Israel Day 2/7: Exploring Tiberias

We'd already been swimming and we don't take naps, so we joined Matt, Ashley and Melissa to wander around and explore Tiberias. The girls wanted to see the water, I wanted ice cream and a grocery store, and the guys didn't really seem to care.

Tiberias, like everywhere in Israel, is very hilly. So we headed down...

The first place we came to was a grocery store. I love going to grocery stores when we travel. They are a great way to learn a lot about the food and "real life" of a place. I don't often take pictures when in grocery stores because it always seems a bit strange and I don't want to stand out any more than I already do. This was one of those times I didn't take pictures but wish I had. My favorite local was a little girl, probably about 8 or 9 years old, pushing a cart around the store and loading it with groceries while talking to her mother on the phone.

It was so hot and ice cream sounded so good, but the lines were long and Matt had found an ice cream store nearby on Google Maps, so we decided to hold out for "real" ice cream. Turns out it was just a little shop full of coolers of ice cream bars and popsicles.

But they made a nice treat as we continued our way down towards the water. We stumbled upon this building, called "The Fortress." It was built in 1745 by the Bedouin ruler of  Galilee, using stones from earlier buildings. It is now a currently out-of-business art gallery/studio.

Many of the buildings were not like other buildings we'd seen so far...

We knew we were getting close to the Sea when we came to a long staircase...

some member of our explorer group was feeling silly...

They were a bit uneven and steep but the water was at the bottom! But there was no way to get to it. It was just a marina with boats and restaurants.

Once I saw the water, I wasn't sure I wanted to get in it anyway...

It couldn't have been too bad, there were fish swimming around...

It was pretty to look at, just the same and was a nice place to rest before heading back up...

On the way back, we took a new route past some new things. 

This one we had to check out...

Turns out it was the site of the Tomb of Maimonides, a famous Jewish philosopher and Torah scholars of the Middle Ages. He died in Egypt in 1204 and was briefly buried there before being moved to Tiberias. His tomb is one of the most important Jewish pilgrimage sites in Israel and one of Tiberias' most visited attractions. 

We didn't take the time to look further at it, we still had a long walk back uphill and it was getting close to dinnertime. 

By the time we got back it was time to eat and we were hot, sweaty, exhausted and THIRSTY! But totally worth it!