Cochin - Nevatim. ( Part One - the museum)

From Cochin (Kerala, India) to Nevatim (Neghev, Israel) - a small indian-jewish community with a great history, an amazing little museum, and a stunning synagogue.

We reached Nevatim agricultural settlement at noon. After  passing a big, brown sign with the name 'moshav Nevatim'  in hebrew (see the header), and a traditional well  in memory of the founders, we were led by Mira, the local guide, to the building which houses a compact museum with some very interesting exhibits.

traditional well in memory of the founders

the well - closer view

building that houses the Heritage museum

front view of the building

entrance to building housing the museum

After a few introductory words, Mira, the guide, wanted us to watch a 16-minute documentary on the history and customs of her community and its immigration to Israel. Very captivating film  as it included  interviews with people who were among the first settlers of Nevatim, in 1954.

Mira - her back to screen, face to visitors

The walls  at the entrance and in the movie room were covered with black&white pictures depicting snippets from the community's life in India. (It is important to mention that they've had good relations with their non-jewish neighbors there ; no hostility/persecution experience whatsoever). 

listening to lecture;  pictures with life snippets on the walls

more  Cochin life snippets on the wall

Merchants in Cochin, they became farmers in Nevatim - not an easy transition, that from trade to agriculture. Apparently, the shy and modest indian community underwent this transition quite well. They  also got this small tourist attraction enterprise  - the Heritage Center which includes the museum and the synagogue.

Next  - open rooms with  a rich variety of encased exhibits from daily life in Cochin: clothing (daily and holiday),  jewelery items, household ware, religious and cultural artifacts (light holders, holiday lamps, Torah case) etc.

wedding clothes

bracelets

wedding rings

household ware

chandeliers

standing light holder

Hannukah lamp

Torah case

overview - room with lightholders and the Torah case

Camel Farm and Camel Milk Healing

Last week, I joined a day trip organized by one of the two  clubs for senior residents in my hometown. The trip included several attractions in the northern  part of the Negev (desert) area. : a camel farm, , the agricultural settlement "Nebatim" with its indian Cochin jewish community and exuisite synagogue, the remains of ancient nabatien "Mamshit" town , and the black american-liberian Hebrew community in Dimona city.

Our first stop was at the camel farm near the bedouin village Tarabin. The sole objective of this farm is the production of camel milk. It is believed (on the basis of long, thorough research) that the composition of this milk is closest to that of human mother milk, hence its miraculous properties. It can combat almost any known health issue and inflammation.

The camel Abraham  at the entrance to the farm

round water well near the camel

too scared to go closer to the camel

We were greeted by the manager and chemist Eyal who showed us around ( bedouin tents, camel pens, neat toilets ),  gave us a lecture on the farm and its product- camel milk , and finally demonstrated the act of feeding the camels in the pens.

chairs and tables for a bite and a drink

several tents like this one with chairs  for visitors attending lectures

.

toilets; a round pool of water nearby

Upon arrival, three bedouin workers offered us tiny cups of traditional black coffee/tea, prepared on three pots on a stove behind them. On their left  - the products' selling tent: food and cosmetics.

bedouin workers offering coffee/tea to visitors; see the pots

food section: among other food items, desserts for 15 shekel each:
 malabi(milk pudding), kadaif (turkish dessert),milk jam, cheese cake

fridge with cold drinks

cosmetics section

A young bedouin woman was standing by a stove,making thin pita bread by stretching the dough on the dome of the stove; then filled it with 'labaneh' (low fat, sour, youghurt-based spread ) to which she added olive oil and za'ater (safron spice mix); turned it into a roll,  and sold it to the visitors for 15 shekel (about $4) each. Very tasty, healthy snack. The druze and bedouin women are experts in making this kind of snack.

Bedouin woman in action- making the pita for the roll

Never heard of the  cosmetic line 'Desert Healer' before. That's because it is not sold in shops or advertised in the media. It's mainly exported, sold on the farm , or ordered by phone/online by those who know about it. The lotions, creams and soaps are made of camel milk, and approved by the Ministry of Health.

women  visitors buying cosmetics

Eyal and assistant counting the money

At the end of the lecture , the bedouin woman spread some cream, with a stick, on every visitor's hand to give each the opportunity to test its effect on the skin.

end of Eyal's lecture; the bedouin woman with a jar of cream 

There were some 20 female camels in the pens. There usually are more, and 'serviced'  by one single male camel , during breeding time. After milking the camels, the milk is bottled and packaged for delivery to customers.

sending a kiss to the 'surprised looking' camel

Eyal with the food (grains) for the camels

Eyal watching a visitor feeding the camels

All in all, a very enjoyable visit!

*The farm management has got a website: www.camels-milk.com and also phone numbers for consultation with the research team.

Jonah's Hill (Givat Yona)

On Wednesday, I had some things to do in the city- port of Ashdod. I thought I'd go afterwards to visit Jonah's  Hill which , they say, offers great panoramic views of the city , the sea, the harbour, and the Lachish river. 

Well, the weather was not cooperative. It changed every hour or so from clear and pleasant to rainy and windy, and vice versa.   Not a very suitable day for climbing a hill.

at first,clear sky, calm sea ; (me with a thin head cover)

Nevertheless, I decided to reach the hill with the intention to, at least, learn about its interesting location - in a residential area, close to the promenade, overlooking the sea and city.

Before approaching the hill, I stopped at two spots on the promenade:  the monument in memory of the sunken ships Struma and Mefkure, and the open market near Lido beach and the Sundial tower.

Struma and Mefkure monument

Struma and Mefkure were two ships carrying over a thousand romanian- born jews on their way to, then, British Mandate Palestine, The british refused their entrance; the ships turned back and got torpedoed, probably by  a russian submarine in the Black Sea (Mefkure in 1942, Struma in 1944).

I'm of romanian descent,born and raised in Romania, and I've known  this story all my life, so I felt I had to stay for a while in silence near the memorial, and think about those tragically lost innocent lives.

Sundial Tower near Lido beach

The Wednesday market on Ashdod's promenade, under the shadow of the Sundial Tower is quite a big, versatile  known flea market, but not on this wednesday. Because of the weather, the vendors closed their stalls earlier , and what was left were vegetable/fruit stalls only. People have to eat .

fresh strawberries - I bought some.

Fruit and veggies

vegetables

preserved olives

herbs

Now, back to Jonah's Hill.  There's a lighthouse on the top of the hill. It is clearly seen from the street and the surrounding area. To get to the top one has to climb stairs. For the locals, so I'm told, the hill is a perfect leisure place;it has  a park, picnic spots, a nice cafe-restaurant, and... gorgeous panoramic views. Well, God willing , I'll visit it some other time, in better weather.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse - closer view

This hill is named after the prophet Jonah who, according to the Bible, was swallowed by a whale (or some other sort of sea creature) and released from its belly only after three days and three nights of praying to God. The prophet is said to be buried on the hill, and some excavations done in the area seem to confirm that.

Jonah, was a disobedient prophet. He was told by God to go to Nineve, one of the largest (and wickedest) cities at that time (Mosul in modern day Iraq), to preach, and foretell its destruction.

Well, some sources claim he tried to escape the mission and that's why he got punished ; other sources say he did what he was told to do, but he was angry with God for saving the wicked city from destruction, after all.  Either way he was disobedient.

"Nothing new under the sun": corruption, violence, destruction, disobedience; and a case of "History repeats itself". Nineve was bad, Mosul (especially under the late ISIS occupation) was bad as well. This part of the world, I'm afraid,  will always be bad.