Josh in Tel Aviv
Take a sampling of New York City (East Village), sprinkle in Santa Monica coastline, add a pinch of modern achitecture and a hint of Arab architecture, and you get Tel Aviv. Oh, yeah, and everyone speaks Hebrew. Yet, half the businesses, all the street signs, and most adds area also in English. It's bizarre.
After a late jet-lagged start, I spent the better half of today touring this great city, and I love it. First off, the major roads all have long pedestrian cooridators. Everyone is walking a dog, people are chatting with lovers and friends, playing chess, or taking naps under the constant canapy of trees. It was blazing hot, so I headed down to the beach and took a swim.
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Next, Zohar and I walked along the coastline towards Jaffa. This was the view looking back at Tel Aviv.
Jaffa was the Arab city around which Tel Aviv developed. At first, Tel Aviv and Jaffa (pronounced Yafo in Israel) were considered two separate cities, but are now one. Jaffa is primarily and Arab city, but the is very little physical divison between the two cities. However, there was a clear economic gap, at least in the upkeep of housing and propery. I'm quite curious about the relations between the Arabs and Jews in this city.
I'm also quite curious about the terminology of "Arabs" and "Jews". Shouldn't it be "Muslims and Jews". Many of the Jews are middle eastern. If Arab is a racial term, like Semite, describing someone from this region, why the division. Many of the Jews look very "Arab" to me. However, these questions, like the question of Arab-Jewish relations in Tel-Aviv/Jaffa, are not the greatest conversation starters when I first meet people, so I think I will sit on them for a while.
Anyway, Jaffa is build primarily up on a hill above the old port area, and the architecture is beautiful. Because it is Saturday, all the shops are closed, but we spent a few hours wandering around. We stopped at an old famous bakery and eating laffa (like Pita but not hollow) and Za'atar this delicious arab spice made from sesame seeds, thyme, marjoram, sumac, and salt. On the way to the bakery, this cute road past on his bike, and as I posed for me.
At this point, the heat became almost unbearable, so we headed back. On the way, we passed through a "redevelopment" area in Jaffa with art galleries and modern shops. In the middle of the area, we came across a tree which had been, well, mounted in the area.
Strangely, it was surrounded by ferral cats, which are quite pervasive here.
We walked back through Tel Aviv to Zohar's apartment. I'm quite tired from jet-lag and a long day outside, so I'm going to take a nap and hopefully prepare for another fun night on the town.
After a late jet-lagged start, I spent the better half of today touring this great city, and I love it. First off, the major roads all have long pedestrian cooridators. Everyone is walking a dog, people are chatting with lovers and friends, playing chess, or taking naps under the constant canapy of trees. It was blazing hot, so I headed down to the beach and took a swim.
\
Next, Zohar and I walked along the coastline towards Jaffa. This was the view looking back at Tel Aviv.
Jaffa was the Arab city around which Tel Aviv developed. At first, Tel Aviv and Jaffa (pronounced Yafo in Israel) were considered two separate cities, but are now one. Jaffa is primarily and Arab city, but the is very little physical divison between the two cities. However, there was a clear economic gap, at least in the upkeep of housing and propery. I'm quite curious about the relations between the Arabs and Jews in this city.
I'm also quite curious about the terminology of "Arabs" and "Jews". Shouldn't it be "Muslims and Jews". Many of the Jews are middle eastern. If Arab is a racial term, like Semite, describing someone from this region, why the division. Many of the Jews look very "Arab" to me. However, these questions, like the question of Arab-Jewish relations in Tel-Aviv/Jaffa, are not the greatest conversation starters when I first meet people, so I think I will sit on them for a while.
Anyway, Jaffa is build primarily up on a hill above the old port area, and the architecture is beautiful. Because it is Saturday, all the shops are closed, but we spent a few hours wandering around. We stopped at an old famous bakery and eating laffa (like Pita but not hollow) and Za'atar this delicious arab spice made from sesame seeds, thyme, marjoram, sumac, and salt. On the way to the bakery, this cute road past on his bike, and as I posed for me.
At this point, the heat became almost unbearable, so we headed back. On the way, we passed through a "redevelopment" area in Jaffa with art galleries and modern shops. In the middle of the area, we came across a tree which had been, well, mounted in the area.
Strangely, it was surrounded by ferral cats, which are quite pervasive here.
We walked back through Tel Aviv to Zohar's apartment. I'm quite tired from jet-lag and a long day outside, so I'm going to take a nap and hopefully prepare for another fun night on the town.