I’m getting ready for the spring migration and my new Suburban safari (Coming Soon!). So I’ve been checking out the area of Jerusalem around the ‘Old train Station’, Yemin Moshe and the Walls of the Old City. Today I saw some fantastic little birds: Graceful Prinias, Chiffchaffs, and what I think is a Masked Shrike. See the Map below for more information.
Watch this Space for more news.
Welcome to my first podcast in the series: “The History of Judaism”. I shall be telling the History and story of the Jews from an educated Jewish Perspective. the first podcast focuses on Abraham and my decision to place this as the start of my narrative about Jewish History.
Here is a Map of Abraham’s Journeys:
Next time: A Journey to the Other Side: Abraham’s historical narrative
(The music in this podcast is “By Way of Haran” by Pharoah’s Daughter recreated under the following creative commons license “Live on WFMU’s Transpacific Sound Paradise 12/12/2009 byPharaoh’s Daughter is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.” Check out the band at www.pharaohsdaughter.com/music.html )
Looking for something fun to do with the kids?
I am running a Jewish Quarter Scavenger hunt for all the family!
Where? Meeting Point Jaffa Gate, next to the tourist information center look for a guy holding a placard.
When? Thursday November 10th, 10:00 am – 1pm
How Much? 20 shekels per child, accompanying adults go free. (Unaccompanied adults do not go free)
Mystery Star Prize (edible)
Age Range: 4-7, 8 – 12, 13 – 15. (different tasks will be given to different ages)
Schedule
10:00-10:30 Introduction, formation of teams, rules
10:30-12 scavenger hunt
12-12:30 Sharing our findings
12:30-1 giving out of prizes
The Rules
For more information email: yossisilverman@gmail.com
I’ve been preparing for a new tour and part of this preparation has been mapping the wildlife in the southern suburbs of Jerusalem. My recent astounding sightings have been;
Graceful Prinia (bird)
Eurasian Jays
Kuhl’s Pipistrelle Bat
European Green Toad
Common Gazelle (!)
You can check regular updates on this map:
It was a wonderful experience seeing the gazelle at 5:30 am as the sun rose over the Jerusalem hills. I’m going to be preparing this tour for the next few months, if your interested in booking me for a tour you can contact me here.
Last week I attended the annual Jerusalem wine festival. of course it was a purely professional evening and maximum restraint and temperance was practiced!
I had a wonderful evening and on the whole , I am generally impressed with the standard of wines this year. I think that in antiquity the Holy Land was known for producing fine wines and recently much has been done to restore Israel to its former glory in terms of wine production. I genuinely think that a trip to Israel is missing something if it does not include a trip to one of the fantastic wineries.
I have created a list of wines and wineries that I would recommend on a tour this year.
website: yaffowinery.co.il
Formerly situated near the ancient city of Jaffa, this family business has relocated to the beautiful surroundings of the Ella valley. This winery specializes in blends of grape. I especially like the ‘Sauvage‘ blend, which was a blend of Petit Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Merlot. It was a set apart from the other wines at the festival, with a very different more fruity taste than some of the rather plain Merlots and Merlot based wines that the other wineries were offering. It actually had a distinctive floral nose, that even my poor allergy prone schnoz could discern. You can drink a good Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon anywhere in the world, this wine is something special.
website: jerusalemwineries.co.il
This stand attracted my attention for 2 reasons. Firstly for quite sometime I’ve been looking for a good winery inside the city, located in the Atarot industrial estate, they are just inside Jerusalem municipal boundaries and , as it happens, near some good limestone hills, perfect for a good vineyard.
Secondly when I ask a proprietor of a winery for a recommendation I normally get a stream of pretentious gibberish; as they slowly explain the topography, their family history, and anything from anthropology of wine drinking cultures to their latest invention to avoid using oak barrels. There’s pretty much one thing that makes a good wine; its taste. I waited for ages at other company stands while their proprietors jabbered a way and told me to go away if I was not willing to listen to their long lecture (and I had my child care needing to go home before midnight). The Jerusalem winery was a different story entirely; I asked him for a good wine, he said he ‘didn’t really know but try this Syrah, it tastes great’ and it did. Even after drinking 10 mediocre Syrah’s the Jerusalem winery’s Syrah shone, it was strong, it was rich and even my date for the night who hates dry wine liked it.
Visitor Centre telephone number: 0528070798
The Har Bracha faux ‘Bordeaux’ style wine is a beautifully light and fruity wine with a delicate fragrance. This is no suprise as the winery holds a reputation for selling interesting ‘out of the box’ wines that other Israeli companies tend to avoid. They have a good restaurant too by all reports.
Telephone Number: 049830573
I have seen this brand slowly make its way onto the shelves in the mainstream Israeli stores. I have to say that I’m impressed with the maturity of the label, their Cabernet Franc bland was another impressive ‘out of the ordinary’ wine. I went to a winery recently where all they really had was the generic heavy Merlots Cabernet Sauvignons and Syrahs, most of their wines were indistinguishable one from the other, none tasted that bad, but there wasn’t anything that the friend I went with (a lot more knowledgeable than I was) could really say that was different and distinctive. The Tulip winery clearly uses its knowledge to really showcase the surroundings of the Lower Galilee and Judean Hills where its grapes are grown. I felt that the Cabernet Franc that I tasted, was unique and something you don’t really get anywhere else.
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If you would like to visit any of these or the many other fine wineries in Israel or you want to visit but want some good touring for the rest of the day, you can e-mail me here!
This is the map that I will be updating regularly as part of my ‘Suburban Safari’ project. I will record the animals that I have identified, there location and the date I identified them. There is a key in the description section and hover your cursor over the markers on the map to see what has been identified so far.
There’s probably going to be a few kinks to iron out at first, but check back here regularly for new sightings.
Tour Guide, Bird Specialist and Super Dad!
As part of a new set of tours that I am creating I recently lead some educational birding sessions at the JAIS Summer Camp.
We saw some fantastic birds, featuring the Syrian Woodpecker, the Palestine Sunbird and the Ring Necked Parakeet to name a few. Here’s the whole extended bird list:
Syrian Woodpecker
Palestine Sunbird
Ring Necked Parakeet
Spectacled Bulbul
Blackbird
Palm dove
Rock Dove (Pigeon)
Sparrow
Hooded crow
I was very impressed with the standard of observation from the campers who could spot birds with their bare eyes that I couldn’t see with my binoculars. The whole day just goes to show the fantastic variety of birds you can see in my backyard right here in Jerusalem.
I am currently working on some tours that will involve some of the more unknown parts of Jerusalem wildlife. Watch this space!
Dear Friends,
I have decided to run in the Jerusalem Marathon to help the victims of terror. It would mean a lot to me if you could donate today to help those whose lives have been wounded by acts of terror.
Follow this link, thank you so much.