Blogs from Israel, Middle East - page 10

What can I say other than senses overload! The colors, sounds, atmosphere and people...so much of everything! Almost chaos with the amount of energy around this market. It was hard to take everything in, let alone take pictures. It didn't help the it was Friday afternoon and the market was dealing with Shabbat happening soon. I made it through once and had to refresh and hang out for a half hour before going in again! I suppose this is what a middle eastern market is all about. Vendors yelling, people shopping and eating. There was all sorts of fruits, vegetables, spices, breads and pastries and candy. Household items, paper products, clothes and souvenirs. I am not sure how people were actually able to buy anything with the mass of humanity roaming...but they did! After this experience, ... read more

Whelp...I made it! The flights and layovers were long but everything went smooth. Had a 5 hour layover in Munich and the highlight there was the showers! Yup...showers! For 15 euro, you can use a dressing room/washroom/walk in shower. Equipped with towels, body wash and shampoo along with a blow dryer. And after a long 10 hour flight, this was heaven! Also had the best pizza. Crazy I know, but it sounded good so I got it...ate the whole bloody thing...I am on holiday after all! The flight from Munich was a short 3 1/2 hours and then it hit me...I am a foreigner in a foreign land! While there were some English signs here and there, there were not as many as I was hoping in the terminal. However, by following the crowd (and trying ... read more

From what I read about sites to see, the street art was a must in Tel Aviv. Great thing was, I didn't have to go looking, it found me on my way to dinner and back!... read more

Outside my window, not too far away, I can see the Dead Sea. It is a beautiful sight! I've floated in it twice, although after the first time most of us said one experience was enough. But yesterday Zvi offered a mud bath before bathing in this gorgeous lowest point on earth, so it was impossible to refuse, even though I have never - even as a child - enjoyed playing in mud. This would be a unique experience! Six of us appeared at the appointed time and walked down to the sea. Our outfits would have been remarkable in any other place: two were dressed as many other tourists chose to do, in bathrobes supplied by the spa; three wore their regular clothes, and I wore a towel over my swimsuit. I had received a ... read more

Left hotel at 7:30 today for our trip to the southern end of the Dead Sea and Masada. Unfortunately my assigned buddy, Juliet succumbed to the cold she had been fighting and decided not to join us today. We got to Masada around 9am and stayed until 10:45am. We all took the cable car to go up but Pierre, Tash, Greg and Steve were keen to walk down so Mahdi said they could leave the guided tour and start walking at 10am. Masada is a fortress built on a mesa like plateau and King Herod had palaces built here around 39BCE. However it is most famous for a siege in 73 CE when Jewish rebels against the Romans are said to have committed mass suicide when it was inevitable that the Romans were about to break ... read more