A journey to the Middle East

Arrival

Tel Aviv, a city on the Mediterranean coast, was my next destination. The journey from Prague (PRG) was interesting partly because we flew overnight. After landing we immediately felt the coastal climate and the warmth. I'd barely stepped off the stairs when a security officer (doing spot checks) found me. She asked for my passport and put a lot of questions to me: how long I'd be in Israel, who with, what we'd be doing — then wished me a pleasant stay. After the mandatory border check I received a little blue slip confirming I'd entered Israel.

Sights

Tel Aviv itself is fairly unremarkable. The old city of Jaffa is far more interesting from a heritage perspective — those alleyways and stones are over 3,000 years old. Jerusalem, another place we visited, is one of the most visited sites for believers. It's a truly beautiful city. The old city itself, divided into four quarters, is fascinating — four faiths in such a small space, side by side. And alleyways packed with vendors. The highlight for me was an afternoon lunch on the roof of one of the houses. I hadn't experienced that kind of quiet in a long time, and we were only three floors up. The most uncomfortable moment for me personally was visiting the Muslim quarter of the old city — the looks from community members there weren't pleasant at all.

Food

Interesting. The starter — or whatever you'd call it — is literally a parade of small bowls of various spreads, creams and salads, with a plate of hummus. All served with pita, naturally. From the typical local food I tried both chicken (shashlik) and fish (tuna) and I have to say I enjoyed it. All rounded out with vegetables. I also quite liked the yellow melon (Hungarian melon isn't really my thing). Worth trying is the lemon-lime lemonade with mint — it's fairly sweet (can be diluted) but very good.

Israelis' behaviour

Very friendly and welcoming — at least from those I met. I didn't have the chance to meet any Orthodox Jews, so my experience is far from complete. On the road it's a different story. No indicators — they just change lanes and honk. I didn't see a single accident; they're actually quite considerate, even though I saw plenty of dented cars.