Jaffa, Tel Aviv, Casearea and Mount Carmel in Haifa

Dateline: September 21:

Our first day of touring took us to several historic and modern sites.  We first stopped in the old town of Jaffa, an ancient walled city that today is an artist colony.  Walking along the stone streets, Dani, our tour guide, painted a vision of what the town was like when it was created.  Of note were the large fish statue (presumable created as a reminder of the story of Jonah).

We also saw the home of artist and art patroness Ilana Goor, the floating tree (and the story of the Jaffa orchards),

The Egyptian arch (and the reminder of the civilizations that conquered Jaffa over the centuries and built their cities on top of one another), St. Peter’s Church (the church dedicated to St. Peter, one of the 12 Apostles, and reportedly the home to Napoleon Bonaparte when he was advancing on Egypt and Syria in the late 1790s),

and the port (with the Jaffa Rocks, where Perseus rescued Andromeda by killing the sea monster.) .

While we were in Jaffa, we happened upon an Ethiopian wedding, taking place in the old city on top of the hill.

Tel Aviv

In the early 1920s a wave of Arab attacks on Jaffa caused many to leave and move to what became Tel Aviv.  Our next visit was to the first street in Tel Aviv, known today as Rothschild Boulevard.  We walked up the boulevard of this beautiful neighborhood, learning about the eclectic architecture followed by the Bauhaus architecture, and the site of the Hertzl house, now known as the Independence Hall.  We saw first hand the area that more recently was the site of the tent city, a protest in 2011 against the high rents in Tel Aviv.

Caesarea and Haifa

Then it was on to Caesarea, a resort area by the sea, for lunch.   Caesarea is about half way between Tel Aviv and Haifa, and is both historic (built by Herod the Great about 25 BCE as an important port in the area) a popular place for the wealthy.  Our group had lunch on our own in the area.

After Casearea, we headed to the port of Haifa, and saw the Ba’hai Gardens on Mount Carmel.  This is the modern home of the Ba’hai faith.  The gardens scale up the side of the mountain.  From the top of Mount Carmel, we could see most of Haifa, across the Haifa bay to Akko, and all the way to the Jordanian boarder.  There was a rain cloud over the area, and we could see it move from over the bay, to over the land.  And then we were treated to a rainbow.  Here is a short video clip of Cookie Ruiz from Ballet Austin and Jay Rubin from the Jewish Federation of Austin talking about our day. 

Back again later!

What it Feels Like to be in a Jewish City

Dateline: September 18, 2013 pm

As noted in an earlier blog, someone told me how Jewish it seemed in Tel Aviv.  The city is one of the only places where you can walk around knowing you are Jewish and finding so many others who are Jewish.  There is no prejudice against you because you are Jewish here.  So I wanted to explore how it feels to be in a Jewish city.   Would a non-Jew feel uncomfortable here?  Here’s my thoughts.

There is clearly a Jewish feeling here, since everything is written in Hebrew.  Unfortunately I don’t speak a word of Hebrew (guess that isn’t technically correct…I speak words like Shalom, and I can recite some key prayers).  But as a general, every-day language, I am completely lost.   The signs, menus, store prices, ads, etc are primarily only in Hebrew so not speaking Hebrew is definitely a disadvantage.  But that is no different than big cities in other countries where the language is foreign and the characters of the alphabet are unique, too.  In addition, tonight is Sukkot, so there are signs around with information on services, and stores are closing early.

There are other signs, too, that this is a Jewish place.  The hotel elevator buttons, for example, have a Shabbat mode.  On the Sabbath, when no work can be done, technically, you are not allowed to even ring for the elevator.  So this sign caught my attention.  I’ve not seen this on the elevators before.

Each room in the hotel has a mezuzah on the door post.  Again, it’s traditional for Jews to have a mezuzah on the door.  Most Jews in the US have one on their front door, and the more observant have them over their interior doors.  But I don’t recall seeing a hotel with a mezuzah on every door. 

Menus have either dairy or meat items, and there are clearly Kosher laws underlying many of the foods served in restaurants here.  I can understand why my friends who keep Kosher feel at home here.  There is no need to tell the server to leave the cheese off the hamburger.

But really, that is all I’ve observed so far (but I’ve not  been here a full 24 hours yet). The cafes and food stands I passed along my walk didn’t seem any more or less Jewish than food stands I’ve seen in other places.  While a number of the men wear kippahs, that, too, is not as rare as it used to be in other cities.  In New York City, Los Angeles and many high tech cities, one often sees men wearing a kippah.  People don’t look different here, nor, in general, do they dress different.  The streets are narrow and congested (which reminds me of many of the places we’ve visited in Italy), but that doesn’t remind me of anything Jewish.

So Tel Aviv, while clearly having elements that indicate a Jewish city, is not a city that non-Jews would feel unwelcome (wow, how is that for a triple negative).   Tel Aviv feels welcoming to all.  You don’t have to be Jewish to feel comfortable here.  I’ll be interested to hear what the others on the Illuminate Austin, Explore Israel trip feel.

The First Few Hours in Tel Aviv

Dateline: September 18, 2013

We arrived in Israel!  We were delayed about 20 minutes in Newark due to a change of equipment (before we boarded) but we made up time in the air and were just about on time.

I was met at the baggage claim by a representative of the tour group and she helped me get a SIM card for my iPad, and cash from an ATM.  She then introduce me to one the shuttle driver.  He collected my bags and took me to the Tel Aviv Hilton, which is right at the beach, about 30 min away.

Here are my first impressions from the airport and from the car ride on a sunny day in Tel Aviv:  Tel Aviv definitely looks and feels foreign.  Signs are mostly in Hebrew so I can’t read them.  Sometimes you can tell what the ad is for from the photo, but other times not so lucky.  So the city reminds me of Tokyo and places in China, where not only can I not read the signs, but the characters in the alphabet are so different, I can’t make anything out.  People look like they are headed someplace but not in a hurry.  The casualness of the people and the way they dress remind me of California and to some extent, Austin.  They stroll along the streets and lots of people are walking their dog(s).  The buildings are mostly gray, and while there are trees and greenery, they seem secondary to the city. They are close together and as we get closer to the beach they are light tan and other colors you find in sunny places like San Francisco and Los Angeles.   The intensity of the people, like those who pushed their way off the plane only to ‘wait in the next line’ remind me of New York, London and every other big city.   The weather is cool but not cold (70s-80s).  It’s California beach weather, so I’m reminded of Santa Cruiz.  The drivers here are terrible, just as I was warned…feels like NYC or Italy.  We almost hit or got hit a few times on this trip into town.

We arrive at the Tel Aviv Hilton.  Here’s a photo of the front door…a regular, non-discript building, but it’s overlooking the water!  

I didn’t feel very tired  so I went walking around.  Also, I left the iPad cord on the plane  (it had a plug on the plane so we could keep our devices charged).  So I’m on the hunt for a replacement since I borrowed this iPad Mini from my friend Bill and I won’t return it without the proper cords and connectors.

The concierge suggested I walk up Dizengoff Street, where there are shops, cafes and a few blocks south, there is a mall with the local equivalent of an Apple store, iDigital.  The Dizingoff Center Mall is about 1 mile away, so off I go.  Along the way I window shopped and checked out a few interesting boutiques, a pharmacy and a grocery store.  I didn’t buy anything, though.

The Dizingoff Center is  huge.  It  seems big in part because there are a lot of  stairways and levels.  I find the iDigital Store and 300 Shekels (about $85) later, I have a replacement cable, connector and a third cable, just in case).  The store looked a lot like an Apple store in the US.

Right outside, on the next floor up, there is a McDonalds. One of my favorite places to visit in foreign countries is their McDonalds.  Nothing shows the influence of US culture mixed with local culture like a foreign McDonalds, and this one doesn’t disappoint.  The menu has shakes, burgers, fries, chicken wraps and more, just like an American McDonalds.   It also has the long lines our home stores have.  But interestingly enough, their burgers are named after our cities…there is the “Texas”, “Broadway” “Miami” Las Vegas”, “Chicago”, and “New York” burger.  Unfortunately I don’t speak Hebrew so I can’t read what is on them, but here is a photo.

I stayed around and looked in some of the stores.  This doesn’t feel like a high-end mall…no big names that I recognize (Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom’s, etc) and I don’t recognize any international stores, either.  Most of the stores have boutique-like set ups.  There seem to be a large number of nail salon in this mall, too.

After walking around the mall for about an hour, I headed back to the hotel…all in all walking over 12,000 steps (according to my pedometer).  I’m getting tired and I want to rest for a bit in my room.

Just for completeness, here’s a short video of the view from the Hilton (from my room on the 12th floor):

Back again later!

Anticipating Israel then Flying There

Dateline: September 17, 2013

I’m in the Newark airport waiting for my connection to Tel Aviv.

My journey has begun.  I’ve flown from Austin to Newark to change planes for the flight to Tel Aviv. The Tel Aviv segment is totally booked, in part because this is the time of the year of the Jewish holidays (Rosh Hashonah and Yom Kippur have just happened, and Succot and Simcha Torah are while we are visiting) so there is a lot of back and forth travel between the US and Israel, according to the United Agent.   Our group will be in Jerusalem on Simcha Torah, the holiday honoring the delivery of the Torah (the 5 books of Moses) to the Jewish People, and friends have said it’s such a big celebration, we should try to get to the Western Wall on Eve-Simcha Torah.  We are going to build it into our plans.

The anticipation of seeing Israel for the first time is almost overwhelming.  I’ve been researching and talking with a number of people who have been there.  Everyone says it’s a ‘life changing experience’ to visit Israel.  The build up is huge.   I’m very much looking forward to getting there so it’s ‘real’ and not just the image that’s in my head.  I’m excited to see it.  But I’m also a little scared.  I’ll be traveling alone for a couple of days in a city I don’t know.  I’m expecting to find a lot of people who speak English so I can be comfortable getting around.  Someone said Tel Aviv was like New York, so I’m expecting a big city with lots of nooks and crannies around the city.  Several people said it’s safe to walk around so I’m going to explore some on my own.  Someone else said it was great to be in a country where being Jewish was the norm.  I can’t even imagine what that feels like.

There were some concerns a week or two ago that there was going to be a flair up with Syria (over chemical weapons) and if so, that could delay our trip.  But fortunately the diplomats have figured out something so the threat is sidelined for now.  The trip is definitely a go.

Back again…I’ve just boarded the flight to Tel Aviv (United flight 84 (a 10 hour flight from NYC to Tel Aviv).  There was an extra security check at the gate (for everyone) so there was a bit of a delay to get to the gate.  They checked each person with a metal detector, and searched each bag manually.  But that is behind me and I’m on the plane now.  Unfortunately, my upgrade using miles didn’t come through so I’m in coach.  Here’s a photo of the coach sections…only about 7-8 inches of legroom Fortunately, I’m short so that’s not the issue, but if the guest in front of me puts her seat back, I think I’m in trouble.  There are kids behind me so I had a nice little chat with them about not checking my seat.  And he agreed if I didn’t up the seat back very much.  We agreed.

My only regret is that I didn’t get upgraded to Business-First.  I had requested that upgrade back in March when I booked the flight.  The agent on the phone and I went over a number of scenarios, and settled on me purchasing a coach ticket and using my miles to upgrade.  That cost an additional $600 to use the miles to upgrade.  So I paid it.  Now the day of, there are no upgrades available (last week there were 4 but the wouldn’t be one to me until the last minute.  I was told that was so they could still sell a very pricy ticket up until the flight took off, and my ‘elite’ status was  not high enough to get that seat before time.  Basically, I was the ‘last’ on the upgrade list.  Needless to say, It did not come thorough, even though there was only one other guy above me on the upgrade list.

Ok, I’m going to watch a move, eat some snacks, sleep and generally do what you do on a long flight.  I’ll be back once I get to Tel Aviv.