Christmas In Israel: Haifa Maritime Museum & Lunch With Cats

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For loads more photos see http://www.becauseoftime.org/ISD/ScenesDakar2.html.

Eva guided us to the Haifa Maritime Museum where two of the most important artifacts from the harbor of Apollonia are displayed:  a marble ceremonial vase and a little bronze statue of the goddess Minerva, both dating to the Roman Period, both collected during our time here in the early '90s.  (Note photos 2 and 3.)  The remaining artifacts are currently held by the Rockefeller Museum in Jerusalem, likely stored away in boxes in their vast basement collection.

With time and experience, one develops an eye for artifacts.  I've heard it well-described as a pattern threshold, when the scanning of objects in our perceptual field ignites a match with something in our catalogue of internal representations -- a shape, color, texture, or pattern.  In my experience, this process occurs without thinking, below thinking, faster than thinking, on a perceptual level.

The statue of Minerva was found in about eight inches of water within several feet of shore.  I noticed a discoloration on the sandy bottom, a little dark patch which, when stirred, revealed the headdress of the goddess.  Remarkable.

Photo 1 was also taken at the Maritime Museum.  It shows an collection of amphorae organized by historical period, with the oldest to the right, dating from the Bronze Age.  The storage jars found in the harbor of Apollonia are represented by those at the left, dating from the Roman and Byzantine Periods, when the city reached the height of its expansion, with several thriving industries (purple dye, wine, glass).

Randi & I have been hanging out with Eva.  She is a attentive hostess, filling our tummies to overflowing, while her two dogs and innumerable cats lounge in the periphery.  Interesting that Eva's animals all understand Czech.  Naturally, the cats run the show, as illustrated in Photo 5, which shows a cat lifting his food can from a refrigerator shelf.