A very early start leaving Dubai with our transfer booked for 5am. The fact that when I booked I was able to get a cheap Business Reward flight must have offset the inconvenience of the early wake-up!
Emirates Business has its own check in area at the Terminal and security here was reasonably quiet. Immigration was very easy - didn’t even need to show our passports as the machine scanned our faces, recognised us (from when we had arrived in Dubai) and let us through. The Emirates business lounge here in Dubai is a great lounge with free flowing Moet, and an excellent breakfast. It was very busy at that time of day but we found ourselves a nice table to spend an hour or so before boarding.
Boarding was pleasant and the business cabin mainly empty. The first class suites we walked past looked impressive with their little fridge minibars! It was reasonably easy getting through immigration for me anyway - for some reason Tim’s passport had an issue and he had to join a manual line which took a bit longer. We had a driver waiting for us and we were on our way.
According to Lonely Planet, Tel Aviv is nicknamed “the bubble” - a bit removed from the conflict sometimes seen on the news regarding Israel. It is a city of outdoor cafes, boutiques, bistros, leafy boulevards and long sandy beaches.
After settling in at our beach front hotel, we found an ATM and downloaded Gett onto my phone (the Israel version of Uber) and headed straight for what is widely regarded as Tel Aviv’s best hommus!
It’s a popular local place in a busy street in the suburb of Jaffa that tourists now frequent as travel bloggers have written about it.
And it was great hommus - so tasty and creamy - we had 2 different types and you can eat it with bread or with layers of onion (which surprisingly tasted awesome). Our lunch for 2 with a soft drink each came to $32 AUD. It’s a chaotic place - very busy because of how popular it is. It has been rated as the best hommus in Israel on many lists.
Tel Aviv has a very long and pretty coastline along the Mediterranean with white sandy beaches. The weather is warm but not as crippling as Dubai (only feels like 36 degrees)! Tel Aviv is a very expensive city, receives about 6.5 million tourists a year, has more than 6,500 hotel rooms, and its beaches are ranked as some of the best in the world. We spent a few hours enjoying the beautiful pool area overlooking the ocean here at the Grand Sheraton. We then had a welcome meet and greet for our tour in the evening. There are 35 of us - 8 Aussies.
After this, we headed down to the beach where there are many restaurants and bars. We decided on a Greek restaurant where the food was fantastic and had some Greek beer which was pretty good. Certainly not cheap though! It’s really busy along the beach with people jogging, walking, zipping along on scooters etc on the pathway that runs along the beach. Tel Aviv has a good vibe, at least along the beach! The night time weather outside was just perfect though!
Breakfast at the hotel was literally amazing - so much food! Many vegetables and salads - so hard to choose - reminded us a lot of Greek cuisine.
Totally delicious.
We then had a tour around Tel Aviv for the day. We visited Rothschild Avenue and the newer area of Tel Aviv, including the area where the Prime Minister was assassinated in 1995 (despite having 3 bodyguards surrounding him).
In 1992, Rabin was re-elected as prime minister on a platform embracing the Israeli–Palestinian peace process. He signed several historic agreements with the Palestinian leadership as part of the Oslo Accords. In 1994, Rabin won the Nobel Peace Prize together with long-time political rival Shimon Peresand Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. Rabin also signed a peace treaty with Jordan in 1994. In November 1995, he was assassinated by an extremist named Yigal Amir, who opposed the terms of the Oslo Accords. Amir was convicted of Rabin's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. Rabin was the first native-born prime minister of Israel and was the only prime minister to be assassinated and the second to die in office after Levi Eshkol. Rabin has become a symbol of the Israeli–Palestinian peace process.
After that, we saw some of the Bauhaus buildings which are being renovated, we visited the beautiful old area of Jaffa including the Roman Catholic St Peter’s church and took photos of a vantage point over the coastline of Tel Aviv. We saw the outside of the House of Simon the Tanner (which is mentioned in the Bible - and has been closed to the public for 17 years due to a dispute between Christian’s and Muslims). Simon the Tanner, who appears in the Acts of the Apostles book of the New Testament, had a house in Jaffa, where Saint Peter stayed during his missionary activities of the early Christian faith.
He is believed to be an example of the early Christians embracing people of all professions. The events at his house are interpreted as leading to the early followers of Jesus opening up their ranks also to the Gentiles, after starting as a Jewish movement.
And we then visited the old port. The port of Jaffa is mentioned in the Bible and is one of the most ancient ports in the world. It has been used since at least the Bronze Age. Nowadays, this historic location serves as a tourist destination and fishing port, with galleries and restaurants.
We went to lunch at a huge indoor air conditioned market where choices were aplenty and reminded us of the Malthallen market in Oslo), Tim and I had pasta and beer - soooo many carbs) and then visited the Carmel market. It’s a vibrant market where almost everything is sold including fruit and vegetables, spices, jewellery and handbags, food (baklava and hot food too) even alcohol - Tim bought some socks!!
Some facts:
-Jerusalem is the capital.
-Israeli New Shekel (INS) is the local currency.
-Tel Aviv is a liberal place - anything goes really. Whilst Israel is clearly geographically in the Middle East, (our guide said it is still important to be strong hence weaponry is a big industry) but it is still a modern and quite westernized country. Clothing for women is of no concern here.
-our observation is of so many young people
-the population of Tel Aviv is about half a million
-Tel Aviv means hill of the Spring.
-The city has biblical areas and modern areas.
-There are 10 million people in Israel (7.2 million are Jews) not many are Christian’s.
-Exports include diamonds and technology.
-Israel led the world for some time in Covid vaccination rates.
-agriculture is a strong industry
-tel aviv is a very expensive city to live and visit
-the tap water is drinkable (well we have been told that repeatedly so we are drinking it - so here’s hoping!)
-the traffic is crazy, in fact our bus collided with a motorbike today (the rider couldn’t restart his bike but he didn’t seem too injured).
-education is free
-mandatory time in the army for all (males and females), although longer for men.
-Israel has been a leader in the development of drip irrigation - noting their focus on agriculture
It was quite a hot day - not as hot as Dubai but still hot today at 34 degrees. We were so hot after our sightseeing today that we enjoyed the pool for a couple of hours afterwards - it’s a lovely pool area overlooking the Mediterranean Sea.
We walked along the coastline for a while looking for somewhere for dinner. There’s lots and lots of bars and restaurants along the coast and on the beach. There are huge walking paths and bike lanes. Riding electric scooters is a very popular way to get around. There’s exercise zones and equipment along the way, even an Olympic sized swimming pool practically on the beach and the area is just buzzing. We found a dinner locale on the beach where we had some hommus (nice but not as good as lunch yesterday).
We like it here, the areas we have been have a nice vibe, and the Mediterranean coastline is beautiful.
Joan
2023-09-08
The photos are amazing it looked like you're having a wonderful time, I don't go much in the food that's been showing me so far, you were so lucky to get those seats as you said it's nearly empty.
Barb Smith
2023-09-08
So much history and so much to see. What an amazing choice for a holiday, love reading your blogs. Keep it up.