I was in a pretty chipper mood on arrival, despite the security guards at Jordan taking my compasses. I mean who did they think I am, some sort of MacGuiver super spy? If I was so skilled in assasinary (?) that I could hijack a plane with a pair of compasses, I wouldn't need to fly economy!
Anyway, despite arriving without my compasses, I was ready to enjoy Israel and was impressed from the get go. It was just so efficient, I could have been fooled into thinking the place was run by Germans (I know, such a stereotype).
Efficiency was evident everywhere, even before I got out of the airport. At passport control, they no longer stamp passports to avoid travelers having issues getting into other countries, everything is clearly laid out, queues are well controlled and tourist information is easily available. This all helped me in my bleary eyed state as I was directed to the shuttle, which dropped me off just by my hostel.
Arriving in Jerusalem at the Abraham Hostel (www.abrahamhostels.com) which was amazing, I dropped off my things and headed out to the local market. Mahane Yehuda is a food market by day selling pretty much everything under the sun, but by night it takes on a different vibe. The shutters are pulled down to display a wealth of amazing street art, most of which is religious, or reflects the contents of the stall.
As I wandered down the corridors covered with religious figures, fish and cheese, I found a thriving midnight scene with people enjoying drinks and food to the sound of dance, old school jazz and traditional music pumping out of the many eateries and bars that were still open. The walkways were taken over by tables, chairs and shisha pipes to form courtyards where people gathered to let off steam on a Tuesday night, that's right, it's a Tuesday and the place is alive, but civilized. There are no groups of vulgar lads, no packs of high heels and big mouths, just a multicultural, mixed group talking and whiling the night away. I'm instantly impressed and already wishing I had more time here. The chicken shish and bottle of beer I had for dinner only reinforced my instantaneous love of this city.
On a side note, I noticed that there are some really attractive people here. All large blue eyes and flowing dark hair, or tight blonde curls and statuesque features. By this point I'm already considering a permanent move!
Despite the relatively late night, I must have hit the hay at 1am, I get up early full of energy for the day ahead. I booked a trip to the Dead Sea, but have a few hours before my pick up, so I take the opportunity to look around the area. There's a nice mix of shops selling bags, glasses and materials where I'm situated in Davidka Square, which acts as a central point for the downtown area, where the bus and tram lines intersect. I notice how clean everything is and that there are a fair number of people around for 9am.
After a nice stroll I get back and join the group for the Dead Sea trip. There are two things to experience here 1) the sensation of not sinking, which is very odd. The water here is so thick that you feel like a plastic bottle, having that same level of buoyancy. That if someone were to push you under you would shoot straight back up again and into the air. 2) the mud, I got in warily as I had heard that the water was bad for your eyes. It was a weird experience feeling lighter than I should, but also sinking up to my mid-calf in the squelchy mud. But that didn't stop me as I covered myself head to toe. This left me looking like a black and white minstrel, so accidentally a bit racist :S. Getting all the mud off also proves to be a challenge, so be warned. The rest of the day was spent drawing in the common room and getting an early night ahead of my busiest day.
The next morning I woke up ready to join a guided tour of Jerusalem which I did for free with the Sandeman tour group (www.newjerusalemtours.com). Our guide Itay was brilliant - see a link to his tours at the end of this post. He made the whole experience engaging - funny at times, but sticking to the facts at the appropriate places. The old city in particular was amazing and full of history as one would expect. It was nice to see the historic site so well preserved after being in Egypt.
It was impossible not to look around in awe as you learned about the Christian, Armenian, Muslim and Jewish quarters and even the Protestant church. I won't go into all the details, but as you can imagine it was a lot of arguing, warring and so on... The one thing that really surprised me was that the church of sepulchra where Christ is supposedly burried is privately owned by different religious groups, all except the tomb itself which everyone agreed should not be owned.
Itay also encouraged us to get to know the group and I met some great guys (Hi Chris, Steve, Ayelet and Cecilia) who I had lunch with afterward, which Steve paid for without our knowing (thanks again Steve). Chris and I then headed off to the holocaust museum navigating the tram and bus system, which was very simple.
One tip, if you want to ask for directions to the holocaust museum, make sure the person you are speaking to speaks your language. I asked a woman at the bus stop this question and she looked at me aghast and just said "holocaust" like I was some rando at the bus stop who wanted to have a chit chat about genocide... Things looked like they were going to get complicated quickly. Thankfully Chris had the Hebrew name of the museum on his phone and we managed to get the directions.
Now I knew the holocaust museum was going to be emotionally taxing, especially having already been to the apartheid museum in Johannesburg, but I still wasn't prepared for what I was about to see. Horror does not even begin to describe it.
We started in the children's hall or rememberance. The mirrored walkway turns a small number of lights into an infinite constellation, each glimmer representing a lost child. There are images of children projected here too, giving a face to a minute number of those lights. It sucks you in, you feel as though you are floating in space, in infinite silence, a stark contrast to the laughing, crying and shouting you expect from children. It's hard to describe. I think anyone who has read the Old Kingsom trilogy by Garth Nix will instantly find extra meaning in what they are seeing, but I won't go into detail as I don't want to spoil the books for anyone. They are brilliant.
We then moved onto the main building via a few smaller exhibits. Upon entering you see that the architecture tells the story in itself with its long triangular corridor which gets narrower as it gets to the middle. It's cold grey walls giving you a sense of oppression, claustrophobia and hopelessness, as though you are caught in a trap.
The rooms show images, news reports, documents and artifacts in a chronological order. Along the way, as you zig-zag from one room to the next via the main corridor, you find interviews from survivors. This is by far the most harrowing aspect and I'm not ashamed to say that I was close to tears a few times. I don't know how anyone couldn't be when hearing someone recount the day their parents were taken to the concentration camps while they hid in a cupboard, or of watching people being lined up naked by a trench and being shot, only to be moved to line up after them to face the same fate. There are no words to explain the feeling. The museum ends with the hall of rememberance, a domed, circular room covered in photos of just a fraction of those who died at the hands of the Nazis. This is when I lost it and started to well up. After that I couldn't even speak, I was too moved, too emotionally drained.
I went back to the hostel, met up with Itay and ended up getting very drunk very quickly after such a roller coaster of a day. I think it's what I needed.
The next day was tough and I wasn't in the best state to take the bus to Tel Aviv.
Having wasted the morning, I made my way to the central bus station. It was another sunny day and an easy walk along the wide, open main street. Getting the bus was straight forward... Remember what I was saying about efficiency. I was lucky to bump into Greg a bunk mate at the hostel on the bus.
Greg helped me find where I was going and I found my accommodation easily enough. Now Tel Aviv was my first experience of couch surfing and it was amazing.
Leading up to my visit I had been in contact with my host Filippo via couchsurfing.com and he had agreed to host me for three days - this became longer, but we'll come onto that.
Filippo is an Italian-Jew educated in the UK, so he speaks English fluently. Currently he is studying Opera at university and is an amazing and thoughtful guy. He welcomed me into his very bohemian house and introduced me to his flat mates. Omrea, a percussionist, Nicoletta a waitress, Bertan the only non Italian, who studies piano performance and his honourary flat mate Antonella. There was also one last flat mate, Pamina Filippo's dog who is a ball of cuteness, smiles and energy wrapped in a fetching bow tie. The house was so welcoming and invited me into their little family with open arms, it was really a very special experience that I am truly grateful for.
The visit started with a bang as I arrived in the middle of a house party, mainly situated on the building's awesome balcony where people were chatting to the sound of classical music. So back on the booze I went. The party wrapped up fairly early which was nice after the night before and so I staggered off to bed. This was a perfect indication of what the house is like, it's a really communal space with everyone being welcome to come and join the fun.
Over the next few days I explored the city. The highlights for me were the beach which is dotted with interesting promenades and outdoor gyms, much like Las Palmas. There's also a dog beach where Antonella and I spent an afternoon with Pamina. I learned that Pamina isn't the worlds greatest fetcher. In fact she would grab the toy then shake it out of her mouth and lose it.
The old town, Jaffa, is stunning and I romed it's cobbled streets looking at the yellow stone buildings with Pamina at my side. The ampitheatre at the top of the town has amazing views, but my favourite part has to be the small doc with it's small cafes and shops.
Near the old town are also markets focusing on jewelry, materials and furniture. The latter is very impressive and I am already planning a return visit for when I buy a house.
I also enjoyed the famous Tel Aviv night life. Unfortunately this involved me getting so drunk that I lost my bag, which I had forgotten to take my passport out of... This was upsetting, but I am proud to say that I didn't stress about it and via the embassy, the bag and contents came back to me. I won't go into details as I'm still a bit embarrassed, but I was so happy to get the bag back. However this was after missing my flight to India, which I rebooked for a week later. Thankfully Filippo said I could stay at his - what a champ!!
This then gave me time to join Filippo at a freestyle class called 5 Rythms (http://www.mc5.co.il/en/) . It's a freestyle dance class using music representing five different rythms from relaxed to utter chaos. It's all very un-English, but I threw aside my cynicism and self consciousness and just went for it and I have to say I loved it. It was like raving without the regular intoxicants, because everyone was open to it and doing their own thing. It was freeing and two hours later I was pouring with perspiration and fearing the blisters that had already appeared on my soles. Worth it though! Totally worth it! If you're in Tel Aviv and want to try something different then I suggest you do it!
The extra week also allowed me to head to Eliat and where I have booked to cross the boarder to Petra in Jordan. That's still to come as I'm on the bus there as I type this.
So was it all it was cracked up to be? Definitely and more. Did I have enough time to make a decision yes, but I've still only scratched the surface, so I just can't tell by how much it exceeded my expectations.
Things I've learnt:
I knew that Israelis had to do military service, but I didn't realise they could do jobs like working as tour guides, playing in the army band, etc. though they all have to do basic training which sounds like hell.
The addresses have the street name which normally doesn't have road or street at the end and then the number after e.g. Shenkin 57
Things I liked:
It's really efficient.
In Tel Aviv there are lots of people with dogs, but there's very little mess.
Tel Aviv is very liberal and axel a lot of different people
The people I stayed with were AMAZING!!
Favourite food:
There's loads of great vegan food, but my favourite was Shakshuka, eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce.
Favourite sight:
Pamina's smiley face of course. Also amazing things to be found at the craft market held on Tuesdays and Fridays by the food market at the intersection of Alenby and Shenkin. Plus the after hours nightlife in Mahane Yehuda, Jerusalem
If you want a tour of Jerusalem hit up Itay, he's brilliant and definitely one of te best guides I've had ever! Plus he's a genuine local! http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g293983-d7811043-Reviews-Jerusalem_Experts-Jerusalem_Jerusalem_District.html
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