Haifa University

I rarely stray from the chaos of Jerusalem. But I decided that I should take a trip to Haifa to visit an important professor and his minion of students. There are only two archaeozoologists with academic jobs in this country. One is Rivka, who oversees the lab I work at in Jerusalem. The other one is at the University of Haifa.

I took the two hour bus ride north to the central bus station of Haifa at the foot for Mt. Carmel (of wine infamy). From there I took a local bus up the mountain on which the campus is perched. There, I met with the professor and two of his students. We had a nice discussion, a tour of the lab, and then we went to lunch. This was followed by a grand tour of the campus, which included going to the top of the 30-storey administration building for an incredible view of the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the western Galilee to the east. From there, we went to the Hecht Museum, a small but sophisticated museum that includes the reconstructed remains of a 4th century BC boat that sunk nearby and a diarama of a simple Natufian village (Ohalo II).

At this point, I said my goodbyes and made my way back home. It's good to get out of Jerusalem. There's only so much religious fanatacism I can take.