Jonah's Hill (Givat Yona)

On Wednesday, I had some things to do in the city- port of Ashdod. I thought I'd go afterwards to visit Jonah's  Hill which , they say, offers great panoramic views of the city , the sea, the harbour, and the Lachish river. 

Well, the weather was not cooperative. It changed every hour or so from clear and pleasant to rainy and windy, and vice versa.   Not a very suitable day for climbing a hill.

at first,clear sky, calm sea ; (me with a thin head cover)

Nevertheless, I decided to reach the hill with the intention to, at least, learn about its interesting location - in a residential area, close to the promenade, overlooking the sea and city.

Before approaching the hill, I stopped at two spots on the promenade:  the monument in memory of the sunken ships Struma and Mefkure, and the open market near Lido beach and the Sundial tower.

Struma and Mefkure monument

Struma and Mefkure were two ships carrying over a thousand romanian- born jews on their way to, then, British Mandate Palestine, The british refused their entrance; the ships turned back and got torpedoed, probably by  a russian submarine in the Black Sea (Mefkure in 1942, Struma in 1944).

I'm of romanian descent,born and raised in Romania, and I've known  this story all my life, so I felt I had to stay for a while in silence near the memorial, and think about those tragically lost innocent lives.

Sundial Tower near Lido beach

The Wednesday market on Ashdod's promenade, under the shadow of the Sundial Tower is quite a big, versatile  known flea market, but not on this wednesday. Because of the weather, the vendors closed their stalls earlier , and what was left were vegetable/fruit stalls only. People have to eat .

fresh strawberries - I bought some.

Fruit and veggies

vegetables

preserved olives

herbs

Now, back to Jonah's Hill.  There's a lighthouse on the top of the hill. It is clearly seen from the street and the surrounding area. To get to the top one has to climb stairs. For the locals, so I'm told, the hill is a perfect leisure place;it has  a park, picnic spots, a nice cafe-restaurant, and... gorgeous panoramic views. Well, God willing , I'll visit it some other time, in better weather.

Lighthouse

Lighthouse - closer view

This hill is named after the prophet Jonah who, according to the Bible, was swallowed by a whale (or some other sort of sea creature) and released from its belly only after three days and three nights of praying to God. The prophet is said to be buried on the hill, and some excavations done in the area seem to confirm that.

Jonah, was a disobedient prophet. He was told by God to go to Nineve, one of the largest (and wickedest) cities at that time (Mosul in modern day Iraq), to preach, and foretell its destruction.

Well, some sources claim he tried to escape the mission and that's why he got punished ; other sources say he did what he was told to do, but he was angry with God for saving the wicked city from destruction, after all.  Either way he was disobedient.

"Nothing new under the sun": corruption, violence, destruction, disobedience; and a case of "History repeats itself". Nineve was bad, Mosul (especially under the late ISIS occupation) was bad as well. This part of the world, I'm afraid,  will always be bad.

..where the earth ends and the sea begins..

This place is called Cabo da Roca ( Cape Roca) - and it's the very westernmost point of mainland Europe. It's located 18 Km west of the beautiful portuguese region of Sintra , a region with castles and palaces ,wooden hills and vast parks which has won UNESCO heritage status.

Cabo da Roca is a cliff standing out from the Atlantic Ocean. It has a lighthouse, a cafe with a gift shop where one can get an attractive certificate to mark his visit on the rock, and a monument with a plaque bearing the following inscription in portuguese :

"Here..where the land ends and the sea begins (Camoes). Westernmost Point of the European Continent".

It was very windy up there on the day of my visit , and despite the dramatic beauty of the place, I was eager to buy the certificate as a memento and leave as soon as possble, especially as the topic of 'suicide' was brought up by someone among the visitors, and I felt quite bad about it. It was the edge of the cliff , the raging waves of the Atlantic ocean, and the isolation of the place , that triggered the discussion .

My thoughts in those moments, led me to a nurse at our public family clinic in my hometown - a skillful nurse and a kind , smiling person. I was shocked one day to hear the news of her death. It appeared that after being at her husband's grave, she drove her car over a nearby cliff facing the Mediterranean Sea - and that was the end of her.

She was not the depressed sort of woman and she had a lot what to live for. She was blessed with children and grandchildren , and was very appreciated at the clinic where she worked. And yet she felt she could not face life without her husband (a note in her handwriting was found , and that's what it said).

I read somewhere on the Web that suicide occurs when there is "imbalance of pain versus coping resources". Well it seemed indeed that her Pain was much greater than her abilities to cope with it. How tragic !!!

Palace of Pena

The extravagant palace, one of the main landmarks of Sintra municipality, was built on a rock ridge overlooking the town of Sintra. It used to be summer home of portuguese monarchs. The exterior is colorful and has a cyllindric bastion, a clock tower, arches, two gates - a blend of european and arabic style. The view from the palace and its gardens is stunning.

The impressive Palacio da Pena

romantic view of the palace