Tel Aviv

I'm happy to be in Tel Aviv. OK, I'll say it: I didn't really like Jerusalem. Don't get me wrong--I'm glad I went. But I'm not in a rush to go back there. Jerusalem has basically one industry: G-d. People are there because they want to be closer to G-d, and believe that Jerusalem is where she lives. Not just Jews, Muslims and Christians too. (Yes, note my hypocrisy in proclaiming my secularism while sticking to the traditional Jewish refusal to spell out anything resembling the name of G-d, aka Jidashdi.)

So I'm happy to now be on the coast, in lovely, urban, secular Tel Aviv. Andy asked me yesterday (today? I can't remember) whether Tel Aviv felt foreign. And I still haven't decided what the answer is. It's obviously not the US or Canada--to start with, everyone speaks a foreign language. But it certainly feels more familiar than African or Asian cities I've visited, and less foreign than Jerusalem. And the language the people are speaking is one that is familiar to me, even if I can't actually communicate (though I'm getting there!).




This afternoon, I walked up to Jaffa, the much older city that predates Tel Aviv. It was an Arab city until 1948, when most of the population fled/was forced out (depending whom you ask).



OK, I have another confession: I've never been all that fond of pomegranates. They're kind of tasty, and intriguing because they're so weird. But all in all, they always seemed like more effort than they were worth. And messy. Much like corn on the cob. Well, it's pomegranate season here, but they don't make you pull apart the seeds and get red stuff all over you, they make them into juice! And the juice is deliciously refreshing, both sweet and tart.



Obligatory beach at sunset photo: