Made it to Athens.  Long day’s journey.  With a 5:30AM flight and giving enough time for security at Tel Aviv airport, there was no sense paying for a night’s accommodation.  So I gave up a night’s sleep.  It didn’t start well as the morons at Nesher Taxi, the company that operates sheruts, which are shared taxis and much cheaper than taking a single cab, decided that there was no room for me even though I made a reservation two days in advance, in person.  The worst part was that there was no apology, no admission of a screwup.  The idiot just tells me “no room.”  This meant paying about four times as much for a taxi since that was my only option that time of night.  Oh well.  One of the hazards of travel and service outside the USA.

Here’s the journey so far:

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Brought to you by Dead Sea Mud.  Feel younger with baby smooth skin.

Okay, getting ahead of myself.  I took a day trip to see the Masada and go to the Dead Sea.  It started out a bit rocky when the tour company gave me the wrong pickup point.  I had a bad feeling as I stood and waited.  The lady at the desk of the hotel where I was waiting was kind enough to call, especially when she said they don’t ever pick up there.  Sure enough, it was somewhere else.  So I had to make a beeline for another hotel and made it just in time.

We rode through the desert and the Western Territories to below sea level, passing bedouin communities (an oxymoron?), camels, and lots of sand.  The first stop was the Ein Gedi Spa.  No, first stop was a cosmetic company where we had to get the spiel on all the facial products from the Dead Sea area.  Then it was on to Ein Gedi.  A few people had booked the day there so we dropped them off.  We would return later in the day for the rest of us to have a swim in the Dead Sea, later than expected but that piece of the story is yet to come.  But this area is truly an oasis in the desert.  Natural springs allow for palm trees and vegetation – a patch of land surrounded by hot desert.

After lunch, it would be on to the Dead Sea.  With one hitch.  One of the members of the group was staying at the kibbutz nearby.  As we dropped him off, the bus got a flat tire.  Fortunately, a couple of the guys on the tour put on the spare and we were on our way.

Floating in the Dead Sea will go to the top of one of the coolest experiences on the trip.  The sea looks like glass from a distance.  It is so calm and the reflection of the mountains from the Jordan side of the river is like a mirror.  The water is highly concentrated in salt an minerals, so you just float on the water.  It’s a big greasy from all the minerals and it’s a stone beach, which is not the most comfortable.  A couple of people got water in their eyes, which stings something awful, and had to have them flushed out in the showers nearby.  But you walk out a bit until you are about waist high in the water and just sit.  The next thing you know you are floating.  It’s a strange sensation, but a good one.

Now about that mud.  At the bottom of the sea, especially in the shallow areas, is mud.  You spread this all over your body and keep it on for awhile.  When you wash it off, you’ve never felt your skin so smooth as this.  Oh, there are no pictures of me doing this.  On purpose.  But I did do it.  Honestly.

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Two of the most awe-inspiring testaments to history I’ve ever been to are the Israel Museum and Yad Veshem, which is the Holocaust Memorial in the Jerusalem Forest.

The Israel Museum was just reopened this past summer after a major renovation and expansion.  It is a beautiful setting with a collection that is vast, from Israeli art to French masters.  There is, of course, a great deal on the history of Israel.  This is not just the recent history of the last 60 years. This includes artifacts found as much as a million years ago of inhabitants of the area.  I’ve seen antiquities before.  But nothing like this.  One of the most impressive exhibits are four synagogues moved into the museum whole and renovated.  Yes, entire synagogues.  Now these are not big ones.  They are from small towns where Jews left or were forced out.  Of course, the biggest draw of the museum is the Dead Sea Scrolls found some 50-60 years ago.  Seeing parchments dating back 2000 years ago is incredible.  I wish I had given it more time because there is so much to see.  They also give several free tours a day for the various exhibits.

You can’t take pictures in the museum but there are sculptures outside as well as a 1:25 scale of the Old City during the time of the Second Temple.

Yad Veshem is another excursion that needs at least a full day.  More than a museum, it is a living memorial to the Holocaust, with gardens, sculptures, exhibits.  It takes hours just going through the Holocaust Museum, let alone the entire complex.  The setting in the Jerusalem Forest is beautiful and offers a serene setting needed to absorb it all.  Again, no matter your religion or lack of belief, one can’t help getting emotional at this place, the horror brought to a people simply for being born as they were born.  I’ve been to the Holocaust Museums in DC and LA, but to me what sets this apart is that it focuses on the individuals and their stories more than the other museums.  Entire exhibits of art by artists who survived the camps are on display and the horror that comes through these pieces are devastating.  In the Memorial Museum, a spectacular piece of architecture, entire streets are recreated with the actual cobblestones of the ghettos, rail tracks, and carts used to remove the dead.  And at the end is the Hall of Names–images of the victims who died and survived are on display with volumes and volumes of books containing their names, with the collection growing as more names come to light.

The Old City is the obvious top must-see in Jerusalem.  It is where the heart and soul of the city beats.  It’s divided into four quarters — the Jewish Quarter, the Christian Quarter, the Muslim Quarter and the Armenian Quarter, each with a distinct feel.

A word to the wise.  If you are traveling alone or even in a pair prepare to be bombarded with people trying to whisk you into their shop, give you a free tour and then whisk you into their shop, give you a free tour and invite you for a cup of tea by whisking you into their shop, tell you how much they love America and then whisk you into their shop.  Once they’ve whisked you into their shop, the hard sell begins.  It is exhausting.  If you hate this (and I do), go with a tour group.  There are free walking tours as well as paid excursions that take you around Jerusalem as well outside the Old City.  If you refuse to go into the shop, they try to get you in by saying they want to give you their card.  This occurs in three of the four Quarters.  The only Quarter where I didn’t experience any of this is in the Jewish Quarter.  It was like exhaling when I finally got past all this.  That aside, it’s really cool with all the little streets and alleys to imagine people living here centuries ago.  Despite the hard sell, it is worth seeing the bazaars as the sites and smells of spices, etc. are something to experience.  And whether you are religious or not, the sense of history and religious foundations and the fighting over this small plot of land, not just now but for thousands of years, really takes you somewhere like you’ve never imagined.

I arrived in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon just before the Sabbath.  If security was tight in Tel Aviv, it is even more so here.  I took the 480 bus from TA to Jerusalem, waiting in the long queue as several buses filled up before I got on.  Apparently, only a few weeks ago there was no snaking queue to get on the bus.  Just a free-for-all of people pushing their way on.  I think I’d have walked before dealing with that!  I arrived at the apartment I rented and I must say that while I’ve enjoyed renting apartments along the way, this one is by far the nicest.  It’s like a little cave with all the stone and thick archways.  It’s small, but so cozy.

Here are some other shots taken around Tel Aviv…

Carmel Market and area – huge outdoor market of fresh produce, meats, clothing, etc:

Etc:

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The first Jewish neighborhood built outside of Jaffa in the late 19th century is an area called Neve Tzedek.  While the buildings are not nearly as old, they certainly have stood the test of time.  It had become run down until about 30 years ago when renovations began to take place to restore the area to prominence.  In addition to historical buildings and homes, there are higher end shops, galleries and restaurants.  Definitely a must-see for any visit.