UTOPIA

A VISIT TO UTOPIA



We don’t get out of Jerusalem very often these days so we were delighted to have the opportunity to go with friends to visit a place near to Netanya  that has the alluring name of Utopia. 

We were not quite sure what to expect but these gardens are indeed utopia, especially for people who love orchids.  Here we enjoyed a feast for the eyes of every kind of orchid in every possible shape and colour and all in full flower and perfect condition.  There were also rose and cactus gardens, a topiary garden musical waterfalls and bird and animal exhibits but it is the superb orchids, growing in every imaginable place, out of the trees, rocks and crevices in the simulated tropical rain forest that will long remain in our minds.

KAKUN CASTLE

While we were in the area we also visited the remains of Kakun Castle which is situated in the Hefer valley and was  built on an already ancient site which was first inhabited during the Bronze Age period (3150-2200 B.C.E.)  A 13th Century German Dominican who travelled to the Holy Land identified the site with Michmethah, a city in the possession of Ephraim, (Joshua 16:6 )”And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah”) The castle, then called, Caco or Cacho, was  in existence in the Crusader period and an 8.5 metre tower still survives and now has the Israeli flag flying proudly from it.  The castle had a stormy history, having been captured by the Mamalukes and later coming under Ottoman rule. The castle ruins are picturesque and surrounded by greenery and there are wonderful views over the surrounding plain where one can see signs of intensive agriculture. At the site there is also an unusual memorial to those who fell fighting an Iraqi battalion which was completely destroyed, in the 1948 Arab- Israeli war. The site was recently declared a National park by the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority.

THE SCROLL OF FIRE

On our way home, nearing Jerusalem, and wanting to make the most of our day out, we made one more visit, to marvel at the imposing Scroll of Fire sculpture by Warsaw-born Nathan Rapoport situated in the Martyrs forest.  This forest is comprised symbolically of six million trees.  The four and a half million pine trees represent the adults who perished in the Holocaust, the million and half cypress trees, account for the children who were murdered.  This amazing memorial shows scenes of Jewish history and walking round the monument and viewing it from different angles, one can see recurring themes, a mother and child, an olive branch and a menorah as well as much symbolism.  There are scenes of the holocaust, Jews being marched off to concentration camps by faceless German soldiers, represented only by their helmets and bayonets, the Warsaw Ghetto and its defenders, among whom are an angel bearing a Molotov cocktail and a bearded man bearing a rock.  The survivors are seen leaving the camps and a small boat represents the thousands who came to Israel in the pre-State days and an olive tree whose branches are formed from human bodies is an allegory for renewal.  One could spend many hours viewing this incredible piece of sculpture, working out the themes and marvelling at the minute detail and expressions on the many faces.

This was altogether a memorable day out and we strongly recommend all these sites that we enjoyed so much to everyone, Israelis and tourists alike.