Back to main page and index of daily reports


Loading, please wait...

Monday, October 3, 2005 - Erev Rosh Hashanah at Olympus, Walking to Chimaera to See the Eternal Flames, Dror's Playing the Sax on the Beach


Today is Erev Rosh Hashanah; I will have to think of a creative way to celebrate the holiday. It seems like it is only Benny and I and bunch of young Turks.

Waking up to the call of the rooster, no Muazzin calls in Olympus, since it is not a village, only sites for many pensions and campgrounds. So the rooster is the first, making sure that the whole world is aware of his calling, followed by the birds, chickens, turkeys and dogs who join the choir later.

Now, if you live in a Moshav, like my friends Yael and Amnon, you are used to be waken up by all sorts of sounds like animals or tractors or to the sound of a spraying airplane over a nearby orange grove. However, for me, who spent my life in cities such as Jerusalem, Rishon-le-Zion, Tokyo and Los-Angles, this is very special and I lie in bed with Shir Balev (song in my heart).

Getting out of bed in our tree house is not so simple. Every step shakes the whole place and people sleep below us. So I practice walking like a ballerina. The walls are paper thin, actually wood-thin, and you can hear Turkish conversations across the wall and the guy next door is coughing from too much smoking. The plan today is to walk to Chimaera, to see the eternal flames.

Olympus was an important Lycian (pronounced Lykian) city by the second century BC and the Olympians worshipped the god of fire. No doubt, it is connected to the eternal flames of Chimaera. After the Lycians came the Romans, pirates, Venetians, Genoese and Rhodians, who built fortresses along the coast. What’s unique about Olympus are not necessarily the ruins, but the location and the natural beauty. It is located inland from a beautiful beach alongside a stream that runs through a rocky gorge.

We walked through an ancient road, passing an old temple, crossing a river where I encountered a frog, and to the beach.

We passed the town of Cirali, pronounced Chirali, and continue toward Chimaera. Along the seven kilometers walk, we passed one pension after another. They must be fully booked during in the summer. The road is now going up toward Chimaera. We stopped for a short snack of green oranges and pomegranates. We are at the entrance to Chimaera. Another thirty minutes of climb to the site.

On the hillside, there are open flames that blaze spontaneously from crevices in the rocky slopes of Mount Olympus. Ancient peoples attributed these extra ordinary flames to the breath of a monster, part lion, and part goat and part dragon. There is also a connection to Greek Mythology.

Today, gas still seeps from the earth and bursts into flames upon contact with the air. We spent there some time, watching and admiring this phenomenon. You can see the composition of the gas in one of the photo.

On the way back we met Dror on the beach. Last time that we were at the same pension was in Urfa. He plays the saxophone and we sat listening to his music. He is very talented. He invited us to join him and other young Israeli to celebrate Rosh Hashanah at his pension.

There were about ten young Israelis. There was wine; someone was cutting apples, bowls full of honey and pomegranates. Kiddush, Shana Tova Umetuka.

I was thinking of Yael, Gary, Karen, John,Guy, Hannale, Ari, Dean, Chad, Owen, Miles, Dudu, Rochale, Nitza, Rafi, Yigal and Rina, and I sent them Shanah Tova and was so grateful that my good Benny was next to me.

Back to main page and index of daily reports

Back to Top



1