A ■ MACCABI GAMES maim- TRYOUTS & MEErING '4,17 The 2001 Maccabi Youth Games will be held August 19-24 in Monmouth, New Jersey and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for the following sports: boys baseball, boys basketball, girls softball, boys soccer, girls soccer, girls basketball, girls volleyball, in-line hockey, table tennis, bowling, chess, dance, golf, gymnastics, rac- quetball, swimming, tennis and track and field. The games are for Jewish teens who will be age 13-16 as of August 1, 2001. The sites are chosen where the best competition is for each sport. MEETING AND SIGN-UPS FOR ALL SPORTS A parent and/or athlete should attend. Sunday • March 4, 2001 4:30 PM in the Handleman Hall at the D. Dan & Betty Kahn Building (Maple/Drake JCC) These Sports Will Have Tryouts As Indicated PLACE TIME DATE EVENT Boys baseball March 11 & 18 1-3 PM Maple JCC Gym Girls softball March 11 & 18 3-4:30 PM Maple JCC Gym Boys soccer March 11 & 18 3-4:30 PM Maple JCC Gym Girls soccer Mar. 25 & Apr. 1 3-4:30 PM Maple JCC Gym Girls volleyball Mar. 8 & 15 & 22 6:00 PM Maple JCC Gym 4:30-6 PM Maple JCC Gym 4:30-6 PM Maple JCC Gym Girls basketball Mar. 25 & Apr. 1 4:30-6 PM Maple JCC Gym Table tennis Mar. 25 & Apr. 1 4:30-6 PM Maple JCC Gym In-line hockey Now-every Monday 7-8:30 PM Maple Hockey Ctr. Boys basketball 13-14 March 11 & 18 Boys basketball 15-16 March 11 & 18 For more information please call Karen Gordon at 248-539-9757 www.maccabidetroit.org FEDERAL FIREPLACE "FREE SHOP AT HOME" 19u, A NAME YOU CAN TRUST TUNEUP & REPAIR SPECIAL $49 *Gas grills *Gas logs *Fireplaces plus parts *Gas stoves -AND &MUTES GAS LOGS - GLASS DOORS - MANTLES - GAS BBQ'S - FIREPLACES....new & upgrades - GAS LINES RUN RETRACTABLE AWNINGS PROFESSIONAL INSTALLATION & SERVICE VISIT OUR WEBSITE* FEDERALFIREPLACE COM 3/2 2001 16 ORDER BY PHONE MON - FRI 10 AM TO 4PM (248) 681-9581 WEST BLOOMFIELD, MI. Tourists are scarce these days in the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem's Old City for older couples. The chief attraction is the sea itself, where even the worst swimmer is unsinkable, but the hotels also push a range of group activities and special services like facials and full-body hot mud treatments. At a Bedouin tent outside the Holiday Inn, $5 gets you a cup of tea, a pull on a smoking hookah and con- versation with the proprietor, Abu Salim, a 62-year-old father of 11 who moved to the Holiday Inn 14 months ago after 10 years in Tiberias on the Sea of Galilee. Amid the oriental rugs and Damascene inlaid chests, he explains, "This year, there have been no tourists." Whom does he blame? "Both sides," he replies with a speed that suggests the answer is as much heartfelt as diplomatic. Eilat is the real shocker. Three decades ago, it was a minor town on the Egyptian border, whose reputation was overshadowed by the "lost city" of Petra a couple of hours east in Jordan and by Aqaba, just on the other side of the Red Sea. Now, Eilat looks like Cancun between the mountains. The hotels, like Herod's Palace and the Queen of Sheba, are exercises in fan- tasy and whimsy and the beaches and promenades hum with activity. The coral reef has become one of the hot lures for snorkelers, offering an excep- tional variety of fish and floral life. Yisrael, a goldsmith on the beachfront promenade in Eilat, says he is slightly surprised that Americans have not dis- covered his city in greater numbers. Prices, he says, are about half what they would be in comparable American ven- ues, and he speaks from 18 months of experience at a mall in Ft. Lauderdale. The handmade silver bracelets he sells would easily command twice the price in the States, he says with the assurance of a born salesman. Myron Brown, who hailed from Dallas before making aliyah more than 20 years ago, repeats the idea that Israel in general and Eilat in particular are a bargain. He's in Eilat for a week at the Ocean Club, a sprawling complex of one- and two-bedroom units designed to resemble the decks on a luxury liner. The one-bedroom timeshare costs $100 a day to rent, compared to the $300 or so a night at the luxury hotels. With Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia in gunshot range, Eilat ought The outside of a Bedouin tent is hung with an ecumenical collection of small rugs. to be as nervous as Jerusalem, but it clearly isn't. After a day of exploring the Underwater Observatory Marine Park including a ride to 180 feet below sea level in the Yellow Submarine, a woman from Manchester explains wh she brought her son, Tommy, to Eilat for his 10th birthday. She has traveled widely as a police- woman, she says, and this hunk of Israel seemed perfect for his wide-eyes interest. But, is it safe? She laughs, "The safest place in the world." ❑