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6 stops around Nahariya By Ronit Vered and Eyal Toueg Tags: Israel travel  Nahariya's coastal charm makes for a day's worth of sightseeing. The Nahariya boardwalk almost looks like the perfect setting for a relaxed promenade a la any small European resort town. That is, if it weren't for all the new country clubs and water parks that have sprung up on the horizon. The old houses, whose top floors were once rented out to vacationers looking for a bit of peace and quiet at the shore have nearly disappeared. The old-timers in this small coastal city often lament those bygone days, and in recent years many of them have moved to small, outlying moshavim. Still, Nahariya retains a certain charm that is hard to find elsewhere. The Baha'is see the whole world as a single country of which everyone is a citizen, with equal rights. The religion contains many wonderful humane principles, and an array of ideas adopted from different philosophies and religions, but when you stand at the entrance to the holy sites of this small group of believers it's sometimes easy to forget these facts because of the strict security checks, the air of wariness and the myriad warnings and prohibitions. However, after swearing, in the name of religious brotherhood, that you have absolutely no intention of surreptitiously pulling out a folding barbecue grill or a hidden camera, you can enter the spectacular gardens. In a way, these gardens seem a little suspect, too: Some might see the neat and orderly rows of bushes, trees and flowers with nary an unruly leaf or petal as soldiers in an army of beauty. Despite the breathtaking beauty, there's something a little frightening about this rigid and meticulous aesthetic. Give us a few wild-looking English gardens, for God's sake. Advertisement The Baha'i gardens in Haifa are more famous, but the ones near Acre are where the remains of the religion's founder, Baha'u'llah, were buried. He was imprisoned by the Turks in the fortress of Acre. The room where he was held, next to where Ze'ev Jabotinsky was once incarcerated, is kept locked. Access is permitted only to Baha'is, and only on certain pilgrimage days. Like any locked room in a dark fortress, it arouses much curiosity. Entry to the shrine in the gardens - the house where the Baha'u'llah spent his final years, under house arrest - is permitted and highly recommended. Baha'i Gardens and Shrine, on the Acre-Shomrat road, 04-8313131 Meerkats poke their little heads up from red dirt mounds built above a complex system of tunnels. The intricate communal life of a mob of meerkats, members of the mongoose family originating in Africa's Kalahari Desert, can provide hours of viewing pleasure. Next door are the Patagonian maras, or cavys, which look like a comical cross between a rabbit and a small kangaroo. In their native South America they are considered a delicacy. There are also some small chinchillas, rescued from the fur trade; luxuriant-tailed lemurs, plump pelicans, a raccoon that insisted on mooning us and lots more flora and fauna from all over the world that will delight visitors big and small. Nahariya Zoo-Botanical Garden, 8 Ben Gaon St., Nahariya, 04-9517491 In the 1930s, couples still strolled arm in arm along Haga'aton Boulevard, named for the river bisecting the little yekke (German Jewish) town. Nahariya's Champs Elysee has changed somewhat since then, with more and more loudly designed eateries opening up in recent years. The legendary Penguin cafe, founded in the 1950s, has also surrendered to the modern design blahs, and the Ga'aton itself is not much more than a modest trickle these days. Some businesses still uphold the two-hour Schlafstunde siesta from 2 to 4 P.M., but this tradition is also on the way out. Ida, 48 Haga'aton Blvd., Nahariya, 04-9513444 La Crepe Jacob and Teva Ez Dairy, Moshav Ben-Ami, 04-9822554, www.teva-ez.com (Hebrew-only Web site) The fresh homemade bread served at La Crepe Jacob and Teva-Ez is baked by Noa Wolf, the granddaughter of a farmer on the moshav. She returned to her childhood surroundings after a stint in Tel Aviv, during which she studied acting at Beit Zvi and worked in several fine restaurants. Back home she began baking cakes, cookies and breads in her small home kitchen. At first these goodies were served to customers at her husband's hair salon, but word quickly spread and now trays of them are continually piling up in their kitchen (a move to a larger, more professional kitchen is in the works). The offerings include whole-wheat tehina cookies, chocolate-chip and orange cookies and a selection of breads. Noa sells them from home and at a stall in the nearby mall on Fridays. Mashehu Ta'im, Moshav Ben-Ami, 04-9829820 In addition to being Noa's number-one assistant baker, her mother Nava has a small business of her own, also based on a personal passion. The Mahlaf Hasefarim (the book exchange) used bookstore grew out of a private collection that threatened to take over every corner of the house. Nava is a classic book collector, the kind who feels pain every time she must part with a book and still owns many books that will never be taken off the crammed shelves at home and placed in the shop. Her personal preferences are for English literature, detective stories and historical novels, which are the largest sections in this charming store, but there is also a large selection of classics in Hebrew and English and a pleasant atmosphere that invites both locals and B&B guests to rummage through the cartons. Mahlaf Hasefarim, Hama'ayan Street, Moshav Ben-Ami, 04-9823522 Bookmark to del.icio.us   The Chancellor's visit Angela Merkel arrives in Israel to 'open new chapter' in bilateral ties. London paying Netanyahu says PR trip to U.K. wasn't funded by Israeli taxpayer.

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