Impressions of Israel
Visiting Israel from Saudi Arabia was no easy feat. The two countries do not have formal diplomatic relations, and generally Israel (or Occupied Palestine as it is sometimes referred to) is a taboo subject. There are no direct flights between Saudi Arabia and Israel, and anyone with an Israeli stamp in their passport is not allowed to enter Saudi Arabia (or Syria). In fact, it is out of minor concern about client relations that I have waited to write this post. My visit to Jerusalem with four colleagues actually took place in October.
Therefore, in order to travel between the two countries, it was necessary to fly from Riyadh to Amman, Jordan, and hire a car to take us from Amman to the Border. There, we passed through a slow, if thorough, immigration process and security screening on foot to cross the border. On the other side, we hired another van to take us through the West Bank to Jerusalem.
General Impressions:
- Israel is the most developed country in the middle east. Many of the modern amenities that I would expect in Europe or the US, such as high quality organic foods, decent hotels, and a good nightlife are present in abundance
- Many cultural eccentricities are pleasant and truly unique to this country. One night we watched a crowd of traditionally dressed teenage Jewish boys dancing in a plaza to a rock-singing Yiddish-speaking Rabbi - all I could think was “this could only happen here”
- Old town Jerusalem is a fantastic and bustling maze of clothing shops, jewellers, butchers, churches, and temples
- Israeli girls are fun and beautiful; matched, perhaps only by their neighbours to the North, the Lebanese
A Feast in Old Town Jerusalem: The old city was a sea of life and commerce - streets crowded with shops and shoppers and a vibrant buzzing of activity. By the time we arrived, we were starving and sought nourishment at the first little cafe we passed, just inside the old city gates. We were not disappointed.
An old man with shaky hands and a warm smile set us down at his only two tables, and proceeded to feed us an incredibly memorable feast. It started with simple hummus and bread, then fattoush salad, then delicious chicken and peppers in a lemon and butter sauce, all served with fresh squeezed pomegranate juice. Our host was chef, waiter, and juicer, so the meal proceeded at a leisurely pace over a couple of hours, allowing us to fully take in the coming and going of hundreds of visitors to the markets.
Night Life: A visit to Ben Yehuda Street for dinner opened my eyes to the simultaneous fun and beauty of the city and its residents. We enjoyed a few cocktails at the hotel before we departed, and were already in a festive mood when we arrived on these streets crowded with young Israelis looking for a fun evening on the town. We found a good restaurant, and proceeded to finish a carafe or two of wine while hitting on our drop-dead gorgeous waitress (who, perhaps for the benefit of the tip, and perhaps due to our impaired perception skills, seemed to be enjoying this immensely).
After dinner we hit the street and enjoyed a bit of people watching as we searched for a promising bar. It seemed the average age on the street was about 23, and the number of attractive girls staggering (we were, remember, a group of five guys not used to seeing much more than a woman’s eyes in Saudi Arabia). Enter the singing rabbi I mentioned above, and it was a scene of beauty, culture, and festivity.
Bethlehem: On our second day, we made a trip back into the West Bank to see the birth place of Jesus. We arrived at the church of nativity just in time to catch the mid-morning prayer in the square outside, and got to enjoy the juxtaposition of hundreds of faithful Muslims honouring their faith immediately next to one of the holiest sites in Christianity.
Inside the church, a tour group of Spanish faithful had arranged a special ceremony and service with a Latin and Spanish speaking priest in the crypt where Jesus was born and where his manger lay. It was powerful to witness the passionate faith of the guests, and to see the markers representing these important landmarks to history and the child stories of many Christmas’ past.
Dead Sea: As we made our way back to Amman to return to Riyadh, we were forced to take a long detour to an alternate border crossing into Jordan. The delay cost us the opportunity to visit the Dead Sea during the daylight, but two of us braved the detour in our journey to the airport to spend 45 minutes floating in the intensely saline waters of the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth’s rocky surface. The eery feeling of weightlessness in the water was a strange but exciting experience that epitomized the weekend. My visit to Israel would turn out to be my favourite part of my adventures in the Middle East.
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- Welcome to The Intrepid Mr. Fox
Welcome to the personal weblog of Mitchell W. Fox, a management strategy consultant in Sydney, Australia.The Intrepid Mr. Fox is about my personal life and adventures. It focuses on three main topics: The Good Life (things I enjoy in my leisure time), Travel, and my thoughts and ideas about the world around us.