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I was only one time in Israel. My father died in 1985 and I left afterwards, but it was still before the Revolution [13]. I had only one cousin (nephew) in Israel, Grinberg Dorel [his mother was actually Ms. Kaiserman’s cousin. – Editor’s note]. He died in the meantime too.
I have many friends in Israel. I visited and lived in 20 houses during my time in Israel. In Haifa three friends, in Ranana, in Tel Aviv, I stayed in Nathania at my cousin and then at his mother’s place.
I was driven with the car all time. I couldn’t have managed it alone. I liked a lot what I’ve seen. It was a feeling hard to explain. Especially when you arrive in Jerusalem – it seems as ifsomething floats through the air. The past and the present…
To see on what people managed to built the cities and the roads… I travelled from north to south, I was at the Red Sea too. On the way to the Red Sea the road is built on sand dunes. I kept watching and wondering – I couldn’t believe it. You could see sand dunes right and left and the road twisted and turned to the first oasis.
The Red Sea makes an extraordinary impression on you. I visited an underwater-museum, a building made of glass. You descended with a sort of ladder until you get on the seabed. On the seabed is this natural museum, and you can see around you all sorts of big and small and colored fish – I haven’t seen in my whole life such fish in yellow and mauve, black and white… A splendor.
And on the seaside there are some hotels, so high that you cannot see their top. One is called King David, the other the Queen of Sheba…That place was called Eylat, but we stayed some atother place, we didn’t have that much money, and my friend wasn’t rich either – we stayed in some tents. If there wasn’t any air conditioningwe wouldn’t have resisted on that weather– there were 40 degreesCelsius.
We drove to the nearest place fromEgypt. We were in that town on the border with former Egypt – it wasn’t yet retrocede to Egypt. [Gaza, which was during 1967-1994 under Israel’s administration. – Editor’s note]. We could go near the soldierwho stood at the border between the lands.
We descended with an elevator into a cave eroded by the water and took a walk in that cave. We have seen extraordinary things there. Of all things I have an interest in all flowers and living creatures. They are fascinating.
I liked Nathania most of all cities. I saw there jewelries for the first timein my life– I hadn’t seen real jewelries shops until then. I don’t wear jewelries, I don’t have any, but I like them. And I would stop in front of a showcase and couldn’t walk further. I stayed in front of the shopand admiredthem.
People say Haifa is a beautiful city. I didn’t like Haifa that much but it is indeed beautiful. Once we drove from Tel Aviv to Haifa on the seashore. At a certain point you can see mountings – not like the Romanian mountains with pine trees, but bald mountains.
And there are somenests, like bird nests, thatsuspended on these mountains – they were human dwellings. Everything is built on the top of the mountain, not in the valley, as cities are built in Romania. I visited also a Moroccan house. I can’t remember which friend of mine had a Moroccan friend, and she brought me to her, to see how Moroccan people live [Jews who came from Morocco].
In Haifa we went with some friends to a flower exhibition. What beautiful flowers there were… It wasn’t a permanent exhibition, it had closed the following day. What flowers, what aromas, what colors… there were flowers from all over the world.
I have many friends in Israel. I visited and lived in 20 houses during my time in Israel. In Haifa three friends, in Ranana, in Tel Aviv, I stayed in Nathania at my cousin and then at his mother’s place.
I was driven with the car all time. I couldn’t have managed it alone. I liked a lot what I’ve seen. It was a feeling hard to explain. Especially when you arrive in Jerusalem – it seems as ifsomething floats through the air. The past and the present…
To see on what people managed to built the cities and the roads… I travelled from north to south, I was at the Red Sea too. On the way to the Red Sea the road is built on sand dunes. I kept watching and wondering – I couldn’t believe it. You could see sand dunes right and left and the road twisted and turned to the first oasis.
The Red Sea makes an extraordinary impression on you. I visited an underwater-museum, a building made of glass. You descended with a sort of ladder until you get on the seabed. On the seabed is this natural museum, and you can see around you all sorts of big and small and colored fish – I haven’t seen in my whole life such fish in yellow and mauve, black and white… A splendor.
And on the seaside there are some hotels, so high that you cannot see their top. One is called King David, the other the Queen of Sheba…That place was called Eylat, but we stayed some atother place, we didn’t have that much money, and my friend wasn’t rich either – we stayed in some tents. If there wasn’t any air conditioningwe wouldn’t have resisted on that weather– there were 40 degreesCelsius.
We drove to the nearest place fromEgypt. We were in that town on the border with former Egypt – it wasn’t yet retrocede to Egypt. [Gaza, which was during 1967-1994 under Israel’s administration. – Editor’s note]. We could go near the soldierwho stood at the border between the lands.
We descended with an elevator into a cave eroded by the water and took a walk in that cave. We have seen extraordinary things there. Of all things I have an interest in all flowers and living creatures. They are fascinating.
I liked Nathania most of all cities. I saw there jewelries for the first timein my life– I hadn’t seen real jewelries shops until then. I don’t wear jewelries, I don’t have any, but I like them. And I would stop in front of a showcase and couldn’t walk further. I stayed in front of the shopand admiredthem.
People say Haifa is a beautiful city. I didn’t like Haifa that much but it is indeed beautiful. Once we drove from Tel Aviv to Haifa on the seashore. At a certain point you can see mountings – not like the Romanian mountains with pine trees, but bald mountains.
And there are somenests, like bird nests, thatsuspended on these mountains – they were human dwellings. Everything is built on the top of the mountain, not in the valley, as cities are built in Romania. I visited also a Moroccan house. I can’t remember which friend of mine had a Moroccan friend, and she brought me to her, to see how Moroccan people live [Jews who came from Morocco].
In Haifa we went with some friends to a flower exhibition. What beautiful flowers there were… It wasn’t a permanent exhibition, it had closed the following day. What flowers, what aromas, what colors… there were flowers from all over the world.
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Interview
Rosa Kaiserman
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