FOLLOW THE SUN TO ISRAEL

[Music] strange thing about planes while conquering space they've mixed up the old calendar quite a bit here we are mr. and mrs. Jack Sheldon flying out of the middle of winter looking for two weeks of springtime in Israel as we circled overload Airport eight hours from Paris the cold of Europe was still in our bones the sparkling brightness of the day when we first touched down in Israel seemed to awaken us from a long sleep memories of snow and cold melted in the warm Sun as we came to the hotel I had a feeling which I remember even more sharply than that first bright day the light-hearted carefree feeling of taking off your overcoat and leaving it off at the beginning of February it was but a few steps to the Mediterranean or at least to a good view of it the sea seemed to be with you everywhere like balmy breezes it's tangy taste even its color fills the air back home nobody looks around in wintertime they're too busy huddling in their coats and scarves but here it's springtime a time for lifting your head and looking at the bright world through stylish sunglasses the most fascinating thing any country has to offer is its people to us they are strangers but whatever their age they are somehow as familiar as the people next door yet ever-changing and ever different like the sea which brought so many of them here [Music] the outdoor cafes bloom in this spring-like time so to the people and so do we as we become part of the landscape [Music] my wife takes special delight in the kids around us but to tell the truth I found the best local color in some of the older sites the city has certain views rich in natural beauty I wouldn't have minded spending the day at the cafe taking in the changing scenery but we could hardly tell anybody that we traveled through Israel sitting in one place well we set out to find the tourist office to us and I'm sure to tourists like us this place is a Central Intelligence Agency ready with all the answers the lay of the land the strategic spots to visit and an American knack for shortcuts [Music] they help us plan our next two weeks and they suggest the best way to get around the country but drive yourself car is just what we needed the most pleasant way to see everything and go everywhere we get the keys to the country once out on the road you catch your breath at the ever-changing panorama Beauty which unfolds before your eyes it's almost unbelievable only a few days ago we were all bundled up in blustery wintery Europe here in the spectacular Sun the colors and shapes shift and dance and your heart dances with them [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] in a city like Nazareth 2,000 years of history seemed to be compressed into a few square miles one never escapes the feeling that Israel is a link between the dim past and the present here in nazareth with our english-speaking arab guide we wondered about a marketplace which probably had not changed much in two thousand years two hours or so away from a throbbing city like Tel Aviv Nazareth doesn't seem to be like the same world the greatest antidote for boredom and fatigue is contrast and in this Israel is quite rich with little effort you can shuttle back and forth between the past and the present on the very same day the important geography lesson about Israel is that it lies smack at the crossroads of three continents Europe Asia Africa and for centuries the peoples the cultures the traditions of these continents have flowed back and forth across the face of this land a mere tourist becomes a true traveler when he far takes in the ways of the land revisits so we dipped into hummus an oriental dish of beans oil and vinegar quite good tastes something like well like nothing I've ever tasted back home back at our hotel in Tel Aviv we had a pleasant surprise a rainy day the only one during our trip a time for refreshing laziness or and this is most important letting the whole wide impatient world know where you are what beautiful places you have seen I'm sure there would be many fewer tourists if there were no picture postcards to send home [Music] the rainy afternoon stretched out into the early evening and I feel time for hoisting a few drinks of a hotel bar and incidentally the local drinks are quite good and reasonable [Music] next day we find ourselves flying over Tel Aviv on our way to a lot on the shores of the Red Sea the busy pattern of the city soon gave way to the vast stretches of the Negev desert a lot perched on the Gulf of Aqaba is Israel's gateway to the Red Sea and the ports of Asia a new highway and regular flights by domestic airline connect a lot with the rest of the country the weather here way down south is a bit like Arizona's the dry heat caresses you comfortably whither seems to be about a million miles away or does such a season really exist civilization has caught up with a lot a modern air-conditioned hotel right near the beautiful beach swimming in February is usually a polar bears dish but here in this climate no one needs a fur coat you don't even have to be particularly brave the water is quite calm and warm too bad this photo can't have today's date February 8th on it just for some of my skeptical friends none of the usual after bathing chills the water is almost as warm as the air before flying back to Tel Aviv one last glimpse of the Gulf I wish to say that the best drink in Israel and probably anywhere else is its orange juice MIT's top cuisine as I've learned to order it it was a short hop from frontier to civilization from desert edge to the round of hectic activities in Tel Aviv life after dark is quite active and pleasantly intimate despite the bright lights [Music] like everywhere the dance floor's tend to become a bit crowded sometimes a bit too broad to get a good glimpse of the local natural resources there is a unique kind of nightclub act which involves all the customers everybody joins or tries to join in an old-fashioned community sing [Music] [Applause] [Music] saturday or Shabbat as they call it here is the day of rest at a day of relaxing change weather easygoing or faster paced back home now the only outdoor sport is ice-skating but here it is springtime fun and games bright and early one morning we were on the move again this time to Tiberius at the Sea of Galilee [Music] you can tell how much this tree has been enacted here by the Sea of Galilee 'z many names the Old Testament it was called Kinneret and Josephus it was named Ganesha in the Gospels the Sea of Galilee or the sea of Tiberias 20 centuries ago Tiberius was a popular winter resort just as it is today the hot springs and mineral waters now in a modern setting attack people from all over Israel and from many parts of the world [Music] wherever you go in Israel there is movement excitement the robbing sense of change but here at the shores of the Sea of Galilee which has been intimate with history you can almost touch the stillness in the air [Applause] the world is often too much with us yet in this place where the sensory sleep quietly we feel far removed from its tension and troubles and close to its gentle peacefulness yet here is life and in the midst of beginnings there are endings we add to our growing album of memories against a splendid curve of C and Martin if only we could carry away with us the beautiful fragrance of spring or at least hold it in our hands a little while longer flowers are fragile but memories last memories of Israel as we fly back into the middle of winter after two weeks of spring Thailand two weeks flitting by with shimmering intensity like a sunny dream [Music]