The Motorcycle Logs: October 2010

Aqaba to Lavrio - Log #021# - Israel (the End)

After being banned from entering Syria I had 3 options.

First option was drive to Jordan, cross the Iraqi borders and then enter Turkey and drive to Izmir to take the boat.

Second option, drive to Egypt then Lybia and get the ferry from Tunisia to Sicily.

Third one was to sell the motorbike in Israel and fly to Athens.

After some search on the Internet a 4th option came up, a Cyprian Shipping Company that operates a cargo ship transferring melons from Haifa to Lavrio. The motorbike sailed to Lavrio and I flew to Athens.

Port of Haifa.

Pontos ship, she carries fruits and other cargo from Israel to Limassol, Cyprus and then Lavrio.

Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv named after the founder of Israel,first Prime Minister of Israel and a Zionist leader.

On November 7, 1911, Ben Gurion arrived in Thessaloniki in order to learn Turkish for his law studies. The city, which had a large Jewish community, impressed Ben Gurion who called it "a Jewish city that has no equal in the world."

Ben Gurion's views on the Middle East affairs are still instilled on Israel's national policy and moulded the thinking of many generations of Israelis.

The End.

Aqaba to Lavrio - Log #020# - Israel (Haifa)

After Haifa I drove towards the Jordan River crossing in order to enter Syria and carry on into Turkey.

But although I had taken precautions not to have any Israeli stamp on my passport (passports holders with the stamp of Israel are not welcomed in Syria) I was betrayed by a stamp in Arabic that made Syrian officer suspicious and finally sent me back to Jordan.

Below is the paper that Israeli officers are stamping if you explain to them that you are going to cross Syria and need an "clean" passport.

And this is the paper that Jordanian officers stamp so that there is no indication that you entered Jordan from Israel.

Back to Israel.

Haifa's Naval Museum.

Bahai Shrine and gardens by night.

Bahai Shrine and gardens in daylight

This is a professional picture of how the monument looked before the conservation works that are currently on progress.

View from the Bahai Gardens. Bahá'í Faith is Monotheism 4.0 they accept all previous prophets (Abraam,Moses,Jesus,Mohammed) as messengers of the same god they add their own Báb and Bahá'u'lláh and pray for the coming of the Messiah.

Its religious background in Shi'a Islam is seen as analogous to the Jewish context in which Christianity was established.

Their prophet Báb was buried ander the domed shrine during the time that Haifa was an Ottoman city.

Haifa's skyline from mount Carmel.

Port Inn is the best place to stay in Haifa, and definitely the best Inn I have ever stayed in terms of services and environment.

Harerim Orthodox Party turned into a secular event.

The German Colony was established in 1869 by hundreds of German settlers The Templers. Templers were members of the Temple Society, a German Protestant sect.

The Templers were expelled from the church in 1858 because of their millennial beliefs. Their aim was to realize the apocalyptic visions of the prophets of Israel in the Holy Land