Before all the lectures start, one can register in advance for one of two tours. One is for "first-time" visitors, or those who hadn't been to Shiloh Hakeduma in the past few years. It gives a general background of Tel Shiloh and takes the participants to the movie, among other sites. And I go on the tour for recent visitors which tries to give us the latest discoveries and the newest high tech sites.
Even though these tours are walking tours, more like hikes, many participants are older than me and need the aid of walking sticks etc. Besides that, look at their "hiking shoes." Yes, Israelis wear sandals for hiking.
I wore comfortable sneakers, which are my summer hiking shoes.
My guess is that most older Israelis don't find anything strange or unusual in hiking in sandals. That's how they had been raised. Even in the 1970s when my older children were young, your typical Israeli only had one pair of shoes at a time. They had heavy 100% leather shoes in the winter and sandals, also of leather, in the summer. These shoes and sandals were also produced here in Israel.
One summer in the late 1970s the girls and I spent the summer in New York with the family. (My husband joined us for August, since he needed to work.) My mother registered my older daughters in a free local day camp. We sent them with their lunch, so kashrut wasn't a problem. One of the first days of camp they came back reporting that they had been forbidden to play sports.
"Why?"So we quickly went off to buy them sneakers.
"Only children wearing sports shoes were allowed. Sandals aren't considered safe here."
In Israel kids played soccer in sandals. They kicked balls and hiked in their summer sandals. There were no such rules about shoes being required at that time. A few years later, when we were already living in Shiloh, I became the girls gym teacher. The girls were required to wear suitable shoes for sports classes. I also made them wear pants under their skirts for modesty. I even calculated their grades according to their cooperation with the dress cold. My rationale was that sports talents were gifts from Gd, while they were responsible for dressing themselves. I didn't like the idea of giving a girl a low grade, because she hadn't been blessed with athletic ability.
What do you think?
I nearly always hike in Israel in my wonderful Source sandals. They are great for going through water, and have serious soles that don't slip and slide when they encounter scree, smooth stone paths and wetness. And with my feet somewhat uncovered, I don't overheat. However, I have recently learned that it is good to check out the hiking terrain beforehand. Much as I love my Source sandals, I was on a recent hike that was more challenging than expected, and my ankles could have used the support of good hiking boots. It's three weeks later, and I'm still feeling it. Next time, I'll do my research, and either invest in hiking boots or stick to the gentler terrain. Good post!
ReplyDeleteRuti, thanks for the information. My feet are more sensitive to the cold than the heat, plus I appreciate the protection a shoe gives.
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