New places

It is almost a year and a half since I arrived in Tiberias, but I still find myself stumbling across places which I have never visited before, yet which are on my doorstep. One such place is the ruins of Herod’s palace at Bereniki, a hill overlooking Tiberias. This was built by Herod Antipas and is a possible site for the beheading of John the Baptist (and also Salome’s dance!). It is a lovely place, not least because it is so undeveloped and is off the tourist trail. Not a single tourist bus there! But a place of wild flowers and lizards and the most marvellous views over the Lake. I had been to the Sabeel Conference in Bethlehem, whose theme was ‘Empire’, and I could see how imposing the palace must have been to the inhabitants of newly-founded Tiberias down below. Very much a case of ‘I am boss’. Even now, settlements are built on hills overlooking the Arab villages, such as Nazareth Illit overlooking Nazareth.

However, in the case of Bereniki, it is now overlooked by the ‘Swiss Forest’, a wooded area (forest is too grand a term) planted from donations from Switzerland. A super area for walks (and views), but also there are some memorials to those who have died, including parents who ‘vanished in Theresienstadt’, a reference to one of the concentration camps.

Another place which I discovered is again just outside Tiberias - Nebi Shu’eib. This is a sacred site for the Druze, who believe it is the tomb of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. In fact, the Druze believe that Jethro passed on rules about justice and monotheism to Moses. Nebi Shu’eib is extremely well-developed, with gardens, viewpoints and picnic areas, as well as a complex of a mosque, library and the tomb (which includes an impressive chandelier from Druze in Damascus, who sent it in lieu of coming on pilgrimage, as the current political situation means they are not allowed to visit their relatives in Israel). When I visited, there were a couple of hundred people there, mostly families, enjoying the peace and quiet.

The Druze are an interesting Moslem sect, found in the Galilee and Golan, in Syria and Lebanon. They wear a distinctive dress, the men wearing white tarbooshes and baggy trousers, while the women cover their heads in a white cloth. They are loyal to whatever state they reside in, and so, while other Arab citizens (Christian and Moslem) of Israel are exempt from serving in the army, the Druze perform the same military duty as Jewish Israelis. At Nebi Shu’eib the Druze flag (a multicoloured affair) flies alongside the Israeli one.

Samir

Over the last couple of weeks I have been invited to visit the homes of some of the members of staff, and yesterday I went to Mughar, a Palestinian village which has a mixed population of Christian, Moslem and Druze. I had visited Ayman a few times, accompanying him to his church, but this time I visited Samir, one of the maintenance workers at the hotel. Samir is Druze, a Moslem sect with many members in Lebanon and Syria. The Druze are unusual for Moslems, in that they always support the state of Israel and participate in the army. However, like all Palestinians, there is a longing to visit relatives in Syria and Lebanon, many of whom they have never met, because there is no peace between these countries and Israel.

Samir lives in one of the nicest houses I have visited in Israel, beautifully decorated with antiques and with commanding views over the Galilee hills. Like many of the Arab houses, there were flags flying from the roof (in Samir’s case, an Argentinean one) – an indication of which team the family were supporting in the ‘Mondial’ (World Cup).