A taste of the Middle East in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, Israel
I’ve been to Israel several times, mostly for work. I really enjoy visiting this country because of the distinctive vibe, history, food and welcoming culture. Every time I discover something new and learn more about their culture. This trip was not an exception, but rather another opportunity to dive into the mysterious world of the Middle East.
It’s worth calling out right away that depending on your background and beliefs, you might have very different point of view on the current state of affairs in Israel and their relationships with Arab world and Palestinians in particular. Prior to your visit, you might want to get up to speed on the history of the conflict. As travelers, sometimes we don’t agree with all of the local views and traditions, but we are guests and have to respect the house rules, even if we might not agree with all of them. Keeping that in mind, you would be surprised that Israelis exercise the widest range of opinions on what’s going on and usually will be extremely interested in discussing it with you. Be prepared to talk politics everywhere: with friends, in a bar or a restaurant, on the street, etc. With politics out of the way, let’s talk about the country.
When flying to Israel, you will most likely be a subject to additional screening prior to leaving. Typically a security firm will be operating an additional checkpoint right by the gate, which will be done on top of any general airport security. They are concerned about people trying to bring weapons or explosives on the flight with the high percentage of Israeli citizens going to Israel. Expect additional questioning at the gate. If you have a passport stamp from some of the Arab countries or passport issued by an Arab country, you might have some issues or will be denied the entry. The same might happen on the arrival in Israel: they are famous for sending people back on the next flight. So in order to avoid any complications, you should have an absolutely clear idea of where and how long you are staying (have an address and a phone number), know your itinerary, and have a return flight. They will be asking a lot of questions trying to find inconsistencies in your answers and asses your body language. Be patient and relaxed, and you will be done quickly. From personal experience, I would suggest to avoid El Al Airlines flights all together. It’s an Israeli national airline, which tends to be extremely strict during the security checks, while having an average service and older planes, which are almost always packed.
Tel Aviv
If you’re flying to Israel, you will arrive at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport. Tel Aviv is the second largest city in Israel (after Jerusalem) and also the business capital of the country. Originally it was a Jewish settlement next to an ancient port city of Jaffa, which grew overtime with an influx of Jewish refugees from Europe, Russia, and other parts of the world. Right now it’s the third largest economy in the Middle East (after Abu Dhabi and Kuwait City) and a flourishing megapolis with a lot of restaurants, bars, museums and art galleries.
Tel Aviv is a beach city, and traditionally most of its hotels are located next to the beach. The majority of the popular hotel chains have their outposts there. In recent years there has been a growing number of the boutique hotels opening in other parts of the city. They tend to have more unique design features and/or based in historic buildings. One of the most popular areas is Rothschild Blvd, which has a lot of great restaurants and bars. I would recommend Sheraton Tel Aviv on the beach for more traditional hotel experience or Brown TLV Urban Hotel near Rothschild for that design boutique hotel feel. Since Israel is a fairly small country (you can drive from north to south border in 5–6 hours), you can just stay in Tel Aviv and travel out to different destinations from there.
Although Tel Aviv is a fairly big and dense city, most of its central parts are accessible and very walkable. Outside of morning and evening rush hours you should be able easily get around. Uber works there, but only licensed taxi drivers are currently allowed to pick up passengers, which in turn creates a shortage of the drivers. As an alternative, you can try Gett — the most popular taxi app there. You might encounter frequent ride cancellations by the taxi drivers especially during the rush hour. It seems like once they encounter just a little bit of traffic ahead of them going for your pickup, they would rather cancel the ride all together. Once I’ve had 9 Uber driver cancellations in a row (and yes, I have a pretty high Uber rating), so plan accordingly.
Back in 50–60s when most of Tel Aviv was built, there were no air conditioners. Their summers are extremely hot, while spring and fall can be pretty warm, too. So back then people were trying to escape the heat of the apartment buildings by being outside at night. For a lot of people it became a habit and grew into the tradition. Israelis enjoy it and tend to go out several nights a week on average. While traveling to Israel you might want to keep the weather factor in mind. The rule of thumb is stay away from Tel Aviv in July and August as heat is unbearable. In June or September you can expect around upper 80s-lower 90s F (27–32C) with almost 100% humidity. Jerusalem is dryer and cooler, particularly at night. You best bet is to visit Israel in spring or fall because winters can be very rainy.
Make sure to bring comfortable shoes because you will be walking a lot. Start from Jaffa. It is the oldest part of Tel Aviv, which used to be an separate city, but over time it got absorbed into Tel Aviv. Originally it was mostly populated by Arabs and still maintains its spirit. It feels very much like Brooklyn or Oakland with all flea markets, furniture stores, art galleries and outdoor cafes in converted buildings. Get lost in its ancient curvy streets, climb the hill and check out Andromeda’s Rocks and Wishing Bridge, walk to the Port of Jaffa. If you’re hungry you might want to stop by Cuckoo’s Nest — a flea market converted into the restaurant with an art gallery on the second floor and live bands each night.
From Jaffa continue to Neve Tzedek. It was the first Jewish neighborhood to be built outside the ancient port of Jaffa and later got incorporated as a Tel Aviv proper. Right now it’s one of the most fashionable parts of the city with boutique stores, popular restaurants and cafes. Wander around and sit down for a coffee. Israelis have a great coffee culture, so do yourself a favor and enjoy it!
Rothschild Blvd starts in Neve Tzedek and goes almost to the middle of the city. It is the main social artery of Tel Aviv with a lot of restaurants, bars and clubs on both sides. In the middle it has a tree-lined walking path with pedestrian and bike lanes. Israel’s Declaration of Independence was signed at one of the buildings right there. The street is lined with Bauhaus Buildings, the iconic architecture of Tel Aviv which led to its recognition as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bauhaus was brought by German Jewish immigrants moved to the British Mandate of the Palestine. They’ve adjusted it for the hot climate and created a unique architecture style widely represented along Tel Aviv’s White City area.
While in Israel you can’t ignore the amazing local cuisine. Although there are some traditional Jewish/Middle Eastern food, it might be prepared if the person’s family came from Iran, Syria, Iraq, Morocco, Poland, Russia or Europe. But there’s a chance that once you’ll try it there, you won’t be able to eat it anywhere else. Here are some dishes you should try in Israel: shakshuka (red with tomatoes and green with green leafs), hummus (look for specialized hummus restaurants) and falafel.
Jerusalem
If Tel Aviv is a bustling megapolis then Jerusalem has more historic and religious appeal. It is how most people imagine Israel with orthodox jews, muslims and christians all in one place.
Jerusalem’s Old City is one of the holiest places in the world and full of history. It is divided in four quarters peacefully adjacent to each other: Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Armenian. There you can see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Western Wall, Al-Aqsa Mosque, Tomb of King David, etc. Expect a lot of people at every site, so you might want to join one of the tours so they can show you everything and explain it.
To be honest Jerusalem has left mixed feelings for me. Because of its history and religious context this area of one square kilometer (less than one square mile) causes so much tension and pain between Jews, Arabs, Christians and others. While walking around you sometimes feel it in the air or see it in people’s faces. On the other hand it’s one the biggest tourist destinations in the world, so you’re constantly surrounded by crowds and pushed to buy something by local merchants.
Other Places
There are a lot of other places to see while you are in Israel. Here are some suggestions:
- Dead Sea: it’s so salty that you can float in it.
- Masada: a fortress in Judean Desert on top of the mountain
- Haifa: the city in the northern part of Israel famous for its hillside
- Eilat: a resort town on the Red Sea
Safety
Israelis take their security seriously. That’s why it’s difficult to travel there. That’s why you will see patrols with semi automatic rifles on the street. That’s why every Israeli served in army and knows how to shoot. That’s why they have one of the most sophisticated anti-missile defense systems to catch the rockets. They are constantly living in anticipation of another conflict and ready to react to it. With all of these security measures you probably have a higher chance to find yourself in the middle of some crazy terror attack in the US (probably carried out by a domestic psycho with an AR-15 rifle) than there. In terms of the regular street safety I’ve never felt even remotely unsafe and I’ve walked a lot in different areas of Tel Aviv. It might be different somewhere in East Jerusalem or West Bank, but you probably should not go there anyway.
Language
The official language of Israel is Hebrew. At the same time almost everybody speaks English in major urban areas. The third popular language is Russian because of a big number of immigrants from ex-Soviet Union republics.
Most of the restaurants have English language menus. Street signs have Hebrew and English translation. The biggest problem I’ve encountered is when you’re trying to find some place and it only has a Hebrew name. Hebrew is very old language, and its letters look nothing like European or Cyrillic alphabet, so it’s almost impossible to even guess what does it mean. But honestly such cases were very rare.
Shabbat
In the Middle East weekends are Friday and Saturday. In Judaism it is due to the fact that on Saturday God was taking a rest. So on Saturday a lot of people observe Shabbat. It starts during the sunset on Friday evening and finishes on Saturday evening. During Shabbat you cannot work and engage in any non-rest activities. As a result a majority of businesses will be closed, and the entire city goes quiet with an exception of handful number of places. The public transport might not work. Don’t expect people to be very responsive during it. It is an interesting tradition, so it might take some time to get used to it.
If you don’t observe Shabbat, you can take advantage of it. For example, flights on Saturday tend to be less busy and cheaper, and the airport will have much shorter security lines.
Bottom line
If you’re interested in history or religion, or just want to get a taste of the Middle East, Israel is your jam. And just like anything in the Middle East, it is a complicated country, but don’t let it discourage you and explore everything it has to offer!
Shalom!
