Wednesday, February 23, 2011

MIRABEL


There is a castle, with substantial remains survived, very close to our home, about a 15 minutes drive away, which makes for a nice and easy Saturday afternoon outing. Located 3 km southeast of the town Rosh HaAyn it stands up high on a hill, visible from far away. It was built by crusaders over Byzantine ruins in the beginning of the 12th century C.E. and named by them "Mirabel", which is of Latin origin and means "beautiful sight", and that it is. 
Lovely details, isn't that olive tree branch gorgeous?
A Greek inscription can be seen over one of the doorways, which could be called recycling, because it dates from the 4-5 century and was probably taken from somewhere else and reused.
Most of the visible ruins there are Mameluke, which means Turks who preceded the Ottomans, but a lot of architectural elements typical to the crusaders way of building are noticeable. It is exciting to walk around the ruins, to explore them inside the walls, which are more than 2 meters thick, to step into room after room, admiring the architecture and enjoying the view through the arched windows on the surrounding hills, which are dressed right now in beautiful spring green, dotted with red anemones and other flowers.
In the vicinity of the castle lies a tomb where probably an Arab sheik is buried and which can be reached by a short walk. 
And there I spotted this stone - just an ordinary stone, even not very pretty, but somehow it called out to me and I took it. 
Oh, of course not just so, I had something in my mind!  Engulfing stones with crochet can be found now in many creative blogs on the Internet. There is a woman called Margaret Omen, who is "the leader of the pack" - she makes absolute wonderful stone art. After seeing her beautiful work I felt the urge to try it by myself and this modest stone was my first "victim". I did not have fine yarn at home and made it with what I had at hand.
In the meantime I went hunting for more stones, some I already had at home. I bought supply, very fine yarn in light colors, and a small size crochet needle, and I "dressed up" several more stones.  I got quite hooked - this is really a very addictive way to create small wonders.
Try it, it is not difficult at all, after you start, the stone will tell you what to do - believe me, this is exactly what happens!

14 comments:

zsazsazsu said...

another 'small wonder' is on it's way to you, get inspired too maybe ! ;-)
Your crochet stone collection is already impressive and very very pretty.
I can also admit that crochetting is very very addictive.
By the way, the site is beautiful and I can
feel the warmth of the sun coming from the pictures, something we desperatly long for here/

Terri said...

Thanks again for taking us on a tour of your country. It is amazing, and the history!!!! I love the castle, and the flowers.

... said...

Thanks for the tour around Mirabel! It's truly a beautiful site, and the olive tree branch ornament is gorgeous!!
And your crocheted stones are fabulous, Yael :) I'd like to try to do that too sometime, it looks like fun to make them, and they look so nice.

aurorafedora said...

a beautiful old castle but even more beautiful stones! i wish i could crochet or knit so i could try this!! thanks for sharing, yael!

Mary Stanley said...

Thank you for another beautiful adventure! Love the castle and all the stone carvings.
Your crocheted stones are so lovely...inspiring me to try it soon.

Smithy said...

Interesting post, with history and pebbles "dressed up" and however many years old themselves. I think you have the heart of a crafter, dear Yael, wedded to an historical brain! LOL Fascinating post.

2 B's World said...

Liebe Yael,
vielen Dank für diesen tollen Ausflug, den ich mit euch genießen durfte.
Deine umhäkelten Steine sind wundervoll geworden. Daß Du kein ganz feines Garn zur Hand hattest, finde ich nicht schlimm. Ganz im Gegenteil, denn mit deinem Garn kommen die Muster, die Du gewählt hast, ganz herrlich zur Wirkung.
Danke für's zeigen. ;-)

Liebe Grüße von Birgit

Bernstein said...

Guten Morgen Yael,
danke für den herrlichen Spaziergang am Morgen. Deine umhäkelten Steine sind einfach ein Traum. Der Virus hat Dich wohl auch gepackt ;0)))
Ist es nicht faszinierend, dass am Ende alles passt - auch ohne Anleitung und Plan.
Hab einen wunderschönen Tag
GlG Inbar

veroque said...

אני אוהבת לראות את המקומות האלה דרך העיניים של אורי ולשמוע עליהם מפיך. שילוב נהדר של שניכם.
אהבתי את הסוודרים שסרגת לאבנים. אפילו את האבנים את מפנקת:)

wandamarie.blogspot.com said...

THANK YOU for capturing such WONDER for us, yael! very SPECIAL post. love your dog, yawning and your big smile (assuming that's you) what a great shot! you bring us such wonders up close and seems NOT SO FAR away! :)) xo

Eva said...

Diese umhäkelten Steine sehen aus wie korallenartige Gebilde, sie erinnern mich an Objekte auf naturwissenschaftliche Schautafeln! -- Wie herrlich, in der Nähe von solchen Baudenkmälern zu leben. -- Tolles Bild von Dir!

Pesky Cat Designs said...

Oh my goodness, those dressed up stones are amazing!!

Objekte-aus-Ton said...

Vielen Dank für den schönen Ausflug in die Geschichte! Super gefallen mir auch die umhäkelten Steine!
Liebe Grüße
Gaby

rachel awes said...

dearest yael, i am ga ga over your crocheted stones!! gorrrrrrgeous! & that castle is amazing...you live beside paradise/of course a reflection of all that's in you. xox