Culture
TOUR ISRAEL: ESCAPE INTO THE OUTDOORS
By Itzhak Rabihiya
At first, escape rooms were
thought to be geared toward geeks, but then they quickly crossed over into the
mainstream and are now the hottest new thing there is.
Now that escape rooms are
springing up like mushrooms all over Israel, it’s only natural that this
incredible popular phenomenon has finally ventured out of the deep dark rooms
and into the bright wilderness.
At first, escape rooms were
thought to be geared toward geeks and brainiacs, but then they quickly crossed
over into the mainstream and are now the hottest new thing there is – MEITAL SHARABI writes this weekend in the Jerusalem post about her Experience
As with every trend, people
are always looking to bring their experiences to the next level, and so it’s
not surprising that a new outdoor experience called Eco Drive Quest has opened
its doors in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park. Brought to the public by Trippy, Eco
Drive Quest takes participants on an adventure to save the city from
destruction.
Accompanied by two trusted friends, I decided to accept the challenge, and we
set off for Hayarkon Park. At Eco Drive Quest, located next to the children’s amusement park and the Tel Aviv Balloon, representatives
deftly explained to us the rules and infused us with the appropriate mind-set
necessary to complete the task at hand.
Apparently, some mad scientist
had become extremely upset with the way we humans are treating our planet – and
Tel Aviv in particular – and so he decided that the best way to repair the
damage was to start over from scratch. According to Eco Drive Quest legend, the
scientist planted a bomb in the park, and in order to save Tel Aviv, we the
people have been called upon to locate the concealed bomb and neutralize it by
solving riddles connected with nature, animals and general Hayarkon Park
trivia.
Back on the road and full of excitement and adrenalin,
we set out with our map and supplies to carry out our first task, which was
hidden at the Seven Mills Station, which is located west of the lake, and holds
remains of the seven flour mills that operated on the site beginning in Ottoman
times. Currently, visitors can see artifacts from three flour mills dating back
to the 19th century, a sandstone dam and a concrete bridge.
When we reached the mills, we were instructed to use our olfactory sense and
listen for the chirping of birds, which led us to the discovery of our first
riddle. Once we were able to figure out which device inside of our toolbox
would help us decipher the birds’ singing, we quickly arrived at the answer. I
won’t spoil the riddle for any of you who want to go to Eco Drive Quest and try
to figure it out for yourselves, but know that it was a really good feeling
knowing we’d succeeded in solving our first riddle. And then off we flew in our
(not so) speedy golf cart in search of our next clue.
One of the best things about playing this challenging game was that the riddles
got our minds working at full speed, and we were led to charming spots
scattered all around the park that we would never have ventured into had we not
been engaged in this entertaining quest. Even though my friends and I had grown
up in the area, and spent hours and hours in Hayarkon Park over the years, we
soon came upon a site I’d never visited in my life: El-Hadar Mill (aka Ten
Mills). Located between the soccer stadium and the Ramat Gan Mall, El-Hadar
Mill is the largest and most impressive of the mills in Hayarkon Park.
In the early 1990s,
excavations uncovered this mill, which harks back to the Romans and was closed
down during World War I when the retreating Turks blew up the accompanying
bridge and weir. Of the few parts that are still standing, the most impressive
is the western wall of the mill, which included 12 grinding mechanisms. In an
effort to mark the spot, trees were planted alongside the northern bank of the
Yarkon River and signs were placed on-site describing the mill’s historical
significance. We plucked out one of the riddles at the site, and through it we
learned a tremendous amount.
Participating in Eco Drive Quest didn’t only bring me back the energy and excitement to play
games I experienced as a child. It also reminded me how to look at our world
from a kid’s perspective, showed me what it’s like to be part of a team and how to challenge
myself, and that taking care of our planet is so important since it’s the only one we’ve got!
At first, escape rooms were
thought to be geared toward geeks and brainiacs, but then they quickly crossed
over into the mainstream and are now the hottest new thing there is – MEITAL SHARABI writes this weekend in the Jerusalem post about her Experience
As with every trend, people
are always looking to bring their experiences to the next level, and so it’s
not surprising that a new outdoor experience called Eco Drive Quest has opened
its doors in Tel Aviv’s Hayarkon Park. Brought to the public by Trippy, Eco
Drive Quest takes participants on an adventure to save the city from
destruction.
Accompanied by two trusted friends, I decided to accept the challenge, and we
set off for Hayarkon Park. At Eco Drive Quest, located next to the children’s amusement park and the Tel Aviv Balloon, representatives
deftly explained to us the rules and infused us with the appropriate mind-set
necessary to complete the task at hand.
Apparently, some mad scientist
had become extremely upset with the way we humans are treating our planet – and
Tel Aviv in particular – and so he decided that the best way to repair the
damage was to start over from scratch. According to Eco Drive Quest legend, the
scientist planted a bomb in the park, and in order to save Tel Aviv, we the
people have been called upon to locate the concealed bomb and neutralize it by
solving riddles connected with nature, animals and general Hayarkon Park
trivia.
Back on the road and full of excitement and adrenalin,
we set out with our map and supplies to carry out our first task, which was
hidden at the Seven Mills Station, which is located west of the lake, and holds
remains of the seven flour mills that operated on the site beginning in Ottoman
times. Currently, visitors can see artifacts from three flour mills dating back
to the 19th century, a sandstone dam and a concrete bridge.
When we reached the mills, we were instructed to use our olfactory sense and
listen for the chirping of birds, which led us to the discovery of our first
riddle. Once we were able to figure out which device inside of our toolbox
would help us decipher the birds’ singing, we quickly arrived at the answer. I
won’t spoil the riddle for any of you who want to go to Eco Drive Quest and try
to figure it out for yourselves, but know that it was a really good feeling
knowing we’d succeeded in solving our first riddle. And then off we flew in our
(not so) speedy golf cart in search of our next clue.
One of the best things about playing this challenging game was that the riddles
got our minds working at full speed, and we were led to charming spots
scattered all around the park that we would never have ventured into had we not
been engaged in this entertaining quest. Even though my friends and I had grown
up in the area, and spent hours and hours in Hayarkon Park over the years, we
soon came upon a site I’d never visited in my life: El-Hadar Mill (aka Ten
Mills). Located between the soccer stadium and the Ramat Gan Mall, El-Hadar
Mill is the largest and most impressive of the mills in Hayarkon Park.
In the early 1990s,
excavations uncovered this mill, which harks back to the Romans and was closed
down during World War I when the retreating Turks blew up the accompanying
bridge and weir. Of the few parts that are still standing, the most impressive
is the western wall of the mill, which included 12 grinding mechanisms. In an
effort to mark the spot, trees were planted alongside the northern bank of the
Yarkon River and signs were placed on-site describing the mill’s historical
significance. We plucked out one of the riddles at the site, and through it we
learned a tremendous amount.
Participating in Eco Drive Quest didn’t only bring me back the energy and excitement to play
games I experienced as a child. It also reminded me how to look at our world
from a kid’s perspective, showed me what it’s like to be part of a team and how to challenge
myself, and that taking care of our planet is so important since it’s the only one we’ve got!
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