son of our friends at that time served in the army and was at the forefront. The wife, working in the hospital where the wounded were brought, met each helicopter from the front line in order to make sure that there was no son among them. You can imagine her daily mental anguish. The minimal material costs of the war in Haifa rather testify to the effectiveness of the measures taken to minimize the destruction and loss of life.
In the morning we go on a sightseeing tour of the city. We visited the territory of the Technion, the oldest institute in Israel, opened in 1924 and located in a forest on the slopes of a mountain. This institution of higher education is a scientific center of applied engineering sciences, enjoys great prestige all over the world and trains engineers in various fields of technology. We also walked through the cottage town, immersed in greenery, in which students live - in our hostel. We were told that there is a cult of silence. In Russia, this order is maintained only in the reading room.
At the top of the mountain dominating the city, the high-rise building of the University of Haifa made of glass and concrete is located, from where picturesque views of Haifa open.
Then we visit Mount Carmel and the famous Bahai Garden, which is located on its slope. A wide staircase, decorated with openwork railings, statues and terraces, was laid along the slope for the entire height of the mountain, 225 m. There are flower beds and ornamental trees everywhere along the stairs. In the central part of the park is expanding, there are additional alleys. Trees and flowers are selected with great artistic taste, perfectly trimmed and well-groomed. Here you will not see lush thickets, withered leaves or dry twigs.
In the central part of the park stands the famous Bahai Temple, the entrance to which is limited to the early morning hours. Of course, the Bahai Hanging Gardens are one of the best masterpieces of park art and an example of their care. Here are the lines from the verse of Alexander Gorodnitsky:
This is a fabulous temple I will never forget now,
Where all people live among themselves in constant harmony,
Christ, Mohammed and Buddha are equally revered there.
And they do not pray there, but plant trees in the garden.
Here those who enter are lovingly embraced by cool shadows,
There are sculptures of animals and birds in the flower beds.
The outlines of marvelous plants surround you,
That know no boundaries, that know no boundaries.
Satisfied with additional excursions, we arrive at one of the Haifa railway stations by 12 o'clock and within 2 hours we get by train to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. Then we fly to our homeland with strong impressions from visiting three countries, including Jordan, Palestine and Israel, the historical center of world culture and spirituality.
