Some of Israel’s most intriguing sites are off the beaten path — or even underground.
A trip to Israel last month produced several must-sees:
*Ayalon Institute, near Rehovot.
It’s one of those sites that makes you shake your head in amazement. In the late 1940s, this former kibbutz operated an underground bullet-making factory under the nose of the British. From ’45 to ’48, this secret operation produced 2.25 million bullets for Jewish fighters. Without this ammunition, Israel might not have won the War of Independence.
A functioning laundry and bakery hid the two openings to the below-ground factory. To make sure the workers didn’t look ghostly white, the factory included a tanning booth.
The operation was abandoned soon after Israel’s statehood and was forgotten for decades. But the underground bullet factory was restored and opened as a museum in 1987.
*The Shwartzman family’s guest room in the old section of Moshav Bat Shelomo, northeast of Zichron Ya’acov in northern Israel.
For an authentic Israeli experience, visit this tiny restaurant, which serves homemade cheeses, yogurts, olives, pita bread, spices and “love tea.” Ziv Shwartzman, a middle-aged Israeli who is the third generation to live and work there, serves the delicious food daily.
The moshav was founded in 1889 with the help of the famed Rothschild family. Preserved for now as a national conservation site, the moshav still has just one street with 14 original homes. The Shwartzmans’ is the fourth house on the right.
*Tarrabine cafe in Jaffa’s port.
A trio of twentysomethings have recreated one of the Sinai Desert retreats currently popular with young Israelis.
Persian-style rugs cover the floor and ceiling of the large, dimly lit cafe. Young adults relax on the ground, leaning on pillows and shin-high tables. They sip beer, lemonade or tea with fresh mint. And they smoke hookahs, or Arabic water-pipes, filled with apple-, strawberry- or pineapple-flavored tobacco — instead of hashish.
*Hasmonean Tunnel in Jerusalem’s Old City.
The ancient tunnel, which became infamous when Palestinian riots followed the opening of a second entrance in 1996, is actually a fascinating tour.
The musty, damp, underground walk follows sections of the Western Wall now hidden by the “modern” Old City of Jerusalem. A tour includes viewing a 100-ton stone that somehow was moved to build the retaining wall of the Temple Mount, as well as a site believed to be the closest spot to the Holy of Holies.