Haifa

After my enjoyable train-ride up the Israeli coast to the garden city of Haifa, I disembarked and began my search for the Port Inn Hostel. It was rather difficult considering there were no street signs for a four block radius around the train station which was strange. I finally found it and it turned out to be a lovely hostel, the best yet, with an impressive terrace garden for sitting, eating, and chatting with others. I wanted to hike to the top of Mount Carmel, Haifa’s city on a mountain that also is home to the Baha’i Gardens. I met up with a German named Andi who I had previously encountered at the hostel in Jerusalem and we decided to make our way to the top. It was a substantial climb but gradual and not too strenuous as to be unable to enjoy conversation and the views. Andi had lived in Mexico for some time and so we attempted speaking Spanish but my skills are barely passable, it ends up just being Portuguese. Portuñol they call it. Anyway, at the top of the Mount we enjoyed the nighttime scenery and the strange lit up fountains that looked like that one level on Super Smash Melee… I hope someone gets that reference. After enjoying the top, we made our way down to the bottom and en route I grabbed some falafel, my staple food while traveling, to eat back at the hostel. Back home we met some cool people from all over; Antonio from Spain, Zineb from Morocco, Andi’s friend Carmen from Germany, and some crazies from Switzerland. I couldn’t tell if the two Swiss guys were on drugs or just bizarre. After some time chatting we headed out to a pub across the street where the owner insisted we take shots of Arak, on the house. I was first off not intent on drinking and secondly was not interested in the anise flavored cousin of Ouzo which is amazingly awful to drink. It is the regional drink and one seems to encounter it far too often. A fact about arak: it means sweat in Arabic therefore wine is the blood of Jesus and Arak is his sweat… I left the pub pretty quickly due to exhaustion and an uncomfortably smoky ambiance.

In the morning I took a bus to Haifa University to see two things: a 27-story tower designed by my favorite Architect Oscar Neirmeyer and an Archaeological museum that also houses some fine art. The building turned out to be the least impressive thing I have seen by Neirmeyer and I was actually quite disappointed. The museum however made up for that by being an impressive collection of all things ancient from the region. I saw a lot of really neat stuff including the worlds oldest sunken ship! It was preserved underwater because large slabs of rock covered it. There were also lots of nice glass bottles, tools, and plates. I had to hurry a bit at the museum because I wanted to return to the hostel and head out via train (!!) to Akko, Acre, the old Templar (Crusaders) city. I ended up arriving at Akko about 5:00; it closes at 5:30. Good one. In fact in turned out to be not so bad because I managed to see almost everything and did not pay because it was so late none of the door guards asked me for my ticket. Everything was really epic, but the most epic was certainly the tunnels that ran under the dock. Awesome. I saw this French guy who I had met 3 times before in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and so we chatted for a little while but he had to go and catch a bus soon so we parted ways soon after meeting. I walked around some more and ran into Antonio and Zineb who had just dined at a chic restaurant in Akko. We decided to go and have some tea and hubbly-bubbly in the old city, the first time I actually have had Nargile in the Middle East. It was very pleasant and we sat for a while talking about various things. I really enjoyed their company and am always amazed at the interesting people you meet while traveling. We took Antonio’s rental car back to the city to relax at the hostel before going out for a late dinner at a delicious Lebanese restaurant.

The next day I took the Baha’i gardens tour, which is the only way you are able to see the inner gardens. I arrived at the top of the mountain via the Carmelita, Haifa’s one line Subway that ascends a mountain! I have never been in a tilted subway with so many monster/robot pictures on the walls. It was a time-warp back to the 70’s, oh wait all of Jewish Israel is that way… The gardens were incredibly beautiful and totally weird. History of the Baha’i: A relatively new religion (came about in the mid part of the 1800’s) that claims most all other religions and profits are correct but that Baha’i is the modern truth.  The Baha’i bought the whole mountainside, because Haifa is one of their holy cities, and created an elaborate garden on it. One funny thing is that there is still a house sticking out of the upper gardens because the guy didn’t want to sell it either out of spite or because he really enjoys his view. After the tour I took the bus to Tiberias (one of the four holy cities of Judaism) so that I could connect onward to the Yehudiya Nature Reserve for some camping!

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Tel Aviv

I hopped on the bus to Tel Aviv and made it there by about 3:00 pm, just in time to catch the bus to my hostel before the city’s public transportation shuts down for Shabbat, Friday at sundown until Saturday at sundown. My hostel, the HaYarkon 48, was located one block away from the beach. Perrrfect. It’s an old schoolhouse converted into a hostel and all in all was pretty nice. I have definitely been to better, and worse, but it was clean and the location was unbeatable. After putting my stuff down, I made my way to the beach for a late-afternoon swim. The beach was packed with people, all ages, enjoying the sun and sand. There were tons of people playing a paddle-board game where you try to hit a ball back and forth, ping-pong without the table basically. The water was excellent, really warm and not super salty. I only swam for a bit because it was getting rather late and I wanted to save some sun to help me dry off.

Back at the hostel there wasn’t much going on, not many people around and pretty calm. I was hungerz so I made my way outside to see if I could find some food. This was somewhat of a problem being Shabbat and all, almost everywhere was closed. After walking for an hour I ended around the corner from my hostel at a beach-side fast food joint where I experienced my first and only lafafalafel. Lafa is a type of bread, like a really big piece of Naan, that they use to make falafel sandwiches instead of pita. It was huge!! Think Cafe Rio burrito, but bigger. Luckily I was way hungry and up to the challenge. I sat myself down on some stairs leading down to the beach and conquered the thing in about 20 minutes. Twas delicious. Afterwords I went back to the hostel where the scene had picked up a bit and struck up some conversation with fellow Americans from, Long Island, San Diego, and Vancouver (Canadian, almost the same). The guy from long island had been traveling around all of Europe and was sort of ending his journey in Israel. By ending I mean not going somewhere else for a while, he had no plans to return to the states and was hoping to go and work on a Kibbutz and maybe do Ulpan (Hebrew language school). The girl from San Diego is living in New York and came to Israel to do a yoga teacher certification program. Emily, the Canadian, was also traveling the world, about 1/4 of the way through her year-long trip with some longer stops later on in India and China. She had studied Chinese in college and has lived there for short periods of time, pretty sweet. We were thinking of trying to meet up either in China or Korea since we will be there at the same time.

The next day I decided to attend a Bauhaus Tour of the city. Tel Aviv was declared a UNESCO Heritage Site for its Bauhaus architecture and it is definitely an impressive aspect of the city. The Bauhaus tour was unfortunately rather boring so I had to leave after like 15 minutes. I decided to make my way to the old port of Jaffa, where the first settlements of the Tel Aviv area exist. It’s about a 20 minute walk from the city center over to the port and I chose to to get a feel for the city by walking through it  instead of walking directly towards Jaffa on the beach. Jaffa turned out to be rather charming and first thing I did when I got there was grabbed a delicious grilled cheese sandwich full of tomato, corn, peppers and all sorts of other stuff from the oldest bakery in Tel Aviv.I ate it on the old port overlooking the sea and with a view back to Tel Aviv’s skyline. After stuffing myself, I wandered around the area, saw lots of old stuff, ate a yummy date fresh from the tree, and walked along the beach path. I was pretty exhausted when I reached this massive grassy park on the sea and found it an excellent time to nap. I hadn’t seen grass in some time and took advantage of the opportunity to lay in it. When I finished lounging I made my way back to Tel Aviv and talked with some of the folks at the hostel that I met the night before. Two of them were leaving that evening but Emily, the girl from Vancouver, and I decided to make our way to Budha Burger, a vege/vegan joint. When we got there it turned out to be a counter-ordering style hip food spot with TONS of choices. The menu was extensive, in fact, check it out:

http://www.buddhaburgers.co.il/english.asp

Emily chose the classic Budha Buger while I went with the Seitan Burrito, we also got some Cashew Hummus with Raw Zucchini and Broccoli crackers. Everything was excellent and the vibe of the place was way chill. We walked around for a while, made a stop at the beach, and then finally returned to the hostel for a game of pool (they had billiards! fo free!) and some sleep. The next morning Emily and I joined forces again to enjoy the beach one last time before I skipped town. I was also determined to try this thing called Sabich, a dish of Iraqi origin that has made a big splash in Tel Aviv and Israel, at the appropriately named Sabich Stall. The place was actually two joint stalls, (legitimate established businesses with outdoor seating and just a counter to order your food) one for Falafel and one for Sabich. Sabich is a pita sandwich stuffed with hard-boiled eggs cooked for so long they become brown, cooked eggplant, various salads, hummus, tahina (similar to tahini but has water, lemon, salt, and pepper mixed in so its more saucy), and amba (think mango chutney but again, saucier). It is on my top 5 list of foods that I have ever had. Ridiculously scrumptious. I luckily found a Jewish British guy with family in Israel at a later hostel who revealed to me the secret tips to making this loaded pitawich.

Satisfied and ready for my next stop, I bid farewell to Emily and headed off to Haifa via Israrail. Trains!!

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Jerusalem

My amazing trip to Israel started in Jerusalem, the world’s holiest city and an epic melting pot of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (including everyone else). I took a “direct” bus from Amman to Tel Aviv at 8:30 in the morning instead of hassling with many buses and connections, as well as attempting to cross the border alone. When I got to the crossing, the young Israeli girls that work there interrogated me because of my stay in Jordan. She literally asked me, “Did you receive a present with a bomb in it.” No, no bombs, or presents disguised as bombs. Ridiculous. Once I got through the border, my two Israeli mates that I met and myself had to find the bus on the other side because ours did not go through. It turned out to be an old, sketchy van which I was a bit disappointed with. No worries though, the Israelis told me it would be easier, faster, and only marginally more expensive to catch a bus to Jerusalem from Beit She’an instead of Tel Aviv. When I got dropped off at the bus stop there were three Brasilian teenagers standing waiting for a bus to Jerusalem as well. Small world. They were studying in Israel and living in a Kibbutz with 9 other Brasilians, pretty rad for being 15 years-old.

When I got to Jerusalem it turns out they have this crazy security issue, of course, so that whenever you enter somewhere with lots of people you have to x-ray your bags and walk through a metal detector. Makes for a big hassle when traveling but it is what it is. I caught the bus to the old city along Jaffa Street which is in the new Western Jewish part of town, it’s super nice. They have a streetcar and everything. When I got to Jaffa Gate, one of the many entrances to the Old City, the tourist crowds began. So many of them! In the small roads of the Old City, things were surely claustrophobic. My hostel was located conveniently close to the gate and I only had to endure the mess for a short bit. The hostel is called Citadel Youth Hostel and is in a 500 year old house, so cool. Ancient rock and lots of stairways. I went for a walk in the old city to explore it and orient myself and while walking I met  a guy from the hostel who was from Ecuador. I told him I was hungry and he suggested a good Falafel place, only the beginning of the epic amount of Falafel that I ate during the trip. Israel is a ridiculously expensive country and even their version of fast food, Falafel or Shwarma, is not cheap but at least reasonable. On our way to the Falafel place we bumped into a friend of the Ecuadorian who was from Austria; they had lived on a Kibbutz together. He came on with us to the Falafel joint and we snacked well on some tasty food. We talked for a while and then decided to head on back to the hostel.

When we returned I decided to have some coffee. More like I decided to shower in some coffee. Right when I got done making it, being the dope I am, I spilled it all over my shorts and legs. Ouch, but luckily did not pull an Isabelle. After that mishap, I hung out at the hostel for a good while, met people and chatted. Then the Ecuadorian, an American named Jodi who was volunteering at the hostel and is also amidst a world tour, and I went out for a jaunt on the town. We walked mainly around the new Jewish part; saw an outdoor mall, some courtyards and plazas, and further oriented myself. I also walked into a gate and got laughed at by Israelis, dope! Back at the hostel Jodi and I chowed on some Cinnamon Toast Crunch, so delicious. I haven’t had that stuff in years. It was approaching time for bed so I made my way to the roof of the hostel. Yeah that’s right, I and a bunch of other travelers slept on the roof in the middle of the old city of Jerusalem. It was amazing to be up there, see the whole city, and hear the 4:00 a.m. call for prayer and early as church bells. Too great.

The next morning I began my day with a travel breakfast ritual I created for the trip; fruit salad (comprised of banana, pomegranate, apple, persimmon, and grapes), mini pastries filled with either apple, date, chocolate, sweet cheese or the savory variety which was either spinach or mushroom, and some strong arabic coffee. Delicious. Afterwords I made my way to the wailing wall to witness the most holy place of Judaism and then to the Temple Mount to see the Dome of the Rock. While at the Temple Mount I witnessed some Orthodox Jews walk through the place singing who were then yelled at by a group of about 40 Muslim men that were gathered for a meeting. I don’t know what exactly the situation was, whether the Jews were being disrespectful or if the Muslims were out of hand but it was definitely a tense scene. I had some more falafel later on with a French guy I met at the Hostel and we went and talked for a while about life and spirituality.

To end my trip in Jerusalem I woke up early the next day to see some more sites, particularly the Church of the Holy Sepulchre where Jesus was said to have been crucified, buried and resurrected from. That’s some history. Jerusalem is an incredible city full of culture, history, and passion yet it is a troubled place complicated by the tensions between many faiths. I wish I could have spent more time there but alas, I hopped on the bus on my third day of travels to head on to Tel Aviv.

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Bad Food, Dust Storms, and a Journey

I went to the most awful restaurant I have ever been to the other night. My Italian flatmate and I went because It was recommended by Lonely Planet, who knows why, and it was totally gross. We ordered a typical Jordanian dish called Mansaf, rice with meat on top served with a yogurt sauce, as well as Kebab and some salad. The waiter was kind of a complete dick although it could have been because I was taking forever to order. Typical… Anyway, when the food came it was gnar. The only thing that I ate was the small salad and some of the cooked tomato that came along with the kebab. I think that one of the problems might have been that I keep on trying to eat meat here because that’s what their national dishes are but whenever it comes around I can’t seem to stomach it. I decided after that I was going to give up on that and not order meat anymore.

I really am in the Mid-East when Dust Storms, 2 of them, come rolling in. Not romantic, not cool, just lame. I was out on my daily walk and the first of the 2 that we have had descended upon Amman. By the time I got to the house, my hair was white like a ghost. Totally ridiculous. All I need is a stillsuit and some spice and I’m set, well maybe they have to be a bit more extreme for that parallel. I just really hope that they don’t ever happen again.

I have been riding the buses alot and yesterday a couple things happened. First when I got on the bus, I noticed a sticker on the door that was shaped as a red heart with the words “Frined Forever.” Hilarious. The second was that the girl next to me started crying and the bus driver and ticket taker were staring me down. I had no idea why either one was happening and they told me to scoot over, almost like half way off my seat, even though I was already scooted over a fair deal because of personal space issues between men and women here. I don’t want to make this about myself but I really hope I did not make her cry.

Other than that, I have been up to not much. My internship is finally coming together after being basically non-existent until this point. I will be teaching English at 3 schools and 2 centers in the community, sounds fun. I hope it will give me a chance to practice my Arabic and not just speak English. We’ll see!

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Blood Test

Today I went to get my blood-test done so that I can extend my visa. Since the clinic is far away from my house and would be somewhat difficult to find by foot, I took a taxi. This taxi was for sure the worst one I have had yet. The guy first stops at a shwarma stand to get food for himself and makes me wait 5 minutes in the car. I considered getting out and finding another cab, which I should have done but didn’t. The meter also continues on time when the car is not moving so I had to pay for his pit-stop. Then he got back in and ate his food while providing me with some great sounds. There was the loud, messy chewing; the slurping of his diet sprite (??maybe that makes up for fried meat sandwich?); and his gnarly spitting. Literally every minute he hawked a loogie out the window, sometimes in a plastic bag. The throat clearing was kind of unbearable. When we finally arrived at the center I gave him 2 Dinar for the 1.80 total and he says, “Oh, thanks!,” as if I gave him a tip. Ha yeah right, give me my change.

To top off my lovely taxi experience, when I got to the office I realized that I had left my passport at home. Doh! I tried to convince them that I have ID and that when I return for the results I can provide my passport. No go. To make up for my bad taxi ride, the driver on the way back was the nicest I have had. He was a really nice driver in general though; he always let people through when most would not. Quite abnormal for drivers in Amman. He did ask me if I had gone to a mosque and whether or not I said the Shahadatan, which is the confirmation before witnesses when you become a Muslim. I said that I have been to a Mosque but did not say the Shahadatan because I am a Christian.

Since the blood test didn’t work out I am going to take my flatmates sneaky advice and go to the Marka Police Station in the north east of town where they supposedly don’t require a blood test.We’ll see…

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