Bat Shlomo is a small colony essentially preserved in time. The Schwartzman family still produces organic cheeses of all kinds on their family farm, and serves those cheeses to hungry travelers who happen to be on their way from one city to the other. (http://batshlomo.co.il/home/1/33-about -us.html) At the top of the road is a small art gallery where the artist displays her painted rain boots and commemorative vinyl records in place of a front yard. At the end of the narrow road is a park bench and an abandoned watchtower that overlook a beautiful valley completely filled with farmers' crops. In the middle lies a buried treasure. An old farm house turned restaurant, museum, and cheese shop houses Ziv and his chickens and cats. He is a likable host who insists that you order plenty of his delicious cheese and makes sure to let you sample the wares before you sit down for a meal. Ziv convinced us to order two plates, each laid out with at least ten different types of cheese. I can't begin to name them all, but the flavors ranged from Blue to Brie, soft to aged. And, in typical Mediterranean fashion, was served with yogurt, labneh, Israeli salad, olives (not the salty black kind we usually find in cans), and matzo (at least at this meal since it is the Days of Unleavened Bread). By the way, one plate was more than enough to fill us all up. We had a few leftover slivers of cheese to feed the cats who waited at the feet of patrons. The caged chickens behind our seats added to the authenticity of the atmosphere. It was money well spent, although I've had fresher Turkish coffee.