The Israel Blog

I went to Israel! Instead of writing absolutely everything about it, I am going to try and be a bit briefer and allow you to flesh out your impressions with the myriad of delicious photos which I took during the week, which include semi informative captions. Oh, who am I kidding. This will be loooooooooooooooonnnnnggg. A gift of procrastination fuel for you students out there!

I arose at the horrific hour of 4am to get my plane, which left at 6.30. Check in at small airports like Vienna is amazing, so much easier and more relaxing. If only I could always fly from small airports in the very early morning I think I might find the whole process around flying a bit more enjoyable. Changeover in Berlin (yes I know that's the wrong direction but it was cheaper!) was hectic to say the least however, as there were only 20 mins between our landing and the connecting flight. Luckily I wasn't changing airlines so they waited and everyone made it, although our bags didn't. I was prepared for this however (spare clothes in my hand luggage) due to the scheduled 45min transfer time which i KNEW would clearly be less than that. I don't think I've ever got on a flight which left perfectly on time? This isn't a big rant, as I'm usually not silly enough to be relying on time margins like that, it is just an observation. On the flight I was disconcerted by the free drinks, muffins and bagels, a sign of my frequent easyjet trips. But when you're paying way too much (or perhaps the correct amount, actually, environmentally speaking) it turns out you get free bagels and sweets!

My first taste of Israel was a discussion on landing with the israeli arab guy who was sitting next to me. He had missed his first outbound flight due to a 3 hour detention by israeli security for being arabic... Welcome to Israel, thought I. I was a little perturbed by the questions they ask you at the border, too. I tend to act all weird and guilty when I'm questioned as to what I'm actually doing in the country, it appears. If I were to travel to 'interesting' parts of the world (or America), I would have to work on this first!

I took the train into town and met Jacques at the exit. Jacques, for those of you who aren't him, is my excellent friend from scouting times past, who I see on average once every 6 months due to his education having encompassed at this point 3 countries that aren't the UK and at least 6 languages in the last 5 years. He is the best free tourguide anyone could ask for due to his mad hebrew speakin' skills, Middle Eastern Studies knowledge and appreciation of the vast importance of tea in fostering a healthy life. (Dear Jacques, you are also my friend and not just a tea dispensing tourguide, honest!)

That evening we wandered around the nearby market/shouk, I ate a massive and delicious lamb shwarma (hebrew for kebab), and I admired the beach, the warm night air and the view of a car park from the balcony of the flat. I went to sleep pretty early, and my delayed bag arrived before I even woke up!

After tea and breakfast we set out for a wander round the city. Tel Aviv is only 100 years old, so it has a very different feel from Vienna. Not only does it have no anchoring oldness, it also doesn't really have a centre as such, and it is a mix of more modern architectural styles in various states of repair and not repair, often directly opposite each other. It is saved from a Milton Keynes-esque feeling of soullessness (sp?) by being unplanned and busy. It has its labyrinthine malls and massive towers which block out the sun but overall it still manages an eclectic mix of buildings and shops, and you get to see people living everywhere rather than them being boxed off behind a roundabout and a screen of trees. Plus it helps having 25 degree sunny weather even in February and hardly a cloud! Israel in general does not subscribe to the Northern European convention of not speaking to people in the street, which is also good.

We headed south into the old town and the old city of Jaffa (Cake) or Yafo, where I ate an amazing pasty full of several different cream cheeses after we had explored the old houses, antiques/random stuff markets and gazed out across the mediterranean. The pictures give you a pretty good impression really.

Saturday is Shabbat, which means that everything is closed to a rather high degree. We (Jacques, boyfriend-Sean and flatmate-James) went on a leisurely stroll around the city after a delicious breakfast of shakshuka. I learnt many intriguing facts about Judaism and Shabbat from Jacques' flatmate James, who did his undergraduate degree in Religious Studies among other things, and is an absolute fountain of obscure yet fun religious facts.

Sunday I went to Jerusalem. Check those photos kids. Jerusalem is ODD. It is not really possible to comprehend exactly the amount of history that is sort of floating around and occasionally getting in the way of everyone's comings and goings. Of special mention are the major religious sites I saw, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, The Western Wall, mosques from a distance. Standing around at one of the most holy places for someone's religion gives you a strange feeling, like you'll be discovred and thrown out at any moment. It is weirdly voyeuristic when people start kissing stones and stuff, although there are lots of tourists too. In slightly less religious news there was also the citadel, with a brilliant view over old Jerusalem and an extremely handy exhibition which really allowed me to get my head round the chronology of the place, and what all the dynasties and names meant on the ruins and not-so-ruins that are everywhere.

The day after it was on to Akko/ the Crusader city of Acre. The old town there is very nice, not as claustrophobic as the markets of Jerusalem I would say. Also, good hummus. The castle was pretty interesting, especially as it has been excavated only relatively recently. Hard to imagine all the pilgrims sitting in the halls, preparing to head off into the unknown holy land.

Tuesday we made it to Caesarea/Qesariyya, where Herod (yes, THE Herod) built a huge temple, harbour and massive palace, to please his patrons and himself respectively. The original harbour was huge, and you can still see the walls lurking just under the waves. The hipppodrome which in its heyday could hold 10000 people was especially memorable, most of the ones in the UK don't really stick up as imposingly from the ground anymore. Also notable was the way that after a mere (geologically) 2000 years Herod's Palace was largely worn away by the see. Not quite an Ozymandias moment, but getting close. On top of all the Herodian things are layer upon layer of later history, building up into an impressive mound of oldness. Afterwards we headed further up the coast to Haifa. Not a place I'd have thought to visit if I'd been alone, but it features a rather nice hill, stretching down which are the absolutely beautiful gardens of the Baha'i temple. Very well designed, perfectly balanced geometrically, and also by colour. A real surprise!

On my last proper day in Israel Jacques and I boarded a 3 hour bus to the Sea of Galilee (upon whose water Jesus once walked, if you remember correctly). I was happy to note that there was lots of wildlife and geology, which nicely balanced all the cities from the previous days. We decided to walk from the main town to the Churches further round the lake. This ended up taking nearly 2 and a half hours, but it was definitely better than taking the bus. The scenery was amazing, there was a strong haze, (which I was grateful for as it stopped me dying of heatstroke), that made the lake look veeery mysterious and peaceful. Seeing the piece of rock on which Jesus laid he bread and fishes was strange too. In fact, knowing that the basic shape of the landscape hadn't changed since some nobody called Jesus wandered around it nigh 2000 years ago was the oddest. Rocks can be faked, mistaken or lost, but its dead certain where the mount that Jesus gave his sermon on was and which lake he fished on.

So, Israel! Really enjoyable, and pleasantly cheap (after getting there). As is usual with visiting places I now know how much I didn't see, and I am quite interested in going back to see the proper desert and the proper mountains at some point. I think I will keep any political musings to another post, because this one is already longer than I would ever read if someone else posted it, despite me leaving out vast swathes of things. Oh well.

Chiao,
Der Tom