Come see Israel!

[MadMax]

If you looked over the Golan Heights day ride, then you'll know that I live in the Northern most part of Israel and I'm exploring Eretz Israel for the first time on my new Yamaha weeTEN- 660XTZ, motorcycle.

*********** CHECK BACK OFTEN, AS I WILL POST NEW PHOTOS, NEW PHOTOS ON PAGE 4- (15MAY13)****************

If you are interested to see photos of the Golan Heights, near my home, please take a look at this thread:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showt...=golan+heights

This weekend, I made a 300km round trip to spend Shabbat with my friends in Modiin. Modiin is a large suburb between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I started out on a very cool and rainy Friday morning, (45F- light rain).

The country is green from all the winter rains.


and 45km away there is snow on Mt. Hermon.




The Sea of Galilee and the Mt. Arbel area were obscured by the rain, so on the way back, I snapped some pix of both areas...
Sea of Galilee and Mt. Arbel


Mt. Arbel


On the highway that connects Modiin to Jerusalem, there is a War for Independence (1949) memorial to the Israeli Air Force Pilots. A wing of one the downed planes, sits beside the roadway, as a poignant reminder to the commuters, never to forget the sacrifices that were made...



On the way back home, I stopped by the estate grounds of Baron Edmund de Rothschild. He was a great benefactor to the Jewish settlers in the 1920's and his land has been turned into a memorial garden, South of Mt. Carmel. You can just make out the Mediterranean Sea in the background.


I stopped for a water break and discovered this huge moth clinging to a walkway wall. Note the 1/2 shekel piece which is the size of a US 1/2 dollar coin.


I passed over the Jordan river late in the afternoon and snapped a couple photos of one of the world's most celebrated rivers...


This area of the Jordan river is flowing into the Sea of Galilee on the Northern end of the lake




That's it for this weekend, I'll add more ride photos, as time permits. Shalom y'all!

[Wolfgang55]

Thanks for the ride.
Think having a sidecar there would be the thing for me. Someone could point out places & where events took place as we
motor about.

[the darth peach]

Cool!

[DADODIRT]

Once again I get to see a part of the world I will never get to visit through the eyes of a fellow motorcyclist. Thanks for taking me along for the ride!

[BykBoy]

Cool pics.

If you go to Nes Harim, stop by my by Mevo Beitar and tell my parents I said Hello.

[kootenay kid]

God Bless Israel! Keep it coming.

[whistlepig]

Thanks for the RR and especially the pics. Looking forward to more.

[steyr_scout308]

I'm in, Subscribed.

[ThomasVolomitz]

Very cool. I would love to ride there too.

[MadMax]

I'm glad you enjoyed the pix, "Wolf, Peach, Dad, Boy, Kid, Pig, Scout, and Thomas".

[East Coast Rider]

I'm in!! Awesome photos! I have always wanted to go to Israel...so much history, so much beauty.

[marty hill]

Wonderful, thanks!

[MadMax]

Today was a windy day which blew some of the haze and clouds out of the Golan Heights. Consequently, the views of Mt. Hermon were fantastic. Mt. Hermon is the tallest peak in Israel's territory, and it separates Lebanon and Syria from Israel.
Some believe that Abraham's sacrifice to G_d and his subsequent dream of inheriting Eretz Israel occurred on Mt. Hermon, (see Genesis 15:9).


Mt. Hermon from Merom Golan


I stopped in a field, to take a timer shot of the bike, me, and Mt. Hermon


As you can see, the Golan is a high plain, that sits at the foot of the mountains. Below it is the Sea of Galilee, and the Hula Valley, which both sit below Sea level. Consequently, the areas pictured, that get snow, don't have very high elevations. In Israel, areas that are only about 3-4,000 ft. high get snow.



As I passed by a small forest of pines, I spotted this Stork hunting for food in the swampy conditions that the wet winter has produced.




You can see in the foreground, the water in the grass. The ground is saturated around the Golan, and in many places, the water has created swamps.





Thanks for tuning in, I'll be back later with more explorations of the Holyland!

[MadMax]

Today I took the weeTen into the Haifa Yamaha dealer for the 600 mi. initial service. After the 660XTZ received some fresh MOTUL "blood", I planned to ride North along the Mediterranean coast to the Lebanon border. Then I'd turn East and head for home. The weather was nice, about 70F and fairly clear.




At the shop, I drooled over this Kawasaki W800. But, alas, it is not made for big, corn fed boys like me!


The coastline was gorgeous today. That turn of the coast with the antenna, is the Northern border of Israel.


The Northern coastline varies from sand dunes to tidepool rock formations


Grotto area



This is a small country, and I made it to the border in about 40 minutes from the outskirts of Haifa


This is a shot of the coastline from the Lebanon border, looking South towards Akko/Haifa


I turned inland, (East) and took a road that hugs the Lebanon border


It is a mountainous road, and sometimes it looked like I was in Oregon!


Cool Cave


Pretty flowers abound at this time of the year





Dirt road leading to the Palmach trail, which was a branch of the Independence Army.


Lookout post



View from the Lookout post. A subsequent review of the history of this trail: It was used by the Palmach brigade during the War for Independence-1948. The trail is now part of the Israel National Trail that runs the length of the country.





Thanks for coming along for the ride. I'll continue to update this thread as I travel around Israel. Shalom!

[linksIT]

Great stuff thank you for sharing.