QAZRIN – A Wonderful Place to Visit (And I Bet To Live Too)

We recently returned from an overnight stay in Qazrin. We fell in love with the town.

There are sites on the net that will give you an idea of what Qazrin has to offer. I'll list the sites here in order to save you the time of doing a redundant search:

http://www.golan.org.il/park/evisit.htm

http://www.qatzrin.muni.il/ts.exe?tsurl=0.76.0.0.0&tsstmplt=zoom

http://museum.golan.org.il/

http://museum.golan.org.il/epre.htm

http://www.qatzrin.muni.il/

Having arrived in Qazrin around noon we hurried over to the Museum on the first day. The rest of our day was spent meeting people and getting to know modern, thriving Qazrin. Qazrin is not just about an ancient settlement, interesting though that may be. Modern Qazrin is about Zionism and chalutziut at its very best. A lot of love, effort and funds were invested to make modern Qazrin a model Israeli town and it is well worth taking the time to drink all that it.

The second day we were there was dedicated to the other side of town, where the antiquities are.

I am always amazed to see modern malls next to archeological reconstructions. Qazrin has wisely placed its mall next to its hottest tourist attractions.

A Visitors' Center is presently being built right next to the mall as well.

There are a number of fast food places in the Chutzot HaGolan Mall, the mall that is near the antiquities. One of the places is Henry's, a French crepes bar that is a bit more up-scale than the other eating places in the mall. Henry's honors Gold Dinner cards. There is also a Burger Ranch in Chutzot HaGolan, A quick Chinese food place, Pizza and Shwarma.

I could not find any bed and breakfasts listed in Qazrin on the net when I was planning the trip. So, I called the Head Secretary of the Mo'etzah Mekomit, a lovely lady by the name of Ya'el, and asked with whom we might stay. She recommended a neighbor of hers by the name of Ge'ulah Arad (spelled with an aleph).

I called Ge'ulah and asked if we might stay in a room at her place. She said: "A room? You can stay in my villa." I asked how much that would cost. I was stunned that the price she asked was less than we might expect to stay in a room. Ge'ulah adjusts the prices according to how many people stay overnight. Ask her directly to quote her rates.

Ge'ulah, it transpired, is a craftswoman and her lovely villa, situated in a beautiful and verdant neighborhood, is decorated with much of her own handiwork.

There is a lovingly cared for garden in front of the house and a backyard with a table and chairs. The spacious salon leads into the kitchen, which is not kosher. That is no problem as there is a makolet very near Ge'ulah's house. The rates that Ge'ulah charges to stay at her villa make having to buy breakfast well worth while.

The bedrooms are up winding stairs.

There is a Beit K'nesset less than a five-minute walk from Ge'ulah's home. My husband, Dani'el, told me the Beit K'nesset is large and well-appointed and some 40 – 50 people showed up for the minyan on a weekday.

Ge'ulah's home is minutes away from the Shuq (every Tuesday) and a short walk from the field school.

All in all I would recommend staying at Gu'elah Arad's lovely villa highly.

Her phone number is (04) 696-1517.
Her cell phone number is 050 – 7324565

Tell her that Doreen and Dani'el Dotan from Tzfat recommended her place to you.