The main highway between Akko and Nahariya parallels fragments of a stone aqueduct built by Ahmed al Jezzar Pasha in 1780 over the ruins of a Roman aqueduct. The aqueduct originally supplied Akko with water from the Galilee's springs. Its picturesque ruins include many archways framing sabra plants. Before you reach Nahariya, you will pass two communities that are well worth a visit: Kibbutz Lohammei HaGetaot and the beautiful horticultural community of Nes Amim, populated by Christians from many nations. In the countryside farther inland (east), there's also a chance to visit traditional Ethiopian Jewish potters and to purchase examples of their craft.
Ethiopian Pottery: The Jewish Women Ceramists of Beta Israel
Ethiopian women in the Wollaka region were responsible for cooking and other work having to do with fire, including the making of clay pots, and the Jewish women (Beta Israel) of the villages in this area were famous for their low-fire pottery ware, which they sold in markets. It was folk wisdom of the region that if your mother was good at pottery making, you must be Beta Israel. As tourists began to visit the area in the 1950s, Beta Israel women began making native clay figurines and models of village houses and village life for sale to travelers. Although not a previously known Jewish folk-art tradition, many of these works have real charm, and the works of the best artists have become collector's items. Arriving in Israel, Ethiopian Jews were culturally disoriented and removed from their traditions, but some of the women potters have been encouraged to continue to work at their craft. Judaica is one of the new directions they are exploring, and although Chanukah was unknown to Ethiopian Jews (they were separated from other Jewish communities before the Maccabean restoration of The Temple of Jerusalem in 167 B.C., which the holiday commemorates), their vibrant clay Chanukah menorahs are exotically African in style.
In a one-person crusade to save this craft, veteran Israeli Dorit Katzir has set up a kiln and cooperative workshop for these ceramists in her beautiful organic farming village of Klil, located about 10km (6 miles) inland from the sea, in the countryside between Akko and Nahariya. For those interested in purchasing examples of this low-fire, rough-black unglazed folk art, a visit to the studio can be arranged by contacting Dorit Katzir (tel. 04/996-7045; mobile phone 05/465-4385; fax 04/996-5145). Prices range from NIS 80 ($20/£10) for simple items to thousands of shekels.
You can best visit Klil by private car, or if you have a private guide, ask to include the workshop in your itinerary. Katzir will give you directions to Klil by phone; she asks that only those seriously interested in seeing the craft and making a purchase come. Examples of Beta Israel pottery can sometimes be found at craft shops in Israel (try Yad B'homer at 9 Massada St. in Haifa, or various museum shops).
