Hi everyone. We are in Rosh HaNikra.
This is the most north seashore in Israel.
We are right next to Lebanon on this side.
That's right, we just wanted to share with you
about an event that happened right here
exactly 70 years ago, March 1948.
(Sergio)
called Rosh HaNikra.
It is one of Israel's most unique locations
as it is the only spot in the entire country
where the sea meets the mountains.
Besides having a fascinating history,
Rosh HaNikra is home to a spectacular natural phenomenon:
The grottos, a system of caves formed by the crashing waves
against the white chalky rocks.
This place can get so dangerous
that the local authorities must close it to public access.
But why is it so dangerous
and what happens here that at times they must shut this place down?
Stay tuned to find out.
♪ (music) ♪
(Sergio)
It is believed to have been mentioned in a few ancient writings,
two times in the Bible in the Book of Joshua,
as brook "Misraphot,"
in the Book of Maccabees as the "Ladder of Tyre,"
and by Josephus Flavius, a 1st century historian,
as the northern border of Acre.
However, it is the more recent history that is more intriguing here.
(Sergio) Here's something really cool.
There used to be a railway that goes all the way
from Israel to Lebanon, Beirut, and is a critical railway.
(Sergio)
in the time of the British Mandate.
(locomotive whistle)
Apparently, it was used as a passage from Turkey to Egypt via Israel.
To the most part this railway was used
to ship caravans and supplies for British soldiers.
But during the darkest days of history, in the Second World War,
this railroad was used to smuggling Jews from Europe into Israel.
And as a result, many Jewish lives were saved.
♪ (music) ♪
The railway was attacked many times.
(sounds of gunfire)
(reporter) The Hagana blew up the railway tunnel in Rosh HaNikra.
(Sergio)
to hinder the Lebanese armed shipments to Arab forces.
The very place we're walking through right now,
in order to stop the Lebanese to smuggle in weaponry...
(narrator) And it was this very place where Israeli and Lebanese officials
negotiated and concluded an armistice agreement,
which partly ended the war of Israeli independence of 1948...
... and helped win the war.
They stopped basically communications with Lebanon
in a way to get there by train.
That's right, yeah. This is...
- ... simple. - Very cool.
(Rhoda) And there are grottos that we walk through
were the amplifications of the sound of the water
it is just so scary, makes your heart beat and drop
but it's so cool to see it here.
(Sergio)
(Rhoda) Look where the water is.
(Sergio) Oh no, you got all wet.
(Sergio)
kept crashing against the soft lime rocks
creating cavities that grew larger and larger with time
until these beautiful grottoes were formed.
It is also believed that the rain water that seep through the rocks
also helped carve the caves
and the peculiar windows
that peek at the gorgeous turquoise water.
The walkway inside the cave system, which is open to the public,
is only 200 meters long, or 650 feet,
and branches off to different directions.
Wait...
Ready?
You gotta watch it. Come one, go, go, go!
Whoaaaah!
Careful, careful!
(Sergio)
you can walk through the cave system,
there are days when the sea gets so rough,
that the managing authorities close the public access to the grottos
due to the danger of flooding and drowning.
I see like the end of the tunnel.
Little drops in the air--
they're just like the mist from the waves and all that... it's wet.
♪ (music) ♪
(Sergio)
is literally located on the very border with Lebanon.
And in fact, it serves as the only border crossing
between the two countries.
♪ (music) ♪
But, unfortunately, no one is allowed to cross it,
except the UN personnel.
So as much as we would like to show you what is behind this fence,
it will have to wait until the next time.
(Sergio) We've been here once before,
and the funny part is we drove through not the main road.
We thought let's take a shortcut, and we found this road
that goes right by the border with Lebanon.
When we started driving, nobody was there.
There's was a sign that says, "Stop, border ahead of you."
So we think, "Well, that's like a stop sign."
You stop, you look around and you keep going
- You thought that. - Right, I thought that.
We kept going and we were going, then, all of a sudden,
we see a tank, Israeli tank, right on the road,
with a soldier, so I kinda stop
and then I thought, "Maybe we're not supposed to be here, I think."
I think you're right, yeah.
It was definitely an adventure.
♪ (music) ♪
(Rhoda) I love the borders, they are my favorite,
but you know that.
Why do you like the borders?
What do you want to do at the borders?
Cross them.
(roar of an engine)