Tel Aviv pictures

Pictures in Tel Aviv


-


The beach


There are almost never waves here...there is rain coming through...





Hotels along the beach, we stayed in the one closest to the left..David Intercontinental


Surfers taking advantage of the rare waves


you can bring your dog to lunch with you


Rebecca enjoying her favorite drink at her favorite cafe in Tel Aviv


I am full


Playing cards...rummy...we played for hours. Rebecca creamed us


Dinner with her friends.
Now off to the airport we go for a 5am flight .

Tel Aviv

Today is our last day in Israel.I am really sad to have to leave Rebecca. We have had a great trip. We have seen so much of the country on our great " off the beaten path tour" in fact it was really a combination of places we did not visit on our last trip here and places not well known to tourists, but places Israelis would visit including a lot of Israeli cafes for very authentic food. I felt like we lived a lot like an Israeli would with Rebecca's guidance.Right now we are eating in Rebecca's favorite cafe in Tel Aviv, Saquella Friends. It is delicious, with huge portions.It is also shabbat which for those readers who don't know is the Jewish sabbath that begins friday at sundown and ends Saturday after sundown . All the stores, businesses, government and most all kosher restaurants are closed.It's a day of rest and time to be with family and friends without diversions. Observers don't use cellphones. , TV, electricity ,or cars for that 24 hour period and all forms of public transportation like buses don't run.So we did what a lot of Israelis do....We found a non-kosher cafe and spent the afternoon eating, talking and playing cards.The restaurants in Israel are very much social meeting places. They don't give you a check unless you ask for it, they will never rush you. Many others in the cafe were on their computers or playing board games for hours as well. It was really great fun.We left about 5:00 and walked around until we had to meet Rebecca's friends and another set of parents also visiting. We all went out to dinner together , the food and company were great. just as we finished dinner the shops begin to open and the buses start running again . Rebecca likes shabbat. She thinks it is a good day to rest and be with your family and friends, it strengthens bonds and creates close families,which is very Israeli. The kids live near their parents etc.It is a wonderful country with natural beauty and a high standard of living.Whether you are a secular or religious Jew , Israel is a country to be proud of. I as an American Jew am proud of Israel and we should all be. For those who don't believe this I would challenge them to visit this beautiful and hospitable country.It is full of history, manmade and natural wonders, a land full of beautiful places to see for all interests and all religions.The food is wonderful and plentiful. I am also proud of my daughter spending 10 months of her life volunteering in this country and becoming a part of Israeli culture.She is full of life, passion, compassion and is a true down to earth old soul with a big heart for all. I love her with all my heart and I will miss her as I leave in a few hours. But I will have these memories of the last 2 weeks to cherish for the rest of my life,and I can only pray Rebecca feels the same.As this is my last blog in Israel, be safe my Rebecca, be well and enjoy all you do.Go live life to the fullest each day as I know you can. You will always be in my heart and soul. I love you.....shalom

Wadi Rum part 2

Another bedouin tent and tea


One of the bedouins put this Hata on me.








A well


A camel drinking bowl





Two trees

Wadi Rum, Jordan

Well today we are still in Jordan after a great day at Petra yesterday. We stayed at a unique hotel called Taybet Zaman which was a little village like structure of individual villas, restaurant, Turkish bath, craft store etc. It was all made out of stone, inside and out so it felt like you were living in a compound of luxurious caves ...kind of like Petra. Jeff said he felt like he was in the Flinstones house. A different experience. We all forgot bathing suits so we could not enjoy the Turkish baths.Today our Agenda includes a jeep tour through the desert at a place called Wadi Rum, lunch and sightseeing in Aquaba, a beach resort , like Eilat, then back to the border to enter Israel.We then take a flight from Eilat to Tel Aviv. I am writing this on the 50 minute airplane flight. Jordan has been an experience, but I am looking forward to getting back to Israel. There is such s stark contrast once you cross that border ...Israel is beautiful, and sparkles in comparison. Again, like I said in previous blogs I have a sense of peace and tranquility in Israel I have not had in any other country I have visited. In Jordan, I felt the complete opposite, a little tense and uneasy.Not afraid, just out of my comfort zone. There wasn't the hospitality there is in Israel.Our driver picked us up early and we went to Wadi Rum, an area in the desert where Lawrence of Arabia was filmed and he actually lived as well .We got into a jeep and went driving on the desert sand stopping for tea courtesy of Bedouin hospitality( the desert wanderers) and got to see some unusual rock formations and some other areas of interest in this vast desert.Some pictures below....


It's a vast desert.....


Mushroom rock behind us


Cool rock...I look around and all I see is sand and mountains( rock mountains)







Bedouin serving us tea in his tent





The home of the real Lawrence of Arabia- but the movie was filmed in this part of the desert


Outside his cave






Can you make out the camel carving in this rock? Thought to have been done in about 100-300B.C.


A dog
More Pictures part 2

Petra part 2

- a taxi


Another ruin thought to be a commercial building of some type



Caves. The people lived in these caves


Family shot....in the backround lots of caves where people lived. Size of cave one had depended on how big the family was. These were all hand made by just digging and carving with primitive tools


More caves


On the bottom is a carved out aqueduct. This is how they got water to the village from cisterns and sent throughout the village ( like primitive pipes) Apparently , try had some way of filtration as well


Another set of caves. At last count there were 17,000 caves in Petra


Going back...the roundtrip walking was over 14km ,we also hiked up to some of those caves

Petra,Jordan

Well today we left Israel and crossed into Jordan. The crossing involved lots of lines and passport controls, customs after which you have to physically walk over the border with your luggage and a Jodrdanian driver meets you on the other side.It was cold and rainy...yuk..but our destination of Petra is supposed to be one of the wonders of the world, not to be missed,if at all possible . And now after seeing this unbelievable place, it is a must see for anybody visiting in this area of the world. Petra a is a small village about 2 hours from the Jordan/Israel border. It's a wonder of ruins dating back to about 100 B.C.E.They were amazing to look at and in this case pictures will do more than words. According to our guide Suliman, it was a town of commerce and trade,including spices, amber for perfumes and Mir also for perfumes , but also found throughout the bible. Let's get to some pictures...


The entrance to Petra , this was formed by an earthquake


Mir( red) gold stones are amber used for perfume and insence. Mir is used for perfumes and is referenced in the bible for other purposes( sacrifices )


Guard


Carved by the Napathians( early settlers of Petra) to look like an elephant


They prayed in these niches in the stone. They are everywhere.


Narrow passages


Chariots, mules, horses and camels took those who didn't want to walk it. It was a good 10 miles with lots of steep climbing at times.I



This magnificent ruin is so well preserved. This is how it was found,no renovation has been done. It is called the treasury as there was thought to be treasure here,
but none was ever found and they now believe it was a temple


More pictures part 2

Pictures of Eilat

Not much to take pictures of compared to the rest of the trip, basically lots of huge hotels, shopping, beach, restaurants and cafe's...an upscale beach resort


View from our window


Different view


Front of Queen Sheba ( a Hilton )


Inside


View from mall
Shopping