A road trip in Israel with old friends

Nervous, excited and bewildered we arrived in Israel, a place that I have been wanting to visit for so long! Having had email contact with a friend from Israel I had met 3 years earlier in India he had kindly offered to has us stay in Beer Sheva with him. As we passed through customs we kindly asked the lady if we could have the stamp stapled in just in the precaution of further travel, luckily she didn’t mind at all and let us through with a piece of paper. Moments later the man at the next gate however took the paper, ripped it and threw it in the bin…therefore dan and I entered to Israel…with no proof, we now have no paper, no stamp…nothing! A little worrying we headed off to find a train south to Beer Sheva. Swapping trains several times and having to ask a lot of people we were finally on route, seated beside soldiers in training we followed them on and off the platforms. Bearing guns around their waists, in green army attire the young ones are quite intimidating. Just short of midnight the train is due to arrive where we are to be reunited with my foreign friends in a foreign land. This is why I will never stop travelling. 

On time, the train arrived just short of midnight into Be’er Sheva, our new found young uniformed soldiers prompted Dan and I to collect our bags and head off into the dark to be reunited with old friends. As we walked out of the entrance of the train station and headed down the stairs I heard a familiar husky voice call my name; “tiff-unnny…”, surely enough it was Kobi and Shilo! Same same, but different it felt weird that 3 years had passed but straight away we felt so comfortable around them! Kobi drew me in three years ago with his golden heart and vibrant energy, a genuine and treasured friend I hope to keep through life! Whilst I didn’t have as much to do with Shilo three years ago, I am so glad to have met him again, one of the most down to earth, kind hearted and lovely people I have met along my travels. The boys took us straight to a friends birthday in their quaint community of “Ofukhim”… Absolutely heard as is written which became quite the joke over the stay! It was about a 15 minute drive out of Be’er Sheva so the car journey was spent catching up on lost time. Making chat over a delicious serving of hummus and beers Dan and I felt at home. We then headed onto another of their friends house’s to see out the early hours of the morning while the boys swam in the pool. With a slight mishap; Dan locking herself in the bath room and having to break the key so the door would unjar, it was quite a chilled eve. Catching the rising sun we finally layed our heads back at Shilos family’s house and slept through to lunch the next day! 

Dropping Shilo to work, Kobi, Dan and I headed to Ruffi’s, (Kobi’s brothers house) in Beer Sheva for lazy afternoon of smurfs and snoozing, still exhausted from our Turkey travels. Hunger drove us out of the house and into the deserted streets of Beer Sheva for some lunch at a near by cafe that Kobi’s friend manages. Tasty pizza, salad and beer put us all into a food coma, and after a brief browse at the mall we headed back to Ruffi’s to sleep the afternoon away. In the late evening we headed to a pub called “5on10” to meet their friends for a few Red Star beers. The area around Be’er Sheva is desert like, baron land fields, Ofukhim is much like a naked country town, with Be’er Sheva it’s hub, it’s still small enough to know one and other, set up as a university town It spills the streets with students and young soldiers. Pulling into a dark and lifeless street which looked to be in an industrial area we walked into a lively bar with an outside beer garden darted with a collection of the boys friends; all lovely and easy to strike up a conversation with! 

Another late night, a midday rise and an iced coffee later, Kobi, Dan and I headed and hour and a half north to Jerusalem. Not so much of the sheets, sandals and sand dunes that I vividly imagined, we drove into a very busy little city climbing with white houses over the hills. We met up with Kobi’s friend from the army, Motty, at the parliament house, then the four of us made our way to another friends resturaunt ‘Moize’ for an early dinner. We were spoiled with incredible food…an array of tasters and a hollumi salad, followed by icecream with something incredibly sweet and tasty that looked like shredded chicken?. Fulfilled and fresh we Stumbled down the large and lit up high street delving into the small alleys in the old city until we finally came to a clearing to find The Western Wall. Scattered with Rabis in their black and white attire staring, preying and swaying back and fourth, the atmosphere was intense and beautiful but I felt a little uncomfortable or ignorant not being religious myself and being present in such a meaningful place. Dan and I wrote a note to add to the wall, so we separated from the boys to go to the small sectioned off area for ladies. Darting though the religious Jews as they lost themselves in their element we finally got to the front when we were approached by a extremest…she asked if the boys were our boyfriends before telling us that if we were to have anything to do with them bad things would come, and that they needed to convert themselves entirely back to the religion. Dan and I awkwardly escaped almost sprinting away as she could not catch up without tuning her feet against the wall (as she needed to walk backwards to face the wall for their religious beliefs). A little taken back, culturally confused and intimidated by the preacher we found the boys and made tracks back to Motty’s apartment to get changed and have a few pre drinks, before meeting up with Nic and Cal (our couple we met in Turkey) at Toy Bar. Dancing to Goyte and drinking a cold Red Star (a dark ale), I felt I could have been anywhere…but I was somewhere; just the holiest city in the world and loving the company!! 

Getting lost amongst the busy traffic the next morning we finally found ourselves at a popular market Mahane Yehuda where stores lined the small streets selling all sorts of fresh fruit to borekas. We then picked up Nic and Callum and set our sights on an area near by to go and check out. A little lost and 20 minutes later in the car we were chasing a barbed wire fence before Kobi suggested he may need to turn around (due to the fact that he cannot cross into the Muslim areas, or if he does it’s putting himself and us in danger). … With this said we decided to return to the delicious cafe from the day before to devour some tasty salmon and salad! Kobi then dropped us all of and Dan and I found a hostel near by Nic and Cal’s as we wanted to spend a little more time in Jerusalem. We checked into the old Jerusalem hostel which was very central on Jaffa rd, but unfortunatly only had the cave dorm available; a small 8 bed dorm off the kitchen and the cleaning room in a non ventilated cement dome room which smelt damp and dusty. Escaping the small sleeping space we spent the eve shopping and getting lost in the back streets before heading home for an early night. 

The next morning we woke up to meet for a free walking tour at Jaffa gate of the old city, making friends with a Mexican and a Brazilian boy the four of us soon enough snuck away from the group with a map in hand and made our own journey through the four quarters; Jewish, Christian, Arminian and Muslim. The small cobble streets were beautiful, each a little different from the other but finding a unity of touristic stores lining each parallel. Finishing our private tour off after shopping the lanes we sat down to enjoy a delicious hummus filled falafel, before Dan and I had to run home in the sweaty heat to grab our things and catch the 2:30 pm bus back to Be’er Sheva. 

Making our way through the busy station packed with uniformed soldiers baring their guns over their backs, we were picked up by Raffi and his friend to be taken back to his house for a cold drink as the boys played a football game on tv…which they all seem to be addicted to! Next stop we ended up at Kobi’s parents house to meet his family as his beautiful Mother served us up some delicious cous cous and veggies. (Fortunately for us Kobi’s mum is an incredible cook and I’ve been waiting for three years to find out for myself what I had heard so much about). The day seemed to have drifted away and before we knew it we had a little under an hour to get ready for an Israeli Wedding that we were attending with Kobi and his boss, as well as a lot of their friends. Having purchased some last minute heels and dresses in Jerusalem we attempted as best we could to escape our cliched rucksack wardrobe. 

Omer, one of the Boys I had also met in India and his beautiful girl friend Raviit picked us up and just before 9pm on a Wednesday night we arrived at the wedding.. It was beautiful, we walked down a small trail leading to a huge hall like venue with a lit up pool, small ceremony stage and bar. The four of us headed straight to the open bar to mingle with more of their friends until the young bride and groom walked separately down the paths with their fathers. Ravit translated what was happening as the two lovers united on the stage with their familys and the Rabbi sang and commentated the marriage. A few moments later the groom stamped on the glass and “musseltof” was applauded. We all made our way into the reception area where there were an abundance of huge tables served with aurderves. As it turns out this wedding was regarded as regular…with a mere 500 or so guests, as it is common for them to have 1000 plus…I believe 200 in Australia is emormous! The bride entered wearing a different but equally as glamorous white dress and headed straight for the dance floor, others gathered around and clapping, cheering and dancing as photographs of the married couple were projected largely on the walls. Throughout the evening the food was continuously served, from delicious salty fish, juicey hearty steaks to brain and some sort of liver..? Let’s just say we were well fed. After Several shots (they call them chasers) of arak and other liqueurs; Dan and I found ourselves thanking the bride for having us…(she would not have had a clue who we were, but all the same appeared happy with our compliments and presence). It was such a magical evening, and I love that no matter where you are in the world a wedding is about unity and giving ones love to each other, the differing factor being how they chose to celebrate it, whether it defined by religious, cultural, traditional or personal beliefs it was a pleasure to be a part of. Finishing up just after two we left the party, with no sober driver we decided to wait for Shilo to come collect us before heading to another of their lovely friends for a post drink then retired at home.

The next morning, a little dazed and confused from the wedding shenanigans Dan, Kobi, Shilo and I set off at mid day to collect Nic and Cal from the train station and drove about an hour to spend the day at the Dead Sea. The road there was windy, as the dry desert wrapped around “dangerous curves” until we finally saw water which was flaked with white salt from a distance. Dan didn’t deal well with the roads and too much partying again from the night before which left her clutching a spew bag the entire way! Setting up under some shade we all ran into the water trying to escape the 54 degree heat! Splashing into the warm salty water there appeared to have an almost oil like liquid floating on the top, the further i pushed through all of a sudden my feet rose to the surface and the rest of my body followed. Floating in water; like a bobbing air filled being it almost turned my stomach. Accidentally splashing my face; it burnt, as well as painfully scratching other areas…let’s just say it stings in all sorts of places! Dehydrated from the salty stinging goodness we saw out the rest of the day in the cool shadows, wiping mud over our bodies and occasionally bathing ourselves in the Dead Sea. Driving back in the eve with good intentions to kick on and go out in town, it seems the Olympics on tv and scotch got the better of our exhausted selves and we spent the night in. 

Rising early to pack up an overnight bag, Shilo dropped Dan, Nic, Cal and I to the bustling station for our 9:30 bus to Eilat. We arrived just before 1pm to be picked up by the owner of the apartment we had booked online. The man drove us through the little city pointing out a few small attractions before dropping us at our little weekend holiday home. Simply, small but comfortable we put our things down and quickly popped out to get some groceries to last us Shabbat (Shabbat is a day of celebration as well as prayer where the shops shut until sunday) We then wandered down the hill to stroll through the city streets and along the board walk by the beach. Trying to purchase a beer; it was then I realized I had left my entire wallet (money, credit cards and Id) back with the rest of my things at Shilo’s as well as my passport…as I said we were in holiday mode, the boys back at Ofakhim had made it so comfortable for us it all seemed to have slipped my mind.? Ridiculous I know, but luckily Dan had enough to lend me for the weekend and we weren’t ID’d again. The next morning swept away as we slept to wake past noon, heading straight to aqua sports beach in a cab to meet Motty (Kobi’s friend from Jerusalem). We spent the afternoon there with him and his friends playing backgammon and socializing over beers. Taking them up on their offer that evening we went to a delicious BBQ at their apartment then headed out for a dance to a cute, quaint but dark bar called messi, and as you can gather from the name we became just that before heading home! 

We spent the Sunday chilling at the busy Red Sea, where it seemed to attract hundreds of late teens on lilos celebrating their end of school term. Soon enough the tax free shopping in Eilat had stolen our attention for a few hours before we made tracks to the new mall for an evening indoor ice skate! Eilat was lovely, bustling and exciting but come Monday I was looking forward to going back to Ofakhim and see the guys, unfortunately this meant saying our final goodbyes to Nic and Cal who were heading onto Jordan. 
Kobi and his friend Erez picked us us up from the station and we went back to his house to waste the afternoon away! Being in the company of Erez you can’t help but smile, he has this infectious positive energy that pulls you in, we adopted his rose coloured glasses to look at the glass half full as we chanted “only nonsense ruck struort”…which happens to be only nonsense in Hebrew! After hours of contemplating the nights adventure it was finally decided that we were going camping…it only took 7hours to get them organized, agreeing and on the road for what turned out to be no more than a half hour drive west. It seems that Israeli’s forget how small the distance actually is from one point to another in their tiny but beautiful country, where a 7 hour drive is by no means unusual in Australia it would appear to them as a giant stint. 
Setting up camp by the beach just before mid night collecting a group of about 10 of their friends, we consumed several bottles of booze and swam with the rising sun! It was such a fun experience/”havayot” (again experience in Hebrew, also another theme for the two weeks in Israel). 

Another late start; Shilo, Dan and I split off to head about 4 hours north to the Sea of Galilee (where Jesus was believed to have walked on water). As we drove away from the baron south, the trees started to dance greener and the grass started to grow. Stopping in Tiberius to devour a cheap and delicious street falafel and fill the esky with the evenings necessities we drove into the dark to find a quiet beach to set up camp. Soon enough we came a small clearing with other campers which seemed to have room for us so we set up by the sea side. Just one small annoyance from drunken teens, but the night played out very relaxing as I fell asleep watching the sky, spying shooting stars. I woke to the heat and radiance of the rising sun and decided for a morning swim, it was no walk on water but a lovely way to wake up all the same. Whilst they call this a sea, please be aware it’s more of a fresh water lake, where all sides can be seen! Packing up, we headed back into Tiberius to pick Kobi up for the train station who had been unable to join us the night before due to another mid week wedding in Beer Sheva. The four of us then drove further north to a mountain which has a stunning lookout point to see a panoramic view of the giant hills that rolled through Israel, even spying Syria in the distance. The north is also known for it’s beautiful wineries, so we set our sights on finding one. We drove through several Muslim communities which really felt like we were in another country; the the streets were narrow, naked and dusty, whilst the tall cement houses all appeared unfinished and like a construction site. Stopping briefly for a delicious lunch of a pancake style bread rolled with herbs and goats cheese, and finished with a tangled carrot like sweet on top of lying on cheese, the friendly server gave us complimentary coffee and smiled gracefully. We then pulled into a family run winery called Volcanic* which only started in 2004, we tasted a few before purchasing a red and a white and heading 3 hours south onto Tel Aviv. 

A little lost in the back streets of Jaffa, a small beachside suburb of Tel Aviv we finally pulled into the boys friends house; Aric and Liraz. Both so friendly and lovely they welcomed us into their adorable home. We all headed into the city for a few drinks, it’s bizare that upon ordering a beer you get a cheap shot. Moving on past mid night we stumbled back to the high street of Jaffa for a early morning feast of falafel and delicious assortments before dragging ourselves home. The next morning waking up about mid day we wandered to the near by beach to swim in the Mediterranean with a few small waves and picturesck palm trees it was a nice start to the sunny day! Food for thought; We then decided to go in search of a renown Sabih, just short of an hour driving the city streets we finally came to a small hole in wall type place where we ordered the delicious sandwich of fried eggplant, hard boiled egg, tahini in pita, salad. Hitting the spot we all left in a bit of a food coma, returning home in time for the boys to get ready for a bucks party. Liraz, Dan and I decided to head out to a near by pub on the water for a few beers and a chilled girly evening together. 

We woke to Shilo’s alarm, as he was already late for work, so we made tracks back to Ofakhim. Kobi fed us another delicious pita that his mum had made for us; like the Sabick but with meatballs…(definitely developing an Israeli food baby but can’t resist). Napping the afternoon away exhausted from the past two weeks of adventure we started to pack up our things as our departure burdened close. That evening we went to Kobis parents house for a traditional family feast, meeting all of his gorgeous family and feeding on his mothers home cooked and mouth watering food. Plates upon plates of different salads and sauces were served to taste, complimented by fish, chicken and steak. Whilst the men at the table started with a prey like blessing, standing and covering their crowns with a keeper or in this case a napkin did the trick! They then passed around a goblet of red wine which everybody was to take a sip out of even the little ones. It felt like a Christmas dinner…and I felt lucky to been invited!! Leaving there, we drove to Ravit’s for a few bottles of wine and to say goodbye but unfortunately didn’t cross paths with Omer. 

I really do feel incredibly lucky to have had such an authentic and amazing journey thanks to Shilo and Kobi. For once in the past 4 months I felt like I wasn’t traveling, ticking boxes and stressing about bookings, trips and time management. I felt free, like I was on a holiday and because of this we were given such an authentic and real experience (havayot) in the beautiful and disputed upon land. The people there were nothing but kind to us, they opened up their hearts, homes and families to us, and the country itself was breathtaking, a place of many terrains all differing from one and other where half an hours drive can take you to the holiest city in the world. Being the heart of so many religions, and enriched with so much magical biblical history, theres no way you can’t fall in love with Israel’s charm. Again; a reoccurring theme throughout my travels…luck, I’m lucky to have met the people I have, be it three years ago in India, and again today, these special friendships that I will take through life and thanks to this I could not have seen this incredible country in a better light!

We woke early to have one final Israeli feed; Kobi cooked us a delicious family sized shakshuka (a spicey tomato/egg dish) and we piled our things in the car and headed to the Tel Aviv. The airport was a disorganised mess and took us a good hour to orientate ourselves through the security screening and border control after farewelling the boys! With only a half hour flight to Arman, Jordan, we have a four hour wait until our connecting flight to Cairo, Egypt! Stuck in a tugofwar , already missing what we have left behind but looking forward to our next adventure; three weeks in Egypt and Jordan!!!