Summer 2007 Week 6 ::: Israel

Day 39 ::: Road trip, road trip, road trip! After a few days of MAKING PARTY in Tel Aviv, we decided to hit the road and explore the rest of Israel. Dan, Gal and I rented a car and set off Monday morning for the north. We drove to and around the Sea of Galilee which is 53 km (33 miles) in circumference and the site of many of Jesus' miracles. We tried to walk on water, but weren't fortunate enough to have the optimal water and atmospheric conditions that many scientists now believe could have helped Jesus (by forming ice) in his famed Sea walk. After touring around the Sea, we made our way further north to the Golan Heights which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Six-Day War (and again in the 1973 Yom Kippur War).

We stopped for lunch at Dag Al HaDan, a cozy little, outdoor restaurant located where the Dan River meets the Hazbani. After feasting on some fresh fish, we walked up the street to the Senir Stream Park & Nature Reserve for an afternoon hike IN THE STREAM. We spent the afternoon hiking down the stream, having to navigate a few hairy patches where the water reached up to our chests. It was made that much more difficult by both the strong current and our decision to bring cameras. A few minutes into the hike Gal fell on his a$$ and took out Dan's legs but somehow his camera stayed dry. Luckily we had good luck the rest of the way, too and managed to finish the hike with both cameras and pride in tact.




After the hike we drove south an hour and stopped in Tsfat, one of the four holy cities in Judaism along with Jerusalem, Tiberias and Hebron. It's probably most well known as the center for Kabbalah, a form of Jewish mysticism made popular by Madonna. The beautiful town, the highest in the country, is filled with medieval synagogues, cobbled streets and stone houses. It also has an ancient cemetery that contains the graves of many famous Kabbalists who believed that Tsfat's pure air would benefit the souls buried there and send them straight to the Garden of Eden. Hundreds of pilgrims were there that day with us, walking through the cemetery saying prayers. After our short visit to Tsfat, we drove a few hours further south and arrived in Jerusalem around midnight. We stayed the night at House 57 B&B in the Ramat Eshkol section of the city.



Day 40 ::: Jerusalem is both the capital and the largest city in Israel (population 732,000) in addition to being the most important religious site in the world. And since we only had a day to explore it, we decided to hire a guide to tour us around. We started off at the Mount of Olives, the mountain ridge to the east of Jerusalem and home to the Gardens of Gethsemane where Jesus stayed in Jerusalem, according to the bible. After a few minutes of hearing our guide preview some of the sites that we could see from the Mount, we quickly realized why the city is of such political and religious importance. Despite having an area of less than a half square mile, the Old City is home to several sites of key religious importance: the Temple Mount and its Western (Wailing) Wall for Jews, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre for Christians (where Jesus was crucified and buried), and the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque for Muslims (3rd only to Mecca and Medina in importance).

After the Mount of Olives, we visited the Western/Wailing Wall which is revered for its proximity to the location of the holiest location in Judaism (a destroyed Temple). It is part of the bigger religious area called Har ha-Bayit (the Temple Mount) to Jews and Christians, or Al-Haram al-Qudsi al-Sharif (the Noble Sanctuary) to Muslims. Jews visit the Wall to pray and leave slips of paper with wishes/prayers in the cracks, however a divider separates the men's section from the women's section in order to maintain the sanctity of the space. After the Wall, we visited the Muslim section including the Dome of the Rock, an incredibly beautiful shrine which is believed by Muslims to be the spot from which Muhammad ascended to Heaven.





That day we also visited the City of David, the Four Sephardic Synagogues, the various quarters of the Old City (Armenian, Christian, Jewish, and Muslim), the 14 Stations of the Cross (major points in Christ's final hours), an ultra orthodox neighborhood and Yad Vashem (the Holocaust memorial museum). After a full day of site seeing, we drove even further south to Ein Bokek on the Dead Sea and checked in at our hotel, Hod Hamidbar. The hotel was fairly decent and had a private beach on the Sea, however, the only downer was the droves of old people gathered every night in our lobby! It was like a nursing home night club - oh the horror!

Day 41 ::: We went to bed around 10pm the night before and woke up at 2:45am to set off on a night hike to Masada, a plateau overlooking the Dead Sea. We arrived to the entrance sometime just before 3:30am after someone at our hotel reception desk told us the sunrise was at 4:30am. I thought that sounded a bit odd - especially since I hadn't seen the sun up that early in Tel Aviv when we were out well past that hour. When we approached the entrance and woke up the guard, he promptly told us we were WAY early since the sun wouldn't actually rise until 6:09am. Whoops! We killed some time and then finally entered around 5am. What we thought would be a peaceful hike with a few other people turned to be a mob scene with a few bus loads of young kids arriving at the same time...uggh! We motored past them on the extremely steep trail and then made our way to the top in about 30 minutes, well ahead of most of the others. We spent the next 1.5 hours perched on a rock, watching the sun rise over the Dead Sea and the surrounding mountains and taking photos. It was stunning. We scampered back down the trail and made our way back to the hotel around 7am to grab a quick breakfast and nap before officially starting our day.




The first order of business after we crawled out of bed around 11am was to schedule a spa treatment. All three of us got Mineral Mud Wraps which involves sitting naked on a table, having mud rubbed all over you and being wrapped up very tightly in plastic wrap and blankets. While it felt nice, I got a bit too hot and claustrophobic and couldn't fully enjoy myself. Next time I'll stick to the massage, reflexology or body scrub! The afternoon was spent on our private beach where we alternated between beach chair and the Sea. Not only is the Dead Sea the lowest point on earth at about 400m below sea level, it's also home to one of the most unique environments in the world. Compared to regular sea water, the Dead Sea contains 20x as much bromine, 15x as much magnesium and 10x as much iodine making it essentially 33% solid. The mineral content not only allows you to bob and float without any effort, it also has incredible therapeutic effects on the skin. However, the extreme conditions mean there is no plant or animal life and that you have to keep your head above the water (to avoid serious burning of the eyes). That night we took a ride through town to explore the limited food options and found a decent little restaurant where we enjoyed a mixed plate of Israeli goodies and really yummy salads.

Me floating/vogueing in the Dead Sea:





Day 42 ::: We got up early to drive back to Tel Aviv and then I spent some time on the beach before getting ready for round two of TLV party making. We had an amazing dinner on Sheinken Street at Orna & Ella where we feasted on yam pancakes and curried sea bass with pumpkins. So good! After dinner we went to yet another boy bar, Cedamus Amori, then back to Evita (we're regulars at this point) before our final stop, Barzilay, which was hosting an electro night for... you guessed it, boys! I was happy to hear Larry Heard's "The Sun Can’t Compare" playing as we walked in the door. The music was pretty good and the vibe dark/dirty/raunchy (as you an tell by the adjacent photo). I even saw a few of my new friends from previous nights out, but decided to call it quits sometime around 4:30am, leaving the boys to *fend* for themselves.

Day 43 ::: Lunch, beach, chill... the usual. Then we had a lovely, late-night dinner at Rafael, one of Tel Aviv's nicest restaurants before heading to pre-game standby, Evita. Later that night we met up with Shirley's crew at Levontin 7, a cool mid-sized, underground joint hosting the 7th Anniversary party of the Tel Aviv equivalent of Rhythmism.com. The music was great and the crowd was almost exclusively music heads - well except the two shirtless gay boys that I brought along. I don't think the usuals knew what the hell was going on when Gal and Dan added their touch to the party...ha! For the third time in four parties I heard Samim's love it or hate it track, "Heater" (Get Physical). I also heard a new (to me) mix of Ambivalent's RU OK. Go Kev! For the second night in a row, I left *early* and let the boys continue their quest at Vox.

Day 44 ::: Lunch, beach, chill... I'm starting to feel like I live here! Maybe Shirley will let me stay and be her personal assistant. We went to Gal's parents' house for an amazing family BBQ and then made our way to a rooftop party in the shadows of Shirley's office building - how funny! After that, we went to Cheech Beach, the FAB gay Saturday night party near the beach. NYC may have the quantity, but TLV has the quality at this incredible party... every hot boy in all of Tel Aviv goes. Eye candy...wow! I got drunk and made friends with the most fun group of boys - all 20 year-olds in the Israeli Defense Force that came to TLV to party for the weekend. We danced on tables and had a fun photo shoot...Dan and I even saw Jesus (see photo). You would not believe how crazy Tel Aviv gets on Saturday night (the equiavlent of Sunday in the US). I left the party sometime around 3am and the streets were still packed! I love this city!








The Second Coming:


Day 45 ::: Shirley finally got back to TLV after spending the last month between New York and London for training. It's a good thing I love her so much because she arrived only three short hours after Dan and I went to bed. I got up to greet her and then went to grab some breakfast to continue the catch up. After that, she had to go to work )-: - those damn i-bankers! Me, Shirley and Gal had a lovely final dinner and then Gal and I went back to Evita one last time for EuroVision Night. It was pretty damn funny to watch all of the boys not only singing the songs, but doing the entire choreographed dances as well. I got home around 2:30am - just in time to pack up my stuff and head to the airport for a 6am flight!


Day 46 ::: Wow, after 46 incredible days... it's finally time to head back home for good. Thanks so much to everyone who made this trip so memorable - love you all!! Peace out, Guela St...Watch out, NYC!


BONUS MATERIAL:
Hot Latvian, VOVERS, spotted in the buff in the Mediterranean.