Israel

    On work, I had an opportunity to visit Israel from 07-Jan-2023 to 15-Jan-2023. My impressions about Israel, Haifa and Jerusalem follow.

    The voyage began with a meeting between a colleague and I in Bengaluru airport. The crowd was something that surprised both of us. The check in counter and the security check both took quite a long time. The queue was long in immigration also, but it moved quickly.

    In Abu Dhabi, I met a friend and three of his colleagues, who came from Pune, taking the flight to Abu Dhabi from Mumbai. One of them had visited Haifa, the city where we were all headed. Haifa is a coastal city with a lot of history as indicated in https://www.britannica.com/place/Haifa. The journey from Tel Aviv airport to Haifa took about 90 minutes. We could see banana plants cultivated under plastic covers (seemingly) on the drive. Some of the places evoked names of Israeli people: I saw a board indicating Netanya. I can imagine that the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has links to this place ! It is curious how surnames across the world can be linked to places or occupations !

    My only introduction to Israel was the book "Exodus" by Leon Uris. It is a book that dramatises how modern Israel was formed. The life in the "kibbutz" depicted in the book is a memory that stayed with me. The initial settlers in Israel must have made many sacrifices to ensure the growth of the nation. Today, Israel resembles other prosperous countries in the middle East. I have visited Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. During my first drive in Israel, the similarity between UAE and Israel came to my mind. In the '50s and '60s both countries were relatively poor in comparison with other Middle Eastern countries. The citizens and leaders of such countries have put in their effort to put their nations firmly on the path to development and progress. The public infrastructure in Israel like roads and transport is on par with western countries.

    When we arrived in Haifa, it was cool for me, even at 2 p.m., with the temperature around 12 degrees Celsius. Haifa is a city where innovation thrives. Its population is around 300,000. There are a couple of famous universities in Haifa, including Technion which has a long history and spurs research and innovation. The city itself is in the north of the country. The population of the entire country is around 9 million. Its area is around 63,000 square kilometers. To put this in perspective, India's area is around 3.2 million sq. km., around 5 (thanks go to a friend for pointing out that calcuation was incorrect) 50 times the area of Israel. India's population at 1 billion is more than 100 times that of Israel !

    Just as India has its diversity of languages and culture, Israel also has its diversity. When the country was formed, Israel welcomed Jews from all over the world. Since it is located in the middle East, there are Arab influences also, as seen in its architecture.

    We checked in to our hotel at Haifa. I bathed and relaxed. In the evening, the colleague who had visited Haifa earlier took us to a restaurant that served good vegetarian food. Thanks to her, during the evening, we knew which restaurants to try. My brother and niece had recommended a couple of dishes to try out in Israel. While I was unable to savour those specific dishes, Israel is friendly for vegetarians - and vegans ! Falafel and hummus are commonly available. One can also experiment with local vegan or vegetarian cuisine. Most of the restaurants that we went to offered menus in English. Where we could not get it, Google Lens came in handy.

    One colour that dominates Haifa (and Israel in general) is the yellow colour of the limestone. The buildings in Haifa are almost all a pale, off white yellow. I remarked about this to my friend and we kept our eyes open for other colours! The only other colours that we saw were a few grey buildings and the ubiquitous glass facade for offices.

    On the penultimate day, I had an opportunity to visit Jerusalem since a couple of my colleagues had driven in America. We rented a car and went to Jerusalem. It was a rainy morning. When the day dawned, we wondered if we could do any sight seeing. The weather forecast indicated rain in Haifa but in Jerusalem, it promised sunny weather. So the five of us took two cabs to reach the car rental office. It was the first time I used a new app called Gett to book a cab. To be on the safer side, I had also withdrawn cash - another first, since my official card did not work and I had to use my personal debit card abroad for the first time.

    The journey was largely uneventful. The road showed us green stretches as we sped along at around 90 to 100 kmph. We parked near the Tower of David in old Jerusalem. We entered the old city of Jerusalem. https://www.touristisrael.com/old-city-jerusalem/403/ provides a good introduction to the charm of Jerusalem. It is a place where Jews, Christians and Muslims live and worship. For Christians, Jerusalem is the place where Jesus Christ was crucified. For Jews, the city is the place where Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son Isaac. For Muslims, Jerusalem is the site where Prophet Muhammad completed a mystic night journey from Mecca. It is rare that one location can have such significance to three important religions of the world. Jerusalem, in that sense, is a privileged city.

    I could easily see influences of all three religions in the time we spent in Jerusalem. Domes and towers are common here, showing the Arab influence on the architecture of the city. We entered the old city via Jaffa Gate. Stepping into Jerusalem's old city, I felt like I was entering a place in the Arabian nights ! There was a market atmosphere on the steps and the narrow roads. Shopkeepers sold their wares including dry fruits, bread and souvenirs like potter and stoles. Like any market, old Jerusalem offers a lot to engage the senses. I lost myself in the sights and sounds in old Jerusalem. There are narrow roads along the steps that led into the old city. The market was full of the sounds of shoppers and vendors completing their transactions. The narrow roads beckoned us to the right and left of the steps that we descended. We could see various areas indicated: Greek quarter, Armenian quarter, etc. I observed that the signs in these quarters reflected the people there. Greek script is seen in the Greek quarter, a Russian like script is seen in the signs in Armenian quarter. The narrow roads leading to these areas are full of shops and vendors.

    

This hotel shows how the buildings in old Jerusalem look like. I could see the Russian script in this hotel sign in its lower level.

    We headed towards the Church of the Holy Sepulchre first. On the way, my friend and I saw a shop that said that souvenirs were available from 10 Israeli shekels onwards. He and I conversed about shopping there. The shopkeeper saw this and immediately welcomed us in English. My friend told him that we would return. We went to Church of the Holy Sepulchre. https://www.britannica.com/place/Holy-Sepulchre explains that this is where Jesus' crucifixion and burial happened. On the way there, The devout thronged to the church. To me, the power of faith is moving. Whether it is the "Ganga aarti" in Varanasi, the Haj pilgrimage or the devotion seen in Jerusalem, belief in God and faith is a powerful emotion that provides strength to those who have it. I am fortunate that I could see faith among the pilgrims in the church. https://churchoftheholysepulchre.net/history-of-the-church-of-the-holy-sepulchre/ has more information about the church.

    The church has exquisite art work, some of which is under restoration. I was struck by the height of the church while being in it. The height is probably more than 50 feet, in my view. The paintings on the ceiling and on the walls of the church are wonderful to view.

The heads of the people seen here at around 1.6m on average from the ground. The height of the ceiling can be imagined: it is around 150m, I estimate.

 

What wonderful art there is on the ceiling !

    The previous day, people had warned us in Haifa that during the weekend, shops are closed and we may have difficulty covering all places. This is one of the reasons why we spent a day in Jerusalem. The good part is that Jerusalem was open, though the mosque closes in the afternoon. By the time we ate lunch, it had closed, unfortunately. We walked along the Cardo road, a Roman road running from north to south. The main Roman roads had columns. The road was constructed originally in the first century AD while its southern side was built during Byzantine times in the sixth century. There are murals depicting life in those times. I got an idea of life in those times, looking at the murals and the columns.

    One incident stands out in Jerusalem that illustrates the soft power of Indian movies. On our way back, my friend and I passed the souvenir shop that we had seen earlier. "Welcome, welcome. I am very happy that you have come.", greeted the stocky and cheerful shopkeeper in fluent English. "Why don't you get your friends also? You can all take souvenirs to remember Jerusalem!", he urged my friend and me. "No, they are not interested.", I replied. The shopkeeper didn't let that affect him too much! "I will show you the best souvenirs at the best price. Take a look at this ....", the shopkeeper said, beginning a well rehearsed speech on the wonderful souvenirs in his shop. I am not a good shopper nor somebody who bargains well and neither, I think, is my friend. Both of us wanted to buy stoles for our spouses. The shopkeeper showed us pretty options and said "I can give you a stole for a low price, but that is not locally made. To buy genuine stoles, take a look at this.", he said and led us to a different section of his shop. Of course, these were considerably more expensive! I realised that I was in the presence of a master shopkeeper who could judge his customers well. Having concluded the transaction, he asked us: "Where are you from?" "I am from Pune while my friend is from Bangalore.", answered my friend who had taken the lead in the transaction. "Oh, India is a lovely country. I like Indian movies. Do you know Amitabh Bachchan?", asked the shopkeeper. Both my friend and I are fans of Amitabh Bachchan. "Yes, he is a superstar!", acknowledged my friend. The shopkeeper then continued: "I have seen all his movies. 'Sholay', 'Kaalia', 'Namak Halaal', 'Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham', I have watched all these movies. Have you seen 'Jadugar'?". I must confess that I was overwhelmed. I consider myself a big fan of the Big B, but this man showed that I am nothing compared to him ! "He is a great actor!", I said. I have read articles that narrate how people in Egypt recognise Hindi film stars. In a small shop in one of the narrow roads of Jerusalem, I had the fortune to see it for myself ! The shopkeeper narrated a few of Bachchan's movies whose stories and co-stars I struggled to remember - and I consider myself a big fan of the actor ! Happy to discover this unexpected connection, my friend and I left the shop, a little surprised about the reach and popularity of Indian movies !

    By this time it was lunch time. We ate at a barbeque joint. From there, we walked across towards the Western Wall. https://thekotel.org/en/ has more information on the Western Wall. It dates from the 2nd century BC. On the other side of the wall is the Dome of the Rock, a place revered by Muslims. There is a mosque called the Al Aqsa mosque nearby. We were informed that it was closed and so we did not go there. At around 2 p.m., the weather turned cloudy - and surprisingly cold. We proceeded to the Western Wall. This was one place where we had to undergo a metal detector scan. Otherwise, even though we could see armed forces, the disruption to the tourist is minimal.

    The Western Wall is sacred for Jews since there was a temple there that was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The belief is that there is a divine presence in the wall. Friday and Saturdays are holidays in Israel, with Saturday being the day of Shabat or Sabbath. At the Western Wall, we saw Jewish people clad in black worship at the wall. The Jews lament the destruction of the temple and pray for its restoration. The chanting of the Jews sounded a lot like the mantras chanted by Hindu priests in religious ceremonies. It was a unique experience. The wall extends into a cave on one side, where I could see bookshelves full of religious books.

This is the Western Wall, just after we cleared the metal detector.

    We headed back. My colleague purchased dry fruits from one of the shops in the market. The dates provided for sampling were delicious! My colleague was extremely pleased with the transaction. We emerged from another gate, the Damascus Gate. My friend had to use the GPS on his phone to find the way for us to walk towards Jaffa Gate. To check that we were on the right track, I asked a lady policewoman who confirmed it. It was good that people understood and spoke English well. We saw an electric tram on the way back to our car. The footpath that we took was broad and comfortable. The trees on the footpaths made for a pretty sight.

The market and the roads in old Jerusalem are full of shops that sell such souvenirs. They make for a pretty sight. I could easily imagine that I was in an "Arabian Nights" type of adventure !

The claim seems like a hyperbole, but it can well be real ! We had finished lunch and none of us were in the mood for tea, but otherwise I would have tried this out. The best filter coffee in Bengaluru is available in the "Darshini" cafes, not the more extravagantly priced retail coffee outlets ! So I can understand the sentiment of this tea vendor!

    We headed back towards Haifa at around 4 p.m. We took a longer route, driving along the coast. The sun had set when we reached Haifa beach, our last stop for the evening. We spent a few minutes there, eating some savouries that we had brought along.

    The next day, my colleague and I left Israel. One of my apprehensions about the trip was that security and immigration would be very strict and time consuming. To my pleasant surprise, security and immigration checks at Tel Aviv airport were completed in minutes. My colleague had the time to purchase chocolates at the airport for a good price.

    We arrived in Bengaluru on time. Collecting the checked in baggage took about an hour though. Once we came out of the airport, it was time for two south Indian filter coffee cups. Accustomed to its taste, the hot coffee was welcome after the night flight ! The date was 15-Jan-2023, the day when terminal T2 of the Kempegowda International Airport was opened to the public on that day. The cab driver of my cab praised the new road that was opened a couple of days ago and pointed out the statue of Kempegowda in the morning fog.

    I returned exhausted after the flight and slept for a couple of hours. In spite of the fatigue of the journey, I was pleased to narrate about the many wonderful experiences in Israel later that morning.