Sights and sounds of an ancient land

Author: By Rosalie Griesse, Globe Correspondent

Date: SUNDAY, December 28, 1997

Page: M1

Section: Travel

Stepping off the plane some 11 hours later, we felt ourselves being swept up in that magical, mesmerizing land. A state about the size of New Jersey, Israel has many mountains, stones, and desert, but the sights and sounds of Tel Aviv are that of a modern city languishing on the opulent beaches of the Mediterranean. This is a sea whose water is ever-changing, from deep blue to a breathtaking turquoise, framed by sandy beaches that seduce visitors. There are also and wondrous restaurants. As we sat eating a meal in one of those restaurants on the sand, with only an awning over our heads and the sides open entirely to the wind, surfers came roaring in almost onto our laps.

They were ecstatic as the enormous waves crashed onto the shore, luring them into ever more daring maneuvers on their boards. Later, we discovered that night life in Tel Aviv equals that of any found around the world, with music, dancing, and shows in superabundance.

We left Tel Aviv the next day, our bus taking us north along the coast. We walked through the ancient city of Caesarea, where the Caesars had their palace with its magnificent unobstructed view of the Mediterranean. As we explored the timeless crusaders' city of Akko (Acre), we wondered what it was like many thousand years ago to live on the water's edge but still needing to get drinking water from 10 miles northward through an aqueduct built by the Romans. We were awed by Megiddo, touted to be the site of mankind's final Armageddon, where archeologists have unearthed some 20 levels of civilization. Heading northeast, we reached the city of Safed, mysticism's center of activity during the Middle Ages, and a mecca for artists and sculptors today.

We then arrived in Tiberias, an ancient city that lies along the Sea of Galilee. A boat ride gave us a flavor of the strenuous life and loneliness of a fisherman in that lake, which is 33 miles long and 157 feet deep. Storms can come up without much warning and churn the water into a frightening maelstrom. We spent a night in a hotel on those shores, which sharpened our understanding of the Golan Heights, only 7.5 miles across the sea from Tiberias. Twinkling lights at night from the kibbutzim situated on those hills lent an aura of peace and beauty. Seeing those places helped to bring the morning headlines into keen focus.

Leaving the Galilee and heading south, we visited Nazareth, and continued southward until we reached the astonishing remains of a Roman city called Bet Shean, dating from the time of King Saul, around 1,000 BC. After the defeat in battle and subsequent suicide, Saul's body and those of his sons were hung on those city walls. An amphitheater that seated over 8,000 people has been uncovered here. Ongoing excavations of this city are at least twenty 20 times the size of the ancient Forum in Rome.

The crown jewel of any trip to Israel, however, is always Jerusalem, that small piece of real estate that has been plundered, conquered, razed, rebuilt, and worshiped over the centuries. The world's three major religions claim it as their own. It sits much higher than any of the land around it, with various ``mounts'' surrounding it. One truly does ``go up'' to Jerusalem. Its buildings are all mandated to be built of Jerusalem limestone, which glows with a rose-gold sheen and which leads Jerusalem to be called ``the Golden City.''

To see Jerusalem is to see layers. Just as excavations unearth multiple layers of civilization, there are strata on top of the land that are stunning in their diversity. It is as if transparencies had been laid one on top of another, each one adding to the confusion and complexity of life there. The simplest layer shows herds of sheep, with little donkeys slowly swaying as they carry their burdens down the crooked streets of the Old City of Jerusalem. Camels patiently await their master's commands, and goats scavenge wherever possible.

After the eye absorbs this bucolic scene, the next transparency adds cars and luxury, which seem out of place against this landscape of stones and mountains, animals and desert. They go whizzing by the camels and donkeys without making a single one of them blink.

The final transparency adds people. They form a kaleidoscope of color and style. Shepherds seem to melt into the background as they guide their herds. Arabs wear the bright red-and-white kaffiyeh on their heads, tied up with black ropes. Young Israel soldier boys and girls, as numerous as the Tel Aviv beaches, loll at street corners or walk the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall. Their dark piercing eyes assess everything and everyone, and their smooth olive skin glows in the sunlight. Tourists mingle in whichever garb they brought from whatever country. No one looks out of place.

The sounds of Jerusalem are captivating. Above the din of bleating sheep, merchants enticing hoped-for customers, and impatient drivers honking their horns, there is one distinct sound that is unique from all other cities of the world. It is the sound of stone cutters, chipping the Jerusalem stone on which they are working. Some are involved with excavations, digging down. Others are building walls, going up. Miraculously -- at rare moments -- the sounds of animals and vehicles stop for the space of a heartbeat, and nothing is heard but the steady chipping of the stonecutters' chisels. The sound is stunning, causing people to stop to listen.

Another exotic assault on the ears is the call of the muezzin. Five times a day this crier is heard over a loudspeaker, calling all Muslims to pray. The voice has a haunting quality and can be heard all over the Old City. It lasts several minutes and causes even the most casual tourist to think about his own prayers.

At lower decibels, people are heard hawking bread of all kinds. Our favorite is very long, twisted like a pretzel, covered with sesame seeds and tasting slightly like fish -- a true delicacy not found in the States. Stalls filled with fruits and vegetables illustrate the irrigation and nurturing that have made much of Israel bloom. Nothing compares with the Jaffa oranges except perhaps the pomelo. This citrus fruit, resembling a grapefruit, is more of a cross between grapefruit and oranges, blending both sweetness and tartness.

No visit to Jerusalem is complete without checking out the excavations. To the south side of the Temple Mount, there are digs that have been going on for many years. They reveal whole houses, with ritual baths, kitchens, even colorful mosaics of countless conquerors -- Assyrians, Ottoman Turks, Byzantines, Egyptian Mamelukes, Romans. Guidebooks directed us to the Burnt House, which has recently been uncovered. Because of coins found there, archeologists have established that this house, underneath the Jewish Quarter of the Old City, was burned by the Romans during the siege of Jerusalem in AD 70. The skeleton of a woman's arm and hand is seen reaching out for a spear that is resting in one corner of what was probably her kitchen. In that same area are remains of a 2,000-year-old Herodian mansion, with breathtakingly beautiful mosaic floors and furniture still intact.

When an ancient map of Jerusalem was discovered in Ma'daba, Jordan, dating to the sixth or seventh century, it showed a straight street going all the way from the Damascus Gate of the Old City to the Jewish Quarter near the Western Wall of the Temple Mount. This was called the Cardo Maximuz, or Main Street. However, for centuries the street that began at the Damascus Gate was crooked and bore no resemblance to what had been seen on that Ma'daba map. It wasn't until a few years ago that excavations were begun at that gate, and there they found the Cardo. Parts of it are now completed, and some shops have been built on either side, much the way it was in antiquity.

In a land susceptible to earthquakes and violent sandstorms, where civilizations can be toppled and covered over with rocks and debris, the tantalizing dilemma for archeologists is how far they can go. There is something in each of them, as well as in each tourist, and probably each resident of the land, that would love to see beneath the surface, to dig and dig until bedrock has finally been reached. But on top of each layer of history have been built other layers, which would have to be destroyed to assuage the longings of all who want to look at the past.

For many more decades, Jerusalem will continue to dig, uncovering new facets of its ancient history, which will capture our imagination. But there will have to come a time when the shovels and chisels will be put away. The digging will cease, and the sound of the stonecutters will be silent. The mysteries that remain hidden will be more alluring than ever.

We booked our tour through Isram World of Travel. Isram offers tours from 9 to 15 days. The prices for 1998 begin at $1,645 per person, double occupancy.

Knesset: The Parliament Building houses a beautiful Chagall tapestry depicting the history of mankind.

Hadassah Medical Center: Here are the brilliant Chagall stained windows, one for each of the 12 tribes of Israel.

Mount of Olives: The Garden of Gethsemane lies next to the Church of All Nations.

Dome of the Rock: on Mount Moriah or the Temple Mount.

Via Dolorosa and Church of the Holy Sepulchre: much-visited holy sites.

Herodian Mansion and Burnt House: a completely excavated residential quarter from 2000 years ago.

David's Citadel: Located at the Jaffa Gate, the citadel depicts in movie and artifact the history of Jerusalem. At certain times of year there are sound and light shows at the Citadel.

Souk or marketplace: This winds all through the Old City.