June 2005 · Middle East Trip
David & Noel Coory's Journey to Israel and Jordan
A travel diary documenting the first leg of an epic Middle East adventure —Lebanon to Israel and Jordan
First Look
Overall Impressions of Jordan
- Head-covered women.
- Old traditional families and customs.
- Very cheap shopping and hundreds of small shops.
- High value currency, their Dinar is worth more than the US dollar.
- Mosques everywhere.
- Jordan Valley border very hot.
- Arranged marriages.
First Look
Overall Impressions of Israel
- Palestinian Arabs mostly warm and friendly.
- Jews paler skinned, mostly arrogant and unfriendly.
- Hasidim Jews in black suits and top hats, curly locks.
- Palestinian Arabs oppressed by Jews.
- Palestinian Arabs forbidden to enter parts of Israel.
- Giant 12 metre high, 200 km long concrete wall being built by Jews to divide off Arabs.
- Heaps of garbage and old cars in Palestinian areas.
- Whole of Jordan Valley hot.
- Nice fruit in Jericho.
First Look
Overall Impressions of Jerusalem
- Unsightly black tents and shacks in Bedouin camps on outskirts of Jerusalem.
- Same junk jewellery sold everywhere.
- Arab Souk markets everywhere (if you’ve seen ten shops you’ve seen them all).
- Churches everywhere.
- Constant mosque calls to prayer and ringing church bells in Jerusalem.
- Skull caps (kepars) always worn by practising Jews.
- The sometimes funny, tummy-forward walk of , with their hands behind their backs.
- Hasidim Jews more cheerful than non-Hasidim Jews.
- Thistles growing everywhere.
- Thousands of tomb stones on the sides of the Mount of Olives.
- Hills and more hills.
- Impressive night views of city lights.
- Heavy young military police presence, armed with AK47 type sub-machine guns.
A DAY TRIP TO TEL AVIV
Setting Out For Israel’s Coastal City
Noel said he heard a large explosion last night. We check the TV news this morning and there is no mention of it.
We plan to visit the seaside city of Tel Aviv today, the largest Israelite city, on the coast. After our usual breakfast, we set out with Noel’s little backpack to hold our water.
“We plan to visit the seaside city of Tel Aviv today, the largest Israelite city, on the coast.”
THE RETURN OF THE CREDIT CARD
A Successful Visit To The Bank
Our first stop was the bank that gobbled up Noel’s credit card yesterday. As we walk out of our hotel, we see an Arab leading his donkey along the footpath. Always something different in Jerusalem.
A little further on we see a crow-like bird with a white saddle on its back. I find out later from my other brother Raymond that it is called a Hooded Crow. It’s a long walk to the bank, and very hot in the sun, even though it is still early morning. Very little breeze.
We are soon in the Jewish part of Jerusalem. I find the streets of Jewish Jerusalem fascinating. Many Hasidim Jews. This one below is speaking on a cell phone, which looks incongruous. Israeli Star of David flags are common.
We locate the bank without any difficulty. The bank manager laughs when Noel tells him what happened to his card. He says, “Oh, it eat your card eh?”
He finds the key and unlocks the machine. He removes about seven ‘eaten’ cards and to Noel’s great relief, gives back his one. After all that, the bank didn’t even have any American dollars. We have to walk a long way to another Jerusalem bank to obtain USA dollars.
“We locate the bank without any difficulty.”
JOURNEY TO TEL AVIV BY SERVICE TAXI
A Comfortable Ride To The Coast
We have had enough walking this morning, so we take a 25 shekel taxi ride from the second bank to the Jerusalem bus station.
When we arrive there, our taxi driver who can speak good English suggests we take a service taxi to Te Aviv instead of the bus. He tells us it is faster and more comfortable and will cost us only 20 shekels each, almost the same price as a bus at 19 shekels.
A service taxi is just a 13 passenger van coach. The downside is that they do not depart until they are full. So we climb into one of the service taxis parked nearby and pay the driver 20 shekels each. However, the one we have boarded takes only about 10 minutes to fill. It turns out to be a comfortable, air-conditioned way to travel.
Te Aviv is about an hour’s journey from Jerusalem, mostly down hill. The countryside is rather drab. Multi-storey apartments here and there, and crops just about everywhere else, especially down on the plains near the coast. The road is four lanes all the way.
“It turns out to be a comfortable, air-conditioned way to travel.”
EXPLORING TEL AVIV
A Day By The Mediterranean
Te Aviv is an attractive enough city, all flat, with motorways and lots of traffic. Rather hot in summer, about 36°C today.
We walk around exploring the city for several hours and then have a fruit lunch sitting on a grass medium strip in the middle of the busy city.
“We walk around exploring the city for several hours.”
AN AFTERNOON AT THE MEDITERRANEAN
Swimming At Tel Aviv Beach
Then we walk down to the beach. The beach front road is lined with large hotels and apartments looking out onto the Mediterranean Sea. The beach itself is lovely, not too many people, soft, light brown sand and warm water. There are lots of pigeons on the beach.
Noel soon becomes dead keen to have a swim, but has not brought his togs. Finally he decides to go in anyway, just wearing his dark blue undies. Fortunately these look like swimming togs. Afterward, he quickly dries off in the hot sun.
“The beach itself is lovely, not too many people, soft, light brown sand and warm water.”
EVENING WALK THROUGH TEL AVIV
Trees, Apartments And City Life
Then we walk back up to the road and have a milk shake at a McDonalds near the beach. Very nice indeed, tastes like liquid ice cream. We then begin to make our way back to the bus station, walking through the beach area residential streets. Nice trees line most of these streets.
All of the residential areas of Tel Aviv seems to consist of apartments, with brown soil instead of grass lawns. It appears to be difficult to grow lawns in the Middle East climate with its six months of rainless, hot summers. After about an hour’s walk we arrive in the downtown area again.
The main street we are walking along now has a wide median strip down the centre. This median strip contains a footpath and cycle track running down the middle and overhanging trees growing on either side. Very pleasant, but the trees and the birds in them, foul the cars parked under them.
There are some beautiful Jacaranda trees growing around here. We visit a few shops. Some of the Jewish shop keepers are rather rude, and not many people look very happy, however it is a hot day.
“There are some beautiful Jacaranda trees growing around here.”
AN OPTICIAN IN TEL AVIV
A Pricey Lesson
We visit an optometrist to price some smaller, lighter glasses for myself. Noel thinks my pair which I wear from time to time for distance vision are too large and old fashioned. I agree. The very pleasant female optician quotes me 1500 shekels, about NZ$800 a pair. Far too expensive I feel.
Noel suggests I try Hong Kong on the way home. (This turns out to be good advice. In Hong Kong I buy two pair of light weight quality glasses, get a free eye test, plus 24 hour service, for just NZ$360 all up.) We have both got a bit sunburnt today.
“Far too expensive I feel.”
RETURN TO JERUSALEM
An Evening Back In The Holy City
Not a lot of Te Aviv people seem to speak English. We ask several people for directions to the bus depot, as we are approaching it from a new direction and think we may have missed it, but none of them speak English well. Or perhaps they don’t understand our accents. However it turns out that we are on the right road after all and soon come to the bus depot.
We take another service taxi back to Jerusalem. It is hard for us to stay awake in this van. I suspect the driver has his air conditioner on recirculating setting and there is no fresh air coming into the bus.
As we drive through West Jerusalem, a heavily Jewish area, I notice that about half the men in the streets are wearing skull caps or Hasidim black suits and hats. We have Falafel for tea again tonight and eat the rest of our sweet tasty dried figs. We also send an email to our families back in New Zealand using the hotel computer.
“We take another service taxi back to Jerusalem.”
David & Noel Coory · Middle East Trip
June 2005 · Tauranga, New Zealand to Singapore and beyond Redesigned with care · Original travel diary preserved