Rosh Pinna - off the Beaten Path

Rosh Pinna

Visitors to Rosh Pinna can easily spend a full day, or longer, navigating the narrow cobbled lanes of the Old Town. The village was established in 1882, and many of the homes and buildings date back to that era.

After viewing the audio-visual presentation about the establishment of the settlement that the town offers tourists, many people wander over to the Baron de Rothschild gardens. This quiet area is a peaceful spot for children to play, families to walk, and fauna-admirers to enjoy, as the garden is well-tended, and full of various flowers and trees.

Within easy walking distance of the garden is a wide variety of galleries and eateries. Some of the most unusual are:

Artists

Shiri Havkin - Shiri's mother, a well-known singer, came to Rosh Pinna in 1982, and was immediately struck by the wide variety of plants and herbs in the area. She began to experiment, and soon established her herb farm, where she cultivated herbs and used them to prepare natural creams and remedies. Shiri took over the business after her mother's passing, and is today a well-known television lecturer on nature and health. Her Rosh Pinna workshop and store are her base for preparing her products and teaching about them. She offers a wide variety of culinary and medicinal herbs, as well as products such as eye balm, health soap, and various moisturizers and oils.

Pete Isacowitz - originally from South Africa where African sounds and rhythm were part of his daily life, Pete has established a musical instrument workshop in Rosh Pinna, Woodsong, where one can see a wide variety of his marimbas, didgeridoos and Celtic harps. In addition, he has designed a large range of door harps, musical sculptures and musical tables, all of which are on display at his workshop. Pete uses local recycled timber, or wood which he collects from the pruning of trees in the Rosh Pinna area. His entire family joins him in his work, and CDs of his daughter's music, played on Pete's instruments, are sold in the shop.

While living in Jerusalem, Ofer Rubin began to make wind chimes, and when he came to Rosh Pinna, he continued, expanding to include metal and glass with the original wood chimes. His Jerusalem Chimes combines his love of music with his love of craftsmanship as he hand-whittles, carves, and creates the amazing chimes which synthesize the various materials to produce a wide variety of tones and notes. In addition, Ofer uses these same materials in creating unique pieces of Judaica - sometimes only one medium, sometimes two, and sometimes a piece which incorporates all three for a spectacular effect.

Sari Sponner's The Color of Light, lampshades from paper mache and glass, are probably among the most colorful pieces of artwork in the area. Sari has developed a technique by which she layers pieces of colored paper on glass and molds, then lacquers it, into a wide variety of lampshade shapes. Her lampshades take the shape of animals, inanimate objects, or just, well, lampshades, and are popular throughout the area.

In addition to these, Rosh Pinna boasts dozens of small boutiques, galleries, workshops, which are located throughout the city. Boutique olive oil, goats' cheese dairy, quilting and more combine with other, more traditional sculptures and paintings, and these all blend together to create a wonderful adventure for visitors who wish to wander in this special village.