First Impressions from Israel

I can't lie that I was feeling a little nervous about coming to Israel. What I'd seen and heard in the news formed most of my opinions about this country: tension and war in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank and bombings and conflicts Israel has with neighboring Arab countries. But I was still drawn to go. Josh's Mom and Dad were born in Israel, served in the army and then moved to Canada. Besides one uncle the majority of his family lives in Israel. I wanted to meet them and Josh wanted to re-connect since last visiting in 2000.

Even before we got on the plane from Istanbul to Tel Aviv we were questioned as to why we were travelling to Israel. Then we had a half-dozen passport checks in the Istanbul airport on our way to our gate. My nerves were rattling. But after landing in Tel Aviv things couldn't have been more smooth. I didn't see any soldiers or armed guards at the airport as expected. Passport control was a breeze. And there were no checkpoints when we were in the car on the way to Josh's aunt's. In fact, I felt completely safe and at ease.

Notice in the background our airplane companions. It was Sukkot in Israel - a very important Jewish holiday - and many Orthodox Jews were travelling there with their families.

I've noticed so many things about Israel that make it very different from anywhere I've ever been before. I wanted to share a few of them:

1. It's all about family
Here in Israel it's obvious that family is absolutely number one. And this is why I love this country. Not that North America is that much different but here it's much more pronounced. Children are so important and treasured (as they put it, they're the future, the next generation). In Israel you would never hear of kidnapping or assaults on children. It just doesn't really happen. Also, if a family member is down and out in any way, someone else within the family is always there for support. Even more so for me I realized this about Josh's family. I also had no idea how big his family is (all Israeli family seems huge to me), but I wasn't surprised to see how kind, generous and loving they are.

Josh's Aunt Yaffa and Uncle Yehuda and their family

2. Evidence of conflict is here but it's not in your face
It wasn't until Josh's Aunt Sari who we've been staying with gave us a tour of her huge apartment that I started to pick up on subtle signs that Israel can still be volatile. In addition to her three bedroom place Sari also has a 'war room', which is a secured shelter in case of an attack. Luckily this room has never been used.

On our first full day in Israel Josh and I ventured out for our first authentic shwarma. As we were sitting there enjoying our lunch I saw my first two Israeli soldiers who walked in to grab lunch. No one else noticed these two young men, probably 18 years old carrying massive, loaded, automatic machine guns. I lost my appetite right there. But as I've learned now after being here for a few weeks - this is normal. This is Israel. Everyone who turns 18 serves in the army. Two years for women and three years for men. Depending on your role you carry a weapon at all times, even when you're 'off duty'. This overtime has actually made me feel safe.

When you go to a mall in Israel you must go through armed security where they check your bags or they'll just ask you, "are you carrying a gun?" I still haven't gotten used to this one.

Here, political tensions are part of every day life. It can be in conversations, on the news but it doesn't consume their daily lives as you might expect. Two nights ago a missile fell in a field in a suburban area outside Tel Aviv. It was sent from the Gaza Strip. No one was hurt, but also no one seemed to be bothered much by this. Our family friends here were woken up by sirens but they didn't get out of bed. They went back to sleep. In Israel there are sirens in every area to alert people if a bomb or missile is coming. When you hear the siren you are warned to find shelter immediately or go into your war room.

Finally, while we were here the Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit who was a POW by the Arabs for over five years, was liberated. This was huge news for Israel. But part of the deal is that 1,000 imprisoned Arabs will also be released. These are people who have committed mass murders against Israelis, who are now set free. This naturally created controversy but for the most part you can see that Israelis are so proud and protective of their soldiers and to save one of them was worth the thousand criminals.

3. Everything is close, yet everything is different
Josh and I can't help but ask often, "how far is it from here to Tel Aviv?" or "how long is the drive from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea?" The answer is pretty much guaranteed to be "everything is very close!" And it really is. Israel is smaller than Vancouver Island. We've seen a lot of the country already and that's only through 1 - 2 hour road trips.

The even more impressive thing is that the country is so diverse. You can drive an hour and a half north from Tel Aviv to Haifa, and it's lush and mountainous or drive the same amount of time South to the Dead Sea and it's desert land.

View of Tel Aviv

Baha'i Gardens in Haifa, the north

Desert landscape near the Dead Sea, south-east

4. Standard of living is unbalanced
From my understanding visiting here and talking to people, one of the main reasons Israelis decide to leave this country is because of the high cost of living. I always thought it was because of the political conflicts but I don't think this is the case. It seems impossible to keep your family afloat when an 'average' salary doesn't cover the costs of living. Your basic neccessities (food, clothing, etc.) cost about the same as Vancouver, yet the average wage is less than half. Young people are now protesting to the government telling them that things must change as it's impossible to afford Israel and more impossible to buy a home. Not an uncommon issue in Vancouver, but our problem is usually more focued on costs of real estate.

5. Lunch is the big meal of the day
Well I can't lie, for me I love every meal of the day and every meal I look forward to but in North America I'm accustomed to dinner being the bigger more social meal. Here in Israel, lunch is it. On Shabbat (Saturday's, which is like North America's Sundays) family's get together for a huge lunch, with many many courses. It's a two to four hour affair. And after that, no dinner really. This came as a bit of a surprise to Josh and I as we found ourselves pillaging through his aunt's fridge at 9 pm.

Josh's Aunt Sari and her family

Looking forward to the next post where I get to introduce you to my new, amazing, extended family!

Istanbul - Round 2, Rained Out

For our last two nights in Istanbul it felt like we were back in the middle of Fall, in Vancouver! It poured and poured.

We left Cirali and headed to a city called Antalya to catch our 5pm flight to Istanbul. Fortunately we got into Antalya nice and early and decided to try out a hamam - Turkish bath - apparently some of the best are in Kaleici (old town Antalya). After snaking through a dozen alley-size roads likely intended for bicycles and pedestrians in the torrential rain, we found Balik Pazari, a 700-year-old hamam.

A hamam is another must do in Turkey. In fact I wish we did it a few times. I'm a spa person and this is just another variation but so authentically Turkish. I won't take you step by step - it's easy to find a write up online - but we both walked out so relaxed (and a little bruised - in a good way) and cleaner than we've ever been before. Hearing the rain pouring outside made it even better in there.


After the hamam we headed to the airport, barely seeing through the windshield and avoiding some serious flooding. It was a big rainstorm. When we arrived at the entrance to the domestic terminal we were caught in a traffic jam at the gates which were stuck shut due to the rain. It was an entertaining 30 minute wait (luckily we had time) watching the Turks around us in a rage. An attendant finally arrived and he had to break the arms along five different gates so that cars could get into the terminal! It was beyond ridiculous.


Because of the rain storm our flight ended up being delayed eight hours. We didn't get to our hotel until about four in the morning. We still had our shorts and sandals on and were completely soaked (it was raining in Istanbul too). I've never been more excited when we got into our room at the Galata Antique Hotel and it was carpeted! So cozy.


We spent our last two days in Istanbul visiting the Grand Bazaar - the world's oldest market and grand it is with over 4000 shops - and shopping on Istikal Street, a popular local drag in the city.


Breakfast on the rooftop at the hotel.


Waiting for the train to the Bazaar.


Entrance to the Grand Bazaar.


Inside the Grand Bazaar.


The fanciest cowboy boots I've ever seen.





Near the end of our day our cheap umbrella broke! And the rain continued...


We stumbled on a sushi bar and Josh was like a kid in a candy store. He's clearly got a mouthful in this photo.


Finally a Nargile bar. Josh had had a bad cough for most of Turkey and wasn't able to smoke Nargile - which he was kind enough to remind me every other day. This was high on Josh's list of to-dos and fortunately we got a recommendation to a back alley spot packed to the brim with men and women all smoking their water pipes.


Our server Jimmy was an awesome host and he was happy to show us how it's done.

Thank you Turkey for an incredible three weeks and enough memories to last a lifetime. But we'll be back again soon.

Next stop: Josh's homeland, Israel.

Location:Antalya and Istanbul, Turkey

The Turkey Road Trip Continues

PATARA

After our sailing trip we had five nights left on the Turkish coast before heading back to Istanbul. We picked up our rental car and decided to head for three nights to Patara, a tiny little town known for its ruins and 18 km beach. Apparently if you Google "the best beach on the Mediterranean", Patara comes up as number one. It is pretty stunning with amazing sand dunes but not sure this one makes the top of my list. The surf and wind were pretty intense which made for one too many take-downs. But it was still very beautiful.












We enjoyed a few too many Turkish pancakes from this woman who had her own little ottoman-style cafe on the main road in town. I use the word "road" lightly as Patara is only home to about 900 people. The sweet and savory pancakes were whipped up from scratch and were super tasty - somewhere between a thin-crust pizza and crunchy crepe.


Our rental car was a lemon! Our first hiccup was a flat tire. We drove from the beach to town (five minutes) and when we got out of the car a Turkish man was laughing and pointing at us. Apparently flat tires are funny in Turkey? Luckily we had a spare which covered us for the rest of the trip. The air conditioner also leaked - more like a running tap on our feet - but hey we still got from A to B.


Our Hotel Patara Viewpoint was great. Nice pool and great views of the sea and the valley. Although our host wasn't the most colorful (Bueller, Bueller) you couldn't help but laugh at his monotone attempts at being a generous host. It gave the place a different kind of charm.



The view from our room.



The day we arrived in Patara was my birthday. Ahead of time Josh organized for fresh flowers and Turkish delight (famous sweet in Turkey) in our room. This completely surprised me! Very thoughtful.

CIRALI

We made sure to stop for a brief two night stay in Cirali - another great recommendation from the Goehrings. Cirali is a really tiny town nestled in the mountains, and on the sea - right beside Olympos home to the Greek Gods. We stayed at Anatolia Resort, which we quickly realized should have been labelled Anatolia's Farm House. There were literally a hundred roosters and goose-looking-things who were kind enough to get us up at the crack of dawn. Follow that up with the call to prayer from a mosque situated 50 meters away and we definitely had a couple of full days in Cirali! Funny, they neglected to mention all of this on their website. Made for a couple laughs and Cirali still proved to be one of our favorite stops.



Anatolia's lent out bikes to their guests. Mine was meant for an eight year old and Josh's probably even younger but they were great to take around town and explore. In the photo you can see Anatolia's on the left and the mosque on the right.


The beach in Cirali with Olympos mountain in the background. Cirali was even smaller than Patara (about 300 residents) which made for a couple quiet naps on the beach.





From this point we did about a 30 minute walk through the ruins of Olympos. Then headed back to the beach for some sun.



As per usual we adopted a cat. We were hanging on the beach and heard a cat crying. Soon enough he was cuddling with us on our towels. We named him Pringles (he loved our Pringles chips).






On our last morning we hiked a rocky mountainside above Cirali village to check out Chimaera which is a fascinating natural phenomenon - about a dozen flames burning from a mass of rock with no apparent fuel to sustain them. Apparently the flames have been venting from the earth for thousands of years.

Last stop in Turkey, Istanbul (Round 2). On the list: The Bazaar, hookah, and rain???

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Location:Patara and Cirali, Turkey

Blue Cruise a Must Do

Before I get started a few people have mentioned the photos on our blog are blurry. Because we are working off of an iPad we're not able to try and fix this but apparently if you click on the photos the resolution is better? Something like that.

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Turkey just gets better and better. After Datca I felt sure that it couldn't be topped but four days and three nights on a "blue cruise" in an old Turkish gulet was unreal. It is an absolute must do if you come to Turkey. Not only was the sail boat itself, the coast, the bays, the water, the food all excellent, the people we met are what made it for us.

We set sail from Marmaris (tidbit: no need to visit this tacky tourist town) to Fethiye.


Our boat. We weren't sure what to expect. We went in blind - ended up booking the trip over the phone a couple of days beforehand so we didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. Only complaint was that this boat didn't have proper sails - meaning it looked like a sailboat but in reality can only run by motor. We found out after the case this is pretty typical.


Our shipmates. Fourteen of us in total plus three crew: a family of four from Switzerland (including 10 year old twins Max and Eva who LOVED Josh), an older couple from England, four young Kiwis (tons of fun) and another couple (one is from Japan, the other from Iowa but they've been living in Turkey for last 10 years). An eclectic group right? It was fantastic.



Our room. More spacious then we thought. I should have taken a photo when Josh was wearing his neon green wrist bands to bed (to help with sea sickness) although thankfully he switched with Max who loved the bright color and Josh got light grey ones in return.



The front of the gulet had about a dozen comfy sun beds, where we spent most of our time during the day. Well, between the sun beds and the water.




We 'set sail' for a few hours every day and then would anchor at a bay. The water was bright blue and crystal clear. Everyone would jump in for some swimming until we heard the bell for lunch, or tea time or dinner...



The kids loved jumping into the water, especially when Josh joined them. They could do this for hours! Josh too. Above is a sad attempt at them doing a synchronized 'jack knife' jump.


Beautiful sunsets every night.



Even better sunset with Josh in the picture! :)


Some of the scenery - these are ancient tombs that were carved into the rock a few thousand years ago.



You can see the sun beds behind us. Switzerland family back left, Kiwis back right, British couple front right.


While we were laying on the sun beds in a bay, one of the Kiwis had a dream that she was eating ice cream. She was telling us about the dream when a small motorboat zoomed up and a guy was yelling "ice cream!!!" You should have seen her face. I guess dreams do come true.



We did an afternoon trip on a smaller boat to Turkish mud baths. On the way our boat got stuck because the water was so shallow. We ended up having to get a tow from another boat.



Josh teaching the kids a new game. I think Josh enjoyed hanging out with these kids as much as they did with him.



All in all, definitely a top-10 lifetime experience for me (and I think Josh would agree).

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Location:Marmaris to Fethiye, Turkey

We 'Heart' Datca

We can now say we have experienced the Turkish coast having visited Datca (thanks to the Goehrings) where we spent the last week of September. It's a small cute town on the water, not very touristy (mostly Turkish tourists), where the Aegean and the Mediterranean seas meet.

We stayed at a beautiful hotel, tucked away from the town perched on a hill, called "Villa Asina". Unfortunately Josh arrived with a pretty bad cold, but the staff - Arzu in particular - was very sweet and so hospitable to him.


The view from our balcony at Villa Asina.



Villa Asina at a glance.


Just another goat. We turned a corner on the ocean road and were confronted by over 20 of them. This guy had four legs I swear.


One of the many postcard-perfect bays we visited while staying in Datca.






We stopped for a Turkish tea while visiting one of the bays and met a tiny stray kitten. He must have been around six weeks old and was adorable. Despite being way too skinny he was less interested in food and more into affection. If it were possible I would have brought him back to Canada. Needless to say it was very sad leaving the little guy.


The owner of our hotel holding a swordfish just caught in preparation for dinner. The owners are architects and designed/built the hotel 5 years ago.


Dinner at Villa Asina. The dinner was served without a menu and the setting and the food were excellent. Lesson learned - make sure to ask the food/wine costs before dining. We received the bill the next day which came as a bit of a surprise. When in "Datca", right?


The turquoise water.


The harbor of Datca.


Our favorite lunch and dinner spot (ate here 3 times in 5 days). Delicious home cooked Turkish food served cafeteria style right out of the kitchen. The man with the moustache (above) we think is Zekeriya - friendliest man!


Swimming at the little bay just steps from our hotel. After a couple of days Josh was up and about so I took him down to the bay where I'd gone when he was in bed sick.


Bye for now Datca and Villa Asina! We'll be back. Thanks to Arzu (above) for making it a really special visit.

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Location:Datca, Turkey