Jerusalem's Echo

Here's a lesser known, free-of-charge attraction that might encourage a Jerusalem Syndrome outbreak, if one is prone to that. So here it is:
Kikar Ha'Chatoolot ("The Pussycat Square") is located in the south end of Yoel Moshe Salomon/ Nachalat Shivah pedestrian mall. In the evenings it is easy to recognize the place by the hooka and cheap jewelry stall that's standing there. If you need a hookah this much, know that you'll get a better deal in the Old City, so skip it.

view of the square from the pedestrian mall

The Square isn't big and is rather empty. Go to the middle, and stand on the inner circle marked on the floor. Face north, towards the wine store.

Look at this direction.

Now say something. Out loud. Your voice will eerily echo to your ears, but no one else will hear it. The square is on top of an underground parking space and this is probably the scientific explanation for this acoustic wonder, but who cares? You'll hear voices! In Jerusalem!

Drinking Water in Israel

Last week's rain inspired today's topic. Today's topic is not wacky or trendy; it is simply useful. Rain=water and here are a few things about water you should know when you visit Israel. First, tap water is safe and drinkable, whether you are in the city or in a rural area. Its flavor varies from place to place, depending on its source, as well as the domestic water pipes quality. Some claim that tap water doesn't taste that well due to the high mineral content but it's an acquired taste. Also, Israeli tap water is fluoridated. There's a huge public debate whether fluoridation is beneficial or not. So far it is quite certain that the Ofer Family, the tycoons that provide the fluoride to the Israeli water system is the greatest benefiter.

Bottled water is available for sale everywhere. There are 4 main local brands: Eden, Neviot, Aqua Nova and Ein Gedi Water. Aqua Nova is filtrated tap water and the other brands are spring water. Please, please, please do us all a favor and don't buy Ein Gedi Water. It is bottled by Kibbutz Ein Gedi in Judea Desert, that's been pumping David spring and nature resort dry. Do not support them. There are imported brands like San Benedetto and purified and spring water bottled by smaller companies usually found in smaller shops and/ or away from the big cities.

(don't buy this brand)

In any case, drink plenty of water – Israel is a hot country.

Greetings from Israel - vintage postcards are much cooler

If you have been to Israel before (or if you are here already), you may have noticed that the souvenir industry isn't really blooming, to say the least. The volume of tourist is simply not large enough for  Made in China Dead Sea souvenir spoons, Eilat shot glasses and thimbles with Haifa's landscape. And with the email take over came the decline of what used to be the tourist's favorite souvenir, the postcard.
You can still find postcards in the usual traps and tourist hubs, embedded with Jubilee 2000 logo, overpriced, generic. Charred remains of what used to be a thriving and competitive industry, that employed designers, photographers and printers whose creations were mailed all over the country and the world, commemorating kibbutzim dining halls, hotel lobbies, main streets of small towns and agricultural achievements, to name a few. Postcards that tell a story.

like this small image of Downtown Haifa. Look at the TWA logo! 

If your friends, who never bothered to even send you a text message from their weekend getaway to Amsterdam, really insist on a postcard from the Promised Land, right-to-left scripts and all, you can always find a wider, cheaper selection at second-hand shopping hubs.

In Tel Aviv-Jaffa try the flea market and the Dizzengof Square antique fair on Tuesday afternoon and Friday morning. In Haifa the downtown antique stores are the place for old postcards. IN other towns, look at thrift stores and you might get lucky. 

 

 Hotel Ganei Hamat Tiberias, nowdays Holiday Inn Tiberias.

Falafel and Shakshuka - a heavenly deadly combination

Unless you visit relatives or find a cool couch to surf on, you have no real reason to visit Petach Tikva, also known as the first modern Jewish settlement that was funded in 1878. It's a "historic" town, but seriously, it ain't no Plymouth, MA. The town is located 15 KM east of Tel Aviv aka half an hour ride in one of Israel's busiest, nastiest, most polluted routes.
If you do find yourself in Petach Tikva, all you really need to know is bus #66's timetable. But if you are a self-destructive junk food enthusiast like me, ask your native Petach Tikva friend to accompany you to a power lunch at Ziona and Gozal's.
Conveniently located close to the Sgula industrial area and Belinson Hospital's cardiology ward, Ziona and Gozal offer an equal solution to a well-known dilemma: why choose between falafel and shakshuka, that heavenly dish that is made of fried egg with tomato-pepper-onion  sauce, when you can have both, tucked inside a hollowed half a loaf of bread?

Yup, for about 30 years Ziona, Gozal and the family halve loaves of bread, remove the soft white stuff and fill it with layers upon layers of fried goodness. You can add basic vegetable salad (tomato, cucumber and cabbage; recommended if only for the healthy balance illusion) diluted tahini, amba (sour mango) and hot sauce. You may also order a quarter-loaf portion.
The shakshuka is good, the falafel is too soft and soggy for my taste (a crispy crunch would be a great surprise in this dish). All in all a good and unique combination and culinary experience. Not one that your arthritis would tolerate on a regular basis, but when on a holiday...

Ziona and Gozal are located in 10 Gissin st., Petach Tikva (by the railroad track). Open on weekdays morning-early afternoon. Kosher.

Somewhere to stay - Inbar Hotel, Arad

I'd better say it now: I want to move to Arad. As soon as we find a way to make a living over there, we'll buy one of those melodramatic 1970's houses that have an incredible view to the desert and cost as much as a crummy one-bedroom apartment in Tel Aviv does. Meanwhile we'll continue taking day trips there, drink at the local pubs (posts to follow) and fantasize about the relocation.

Leaving my residential fetish aside, Arad is a great starting point for trips in the Judea Desert, Masada and the Dead Sea. It is a residential area and therefore accommodation over there is cheaper and more functional than those by the Dead Sea and it doesn't feel like a tourist trap. There are 3 hotels in the city and of one them caters to the Orthodox community. Out of the remaining two, one is favored by school trips and the other is Inbar.

Inbar hotel is located right at the city entrance. It is 5 stories high, I think, has non-smoking floors and rooms and offers quiet and comfortable place to put your head after a long day of hiking right at the city center. The hotel advertises itself as  a 4-star one, but rating is meaningless in Israel (yet another subject to deal in  a future post): the rooms are really small, breakfast buffet is modest, compared to other Israeli hotels, public areas are small, too. However, there's wi-fi, an indoor pool, sauna and a small Dead Sea water pool where elderly tourists bathe (and so did I!). Good value for money, but make sure you get a desert view room cos the parking lot ain't much of a sight.

p.s. I wish Masada Hotel was still in operation. Look at the beautiful pic found in the Israeli Wikipedia:

Photo credit: Michael Jacobson

The stone is local and an architectural element required in all buildings and houses in the city.

Hoodies for the masses

As I'm writing this very first post, a cool Eastern breeze is coming through the window. The precious, too short Tel Avivian autumn is here, time to put on that beloved light hoodie and that even lighter scarf that's been lying in the darkness of the closet for too many months and will be shoved back there come December and the winter.

Well, some people claim that there are only two seasons in Israel: summer and no-winter. They are right in a way. Short-sleeved t-shirts are worn here year-round and unless one lives in Jerusalem or in Safed, a wool coat isn't staple.

But there is something about the 4 seasons and the changing fashion that comes along that calls to ignore the logic. Tonight's lowest temperature in Tel Aviv is 20 degree celesius. If you come from Aberdeen this probably feels like summer to you, but here it's called a relief and an excuse to pull over those light long sleeves.

Even if you regard the coastal area as warm enough for the tank-tops that fill your suitcase, if you plan a trip to Jerusalem, the desert or the north, you need something warmer and these hoodies from Frau Blau are a great option:

An elegant, jacket-like hoodie to the left, a sportish model to the right, these soft cotton jackets are both extremely comfortable and cool enough to wear for a night out. Better yet, they are now on sale and cost only 99nis. Frau Blau's flagship store is in the hipster Gan HaChashmal quarter in South-Central Tel Aviv, in 8 HaChashmal St. The new shop is in Dizingoff 236, surrounded by fashion shores and bridal shops aplenty.

So here it is, the first entry. Nothing about the Western Wall or Dead Sea  products. This might come in the future.