Tel Aviv

Fri/Sat Jan 29/30

Tel Aviv is an interesting city, big and busy. Luckily, we stayed in a small Guest House/Hostel in the old city which was near the beach (Mediterranean Sea), a short walk from the port of Jafa and the downtown markets. It was nice to be near a coast again and our first morning in Israel we walked up the shoreline to Jafa where they have a flea market on Fridays. The markets are much more boisterous than those we encountered in Southeast Asia. We’ve learned that it’s pretty easy to peg us as tourists, so prices are frequently jacked-up as we approach. There really wasn’t anything we wanted to buy anyway. On Saturday, there’s an artists market downtown. That was really cool.

Most of our time in Tel Aviv was starting the acclimation to the Middle East cultures. After lots of noodles and fish, it was great to change our diet to good pita bread and hummus. The fruits, veggies, nuts and herbs are fresh and amazing. Heck, it’s just nice to be able and drink the tap water again. On the other hand, there are other nuances to work around here.

For instance, most businesses shut down completely from sundown Friday until later Saturday evening – the time of Shabbat (Sabbath). That means we couldn’t get our rental car from any of the city locations. The airport counter was open, but the only way to get there was from one of the available taxis – buses, shuttles, trains, etc. are all shut down. For those places that are open, prices go to a premium. Even though we knew this in advance, it’s part of our transition to get used to planning a Sunday thru Thursday week.

We have keys to our little rental car – so off we go!

Jeff

One more thing… we were walking down to the waterfront to watch the sunset at Sabbath when we heard the throbbing of drum beats. An earlier cabbie had pointed out the abandoned sea-side disco where 22 Israelis were killed and many others were injured as the result of a Hamas bombing. We could see the warming light of the setting sun and the waves coming in around the breakers on the opposite side of the building. As we approached it and walked to the opposite side, we saw about 100 people gathered around – more than 20 people had gathered with their drums to share a uniting rhythm. There were men and women, young and old, a variety of faiths all playing, dancing or listening. Wow.