I went to a bathhouse that was constructed in the 1500’s and was therefore a huge tourist attraction. Marissa and Melissa weren’t down, so they waited for me. At the bath houses the women and men are separated. I entered the women’s area, into a huge locker room. I got undressed with only a sheet wrapped around me. After undressing I walked into this hexagon shaped room. In the center was a huge marble slab surrounding the main room were smaller sub rooms, each sub room had three sinks, this is where you go after to bath to wash off, ill get to this part.
So upon entering the room I was first taken aback by all the naked women. But then I snapped out of it real quickly because I realized I was going to be naked in a second too. Instead of starring I laid my blanket out on the hot marble slab in the center, lay down, closed my eyes, and waited. The heat in the room was like a sauna and in all it was very relaxing. Surrounding the hexagon were Turkish topless women, they are the bathers we the bathes. They call you over to them when they are ready for you. After 15 minutes of lying on the hot marble slab I was finally called over. I lay down in front of this woman whose boobs are the largest things I have ever seen in my entire life and reached down to her waist. Without warning she dumped hot water over my head and body. She then used a huge sponged and lathered my entire body in soap. Afterward she rubbed the soap in and then washed my hair. After 15 minutes of being bathed I was finished. I was then escorted into another room. My blanket was traded in for a towel and I sat in a bench waiting to be called. After 5 minutes of waiting I was called into a massage room. There were 4 massage tables and 4 Turkish women performing oil massages. I laid out on the massage table and had a 30-minute oil massage. They cracked my back rubbed, pressure points, gave me a head, neck, and foot rub. All in all it was very relaxing. Following I went back I into the room with the hot marble slab and relaxed.
The experience was all very cool. Every part of my body was loose, rested, and moisturized I mean even in between my toes. I would definitely do it again and I recommend it to anyone.
I mean hey, when is turkey right!
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
MERHABA ISTANBUL
Hey guys!
So on February 14 through the 17th I went to Istanbul. It was an incredible experience! I went with about 100 kids from my program; I’m going to give you the run down of the itenerary, and the culture we were immersed in.
First and foremost, two days prior to our departure the second in command of Hamas was assassinated in a car bomb in Damascus. His death is being blamed on either the US or Israel, however, Muslims are more keen to blame Israeli’s. As a result, traveling to turkey at this time was a risk, and was not recommended by the US or Israel. We were in a catch 22 because we were a bunch of American kids with Israeli student visas in our US passports. However, we went anyway, perhaps not the smartest decision, but in the end we were all ok.
On February 14, we left Ben Gurion airport at around 5, we landed in Istanbul at 7. We flew on Ornu airlines which was a joke of an airline and the flight may have been the most nervous I was all weekend! Ha! Upon arriving in Istanbul we drove to the hotel, the grand halarem. Istanbul is a very interesting city. It is divided by a the bosphorous, as a result half of the city is in Asia and the other half in Europe, furthermore, it is divided by the old city, where our hotel was located, which is home to the historical sites we visited. Furthermore, the old city is more conservative than the new area. We stayed around the old party during the day to see the sites and ventured into the new area at night for some nightlife.
Once we got to the hotel we quickly changed and were out of there. We hailed a cab to ortakoy, which is in the new area, its a quirky pedestrian area wit tons of cafes, shops, street venders, and hookah places. It is located on the bosphorous and some cafes have a beautiful view. Istanbul is home to 14 million people and only 5-7% live on the European side, everyone else is across the bridge in Asia.
That first night we had an authentic Turkish meal, which was interesting, a lot of meat, bread, and salads. I wasn’t that big of a fan but I have definitely had worse food. Following dinner we all went to a hookah place and got 2 hookahs. It was awesome, I also got a kiwi tea BC I had never heard of it before, but let me tell you it was delic! After around 2 hours of "being Turkish" we headed back to the hotel to rest for our HUGE day of sightseeing the next day.
On the 15th we were out the door by 9am. The group for the day was myself, Marissa, Melissa, Ariana (a fellow badger who is amazing wisco girls you guys will love her, she’s one of my closest here!), and Kimmy (who is also great! and for those chi o's reading, she is Andrea Lear's little sister).
Istanbul was home to two major empires, in 537 AD the Byzantine controlled the region, however, but the 1400's the Byzantine Empire was quickly deteriorating and the Ottoman's easily took control of the region. Following World War I, Kemal Ataturk who installed a strict secular society defeated them. Recently, Turkey elected their first Muslim Prime Minister, and their mandate of secularism is quickly diminishing. There are 2500 mosques in Istanbul alone (and 17 synagogues with 24,000 Jews)
Our first stop was the Topkapi Palace, which was built in 1459 under Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. From 1465-1853 it was the home (the official and primary residence) of Ottoman Sultan's who controlled the region. The Palace is made up of 4 courtyards and at its height housed 4000 people. It was really unbelievable it is not a palace in the European sense, it is not just one building, but it is scattered over 70 acres. There was the Harem, which was the home to the Sultan's concubines, and it was said that at night he would got to the Harem to choose his wife for the night. On the palace grounds were also the palace mint, a library, a school, infantry, and a massive kitchen. There were also rooms for armory, the Sultan's hats, and dining areas. It was really spectacular. The palace has a direct view of the entire city including the bosphorous and is located on the European side, however the Asian influence from an architectural standpoint cannot go unnoticed. Most of the buildings were domed shaped, there were tons of Chinese influenced paintings. Interestingly enough, while the ottomans were Muslim they recognized the Jewish faith since Ishmael their founder is a son of Abraham, and Jewish stars were all over the place (check out my albums for some pictures). Check out my pictures in general for an explanation of what i'm talking about. We spent about 2 hours touring the palace, our tour guide, ALP was great a Turkish born man fluent in English. He was very informative and funny. Maybe most interesting at the palace were old keys and locks to the black stone. The black stone is located in Mecca and is where Muslims make pilgrimage to once in their lifetime.
Following the palace we got some roasted chestnuts, which were roasting, on an open fire. Street venders selling their chestnuts were all over the place. They were delicious. I had never tried a chestnut before. Afterward we went next door to the Haiga Sofia.
Haiga Sofia literally means Holy Wisdom. It was formerly a basilica, a Byzantine Church since the Byzantines were Orthodox Christians, it was constructed between 532-537 AD however, in 1453 the Ottoman Sultan converted it into a mosque and in 1935 it was converted into a Muslim by Ataturk. It represents the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is especially famous for the massive dome in the center of the building. Once it was converted into a mosque huge disks were placed on the walls of the Haiga Sofia with the names of Allah, Muhammad, and the four main Muslim caliphs encrypted on them. The interior of the building was very dark and my pictures did not come out as well as I would have like, but the Haiga Sofia was truly incredible to see architecture from the 500s was unreal. It was beautiful, and its enriched past contributed to regality.
Following the Haiga Sofia we went up the street to the Yerebatan Saray, the Byzantine Cistern, which is also referred to as the Sunken Palace. This was really cool. It is 2.4 acres underground, with a capacity of 21 million gallons. It has 336 columns all 9 meters high spaced 4.8 meters apart (check out my pictures for an illustration of my description) there are 12 lines of columns each consisting of 28 columns. It is a HUGE underground water storage tank for water, which was originally built by Constantinople the Great. It was contrasted in the 500s AD in order to provide the Byzantine Empire with water. They would retrieve the water from near by aqueducts and store it in the cisterns for use. It was unreal! Today there are goldfish in the water, which were pretty. Two of the columns of the head of Medusa carved into them, one of the heads is on its side and the other upside down (again check out the pics). Following the cistern we wanted to head across the street to the Blue Mosque, however, Muslims pray 5 times a day, therefore the mosque closes for an hour 5 times a day and at this point it was around 1:30 pm time for their afternoon prayer. Therefore we headed over to lunch at a near by café.
This café was also authentic Turkish food, I got a chicken donor, which is basically chicken kebab wrapped in flat bread with different kinds of vegetables in it, its served with yogurt. It was followed by Turkish coffee, which is very dense and very strong, but nonetheless good. We had lunch for about an hour and a half, time flew by, because by the time we were done it was time for the Mosque to close yet again for the mid afternoon prayer session. As a result we went over to the Hippodrome, which is where Constantinople and the Ottoman Sultans watched sporting events and hosted other leisure events. We walked the streets of the Hippodrome and stopped into a Starbucks (I know soo western of us, but we couldn’t pass it up, we don’t have Starbucks in Israel and Kimmy and I were craving a good ol’ American style latte). The Mosque finally opened and it was time to go in.
The Blue Mosque is also referred to as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was built in 1609-1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. it is called the Blue Mosque because it is adorned with blue tiles on the walls of the interior and exterior. When we walked into the outer courtyard of the mosque we also found Jewish stars, which were used as designs for aesthetic purposes, but nonetheless, an interesting choice. In order to enter the mosque we got in a line with other tourist interested in seeing this historical landmark. We had to take our shoes off, and for respectful purposes the girls and I covered our hair. Honestly, we did this to not stand out. The interior of the Mosque is beautiful, we took some fun pictures, and were lucky enough too be there during on the day of a wedding ceremony, so the bride to be and her groom were in the mosque at the same time taking pre-wedding photos with their families. She was beautiful and it was really a neat experience to see the way a Muslim wedding is set up. We were in the mosque for all of 20 minutes, we saw the architecture and left.
Following the mosque we headed to the Grand Bazaar, an outdoor shopping area compromising 4,000 shops. This was something else. It was kind of uncomfortable everyone shouting out at us trying to rip us off etc. I think the 5 of us were called the spice girls at least 10+ times. We all got some eye bracelets which turkey is known for, I currently h ad 7 on my wrist all in different colors, there are pretty. After about 30 minutes in the grand bazaar we were exhausted, we left, went back to the hotel, and got ready for dinner.
That night we went back to ortakoy to have dinner at House Café, a restaurant with a really contemporary ambiance it was very chic. It was located on the Bosphorous and had a nice view. The food wasn’t authentic but nonetheless not so bad the couscous was very tasty. There I also got lemonade with mint drink that came with apples and strawberries in it. It was unlike anything I had ever tried but also well. After dinner it was around 1 am, we were exhausted from our day’s adventures, went back to room 105 and passed out.
The next day it was snowing, I mean really coming down Madison style. We headed into the new area to this pedestrian outdoor shopping center called Taksim Meydan. There were a bunch of cute stores but the snow was so miserable that we were only there for a short period of time. Which there though we ran into a group of 6 American students who were studying Arabic in Damascus, can you imagine being an American in Damascus? Because I can’t! After Taksim we went to see the Galata Tower and walked through the Jewish area of Istanbul for a little bit. We ended up having lunch at a café called storks it wasn’t that good but was a nice atmosphere. The owner cam over to our table to ask where we were from. Upon departing Israel they told us that whenever someone in turkey asked us where we were from to say Canada. So when the owner asked us I said Toronto. Hahaha he then said where in Toronto I used to live there. I’m so money because I came up with this elaborate lie saying we were at the university there, I told him what we were studying there and what not. It was really funny!
Afterward we went back to the Grand Bazaar since it was indoors for a little bit, and then I went for a Turkish bath. What an experience!!
Following the bath we went back to the hotel, Marissa and I got a quick bite near the hotel in a sketchy little restaurant, afterward we all just chilled in the lobby for a little bit, the boys got a mini keg of beer and we all chatted.
The next morning the bus picked us up and took us to the airport for our flight home to Tel Aviv!
Turkey was a great experience for more than the history I saw first hand. The culture is so different than what I am used to. The Muslim influence was rampant. I hardly saw any women walking on the street in the old area, which makes sense considering, as a aforementioned it is more conservative and old fashioned. However, I was surprised considering that during Ataturk’s reign Turkey was truly a secular country, where public religious practice and garb was suppressed, and in effect the influence was limited. Today, the situation is not the same. There were definitely times, many times, I was nervous. As women we were not treated as human beings but as objects, the men looked as us as though we were dirty, slutty, and unworthy of life. Going out at night was a definite risk; as a result we stayed in the hotel the second night. I was very cautious all weekend, very aware of my surroundings, and I constantly was forced to look behind me to ensure I was not being followed. I did not flaunt my Jewish identity, none of us did, and those on the trip that did were ostracized by the locals in the old area (as I mentioned the new area is more secular, and younger). However to be subjected to this culture was definitely well worth it. It was an incredible weekend. It was 3 days in which I learned more about history, politics, culture, and society than I have in a semester.
So on February 14 through the 17th I went to Istanbul. It was an incredible experience! I went with about 100 kids from my program; I’m going to give you the run down of the itenerary, and the culture we were immersed in.
First and foremost, two days prior to our departure the second in command of Hamas was assassinated in a car bomb in Damascus. His death is being blamed on either the US or Israel, however, Muslims are more keen to blame Israeli’s. As a result, traveling to turkey at this time was a risk, and was not recommended by the US or Israel. We were in a catch 22 because we were a bunch of American kids with Israeli student visas in our US passports. However, we went anyway, perhaps not the smartest decision, but in the end we were all ok.
On February 14, we left Ben Gurion airport at around 5, we landed in Istanbul at 7. We flew on Ornu airlines which was a joke of an airline and the flight may have been the most nervous I was all weekend! Ha! Upon arriving in Istanbul we drove to the hotel, the grand halarem. Istanbul is a very interesting city. It is divided by a the bosphorous, as a result half of the city is in Asia and the other half in Europe, furthermore, it is divided by the old city, where our hotel was located, which is home to the historical sites we visited. Furthermore, the old city is more conservative than the new area. We stayed around the old party during the day to see the sites and ventured into the new area at night for some nightlife.
Once we got to the hotel we quickly changed and were out of there. We hailed a cab to ortakoy, which is in the new area, its a quirky pedestrian area wit tons of cafes, shops, street venders, and hookah places. It is located on the bosphorous and some cafes have a beautiful view. Istanbul is home to 14 million people and only 5-7% live on the European side, everyone else is across the bridge in Asia.
That first night we had an authentic Turkish meal, which was interesting, a lot of meat, bread, and salads. I wasn’t that big of a fan but I have definitely had worse food. Following dinner we all went to a hookah place and got 2 hookahs. It was awesome, I also got a kiwi tea BC I had never heard of it before, but let me tell you it was delic! After around 2 hours of "being Turkish" we headed back to the hotel to rest for our HUGE day of sightseeing the next day.
On the 15th we were out the door by 9am. The group for the day was myself, Marissa, Melissa, Ariana (a fellow badger who is amazing wisco girls you guys will love her, she’s one of my closest here!), and Kimmy (who is also great! and for those chi o's reading, she is Andrea Lear's little sister).
Istanbul was home to two major empires, in 537 AD the Byzantine controlled the region, however, but the 1400's the Byzantine Empire was quickly deteriorating and the Ottoman's easily took control of the region. Following World War I, Kemal Ataturk who installed a strict secular society defeated them. Recently, Turkey elected their first Muslim Prime Minister, and their mandate of secularism is quickly diminishing. There are 2500 mosques in Istanbul alone (and 17 synagogues with 24,000 Jews)
Our first stop was the Topkapi Palace, which was built in 1459 under Sultan Mehmed II of the Ottoman Empire. From 1465-1853 it was the home (the official and primary residence) of Ottoman Sultan's who controlled the region. The Palace is made up of 4 courtyards and at its height housed 4000 people. It was really unbelievable it is not a palace in the European sense, it is not just one building, but it is scattered over 70 acres. There was the Harem, which was the home to the Sultan's concubines, and it was said that at night he would got to the Harem to choose his wife for the night. On the palace grounds were also the palace mint, a library, a school, infantry, and a massive kitchen. There were also rooms for armory, the Sultan's hats, and dining areas. It was really spectacular. The palace has a direct view of the entire city including the bosphorous and is located on the European side, however the Asian influence from an architectural standpoint cannot go unnoticed. Most of the buildings were domed shaped, there were tons of Chinese influenced paintings. Interestingly enough, while the ottomans were Muslim they recognized the Jewish faith since Ishmael their founder is a son of Abraham, and Jewish stars were all over the place (check out my albums for some pictures). Check out my pictures in general for an explanation of what i'm talking about. We spent about 2 hours touring the palace, our tour guide, ALP was great a Turkish born man fluent in English. He was very informative and funny. Maybe most interesting at the palace were old keys and locks to the black stone. The black stone is located in Mecca and is where Muslims make pilgrimage to once in their lifetime.
Following the palace we got some roasted chestnuts, which were roasting, on an open fire. Street venders selling their chestnuts were all over the place. They were delicious. I had never tried a chestnut before. Afterward we went next door to the Haiga Sofia.
Haiga Sofia literally means Holy Wisdom. It was formerly a basilica, a Byzantine Church since the Byzantines were Orthodox Christians, it was constructed between 532-537 AD however, in 1453 the Ottoman Sultan converted it into a mosque and in 1935 it was converted into a Muslim by Ataturk. It represents the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is especially famous for the massive dome in the center of the building. Once it was converted into a mosque huge disks were placed on the walls of the Haiga Sofia with the names of Allah, Muhammad, and the four main Muslim caliphs encrypted on them. The interior of the building was very dark and my pictures did not come out as well as I would have like, but the Haiga Sofia was truly incredible to see architecture from the 500s was unreal. It was beautiful, and its enriched past contributed to regality.
Following the Haiga Sofia we went up the street to the Yerebatan Saray, the Byzantine Cistern, which is also referred to as the Sunken Palace. This was really cool. It is 2.4 acres underground, with a capacity of 21 million gallons. It has 336 columns all 9 meters high spaced 4.8 meters apart (check out my pictures for an illustration of my description) there are 12 lines of columns each consisting of 28 columns. It is a HUGE underground water storage tank for water, which was originally built by Constantinople the Great. It was contrasted in the 500s AD in order to provide the Byzantine Empire with water. They would retrieve the water from near by aqueducts and store it in the cisterns for use. It was unreal! Today there are goldfish in the water, which were pretty. Two of the columns of the head of Medusa carved into them, one of the heads is on its side and the other upside down (again check out the pics). Following the cistern we wanted to head across the street to the Blue Mosque, however, Muslims pray 5 times a day, therefore the mosque closes for an hour 5 times a day and at this point it was around 1:30 pm time for their afternoon prayer. Therefore we headed over to lunch at a near by café.
This café was also authentic Turkish food, I got a chicken donor, which is basically chicken kebab wrapped in flat bread with different kinds of vegetables in it, its served with yogurt. It was followed by Turkish coffee, which is very dense and very strong, but nonetheless good. We had lunch for about an hour and a half, time flew by, because by the time we were done it was time for the Mosque to close yet again for the mid afternoon prayer session. As a result we went over to the Hippodrome, which is where Constantinople and the Ottoman Sultans watched sporting events and hosted other leisure events. We walked the streets of the Hippodrome and stopped into a Starbucks (I know soo western of us, but we couldn’t pass it up, we don’t have Starbucks in Israel and Kimmy and I were craving a good ol’ American style latte). The Mosque finally opened and it was time to go in.
The Blue Mosque is also referred to as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque. It was built in 1609-1616 during the rule of Ahmed I. it is called the Blue Mosque because it is adorned with blue tiles on the walls of the interior and exterior. When we walked into the outer courtyard of the mosque we also found Jewish stars, which were used as designs for aesthetic purposes, but nonetheless, an interesting choice. In order to enter the mosque we got in a line with other tourist interested in seeing this historical landmark. We had to take our shoes off, and for respectful purposes the girls and I covered our hair. Honestly, we did this to not stand out. The interior of the Mosque is beautiful, we took some fun pictures, and were lucky enough too be there during on the day of a wedding ceremony, so the bride to be and her groom were in the mosque at the same time taking pre-wedding photos with their families. She was beautiful and it was really a neat experience to see the way a Muslim wedding is set up. We were in the mosque for all of 20 minutes, we saw the architecture and left.
Following the mosque we headed to the Grand Bazaar, an outdoor shopping area compromising 4,000 shops. This was something else. It was kind of uncomfortable everyone shouting out at us trying to rip us off etc. I think the 5 of us were called the spice girls at least 10+ times. We all got some eye bracelets which turkey is known for, I currently h ad 7 on my wrist all in different colors, there are pretty. After about 30 minutes in the grand bazaar we were exhausted, we left, went back to the hotel, and got ready for dinner.
That night we went back to ortakoy to have dinner at House Café, a restaurant with a really contemporary ambiance it was very chic. It was located on the Bosphorous and had a nice view. The food wasn’t authentic but nonetheless not so bad the couscous was very tasty. There I also got lemonade with mint drink that came with apples and strawberries in it. It was unlike anything I had ever tried but also well. After dinner it was around 1 am, we were exhausted from our day’s adventures, went back to room 105 and passed out.
The next day it was snowing, I mean really coming down Madison style. We headed into the new area to this pedestrian outdoor shopping center called Taksim Meydan. There were a bunch of cute stores but the snow was so miserable that we were only there for a short period of time. Which there though we ran into a group of 6 American students who were studying Arabic in Damascus, can you imagine being an American in Damascus? Because I can’t! After Taksim we went to see the Galata Tower and walked through the Jewish area of Istanbul for a little bit. We ended up having lunch at a café called storks it wasn’t that good but was a nice atmosphere. The owner cam over to our table to ask where we were from. Upon departing Israel they told us that whenever someone in turkey asked us where we were from to say Canada. So when the owner asked us I said Toronto. Hahaha he then said where in Toronto I used to live there. I’m so money because I came up with this elaborate lie saying we were at the university there, I told him what we were studying there and what not. It was really funny!
Afterward we went back to the Grand Bazaar since it was indoors for a little bit, and then I went for a Turkish bath. What an experience!!
Following the bath we went back to the hotel, Marissa and I got a quick bite near the hotel in a sketchy little restaurant, afterward we all just chilled in the lobby for a little bit, the boys got a mini keg of beer and we all chatted.
The next morning the bus picked us up and took us to the airport for our flight home to Tel Aviv!
Turkey was a great experience for more than the history I saw first hand. The culture is so different than what I am used to. The Muslim influence was rampant. I hardly saw any women walking on the street in the old area, which makes sense considering, as a aforementioned it is more conservative and old fashioned. However, I was surprised considering that during Ataturk’s reign Turkey was truly a secular country, where public religious practice and garb was suppressed, and in effect the influence was limited. Today, the situation is not the same. There were definitely times, many times, I was nervous. As women we were not treated as human beings but as objects, the men looked as us as though we were dirty, slutty, and unworthy of life. Going out at night was a definite risk; as a result we stayed in the hotel the second night. I was very cautious all weekend, very aware of my surroundings, and I constantly was forced to look behind me to ensure I was not being followed. I did not flaunt my Jewish identity, none of us did, and those on the trip that did were ostracized by the locals in the old area (as I mentioned the new area is more secular, and younger). However to be subjected to this culture was definitely well worth it. It was an incredible weekend. It was 3 days in which I learned more about history, politics, culture, and society than I have in a semester.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Israelis do it right!
Today the program offered a day trip to Jerusalem, since i was there this weekend i opted out, but marissa and melissa went. instead i slept in which was entirely needed, waking up at 12:30 never felt so sweet...yessss mom 12:30, as daddy would say: "good morning, i mean good afternoon" hahaha.
i called Ariana right when i got up to see what he plans were since i knew she didnt go to JRU either. Ariana, for those of you who dont know is a fellow badger!!!!! her and some of the boys (cali boys- stephen, oren, and dave) were going to the taiellet (the boardwalk by the beach). so i got dressed to join them and it started pouring down rain miami style. 30 minutes of rain 30 minutes of sunshine and so the cycle goes....
anyway, i had the briliant idea of going to the movies. the theater is in herzilya which is a 10 min cab ride away. we all agreed to see the bucket list, got in a cab and were on our way.
now, the reason im writing this post is because of the movie theater, it's called cinema city. let me tell you this place is a little city in and of itself. it is beautiful! huge! amazing! when you go up to pay for your ticket you must choose your seat there, they mark your seat in the computer and when you enter the theater you're escorted to that exact seat. after paying, while waiting for your movie to start there is an indoor avenue of shops to browse: a book store, candy stores, a chocolate fondu store, an israeli take on pink berry, an israeli take on tcby, burger joints, jewlery stands, coffee shops, etc. all along the avenue are sculptures, life size figures of real celebrities, elvis, cowboys, astronauts, soldiers, angelina jolie, brad pit, etc. it was like its own little disney world almost. also there were love seats that were shapped like VW bugs. then there was a food court with fast food places, mcdonalds, kfc etc standard US crap food.
upon entering the theater, once you are escorted to your seat, you plop down into the most comfortable chair you have ever sat in, and so spacious, you completely lack the desire to put your feet up.
the movie was very cute i totally recommend it morgan freeman and jack nicholson were great together!
after the movie Ariana and i walked around ramat aviv a little bit by campus and stopped at burgers bar for a scrumptous dinner.
all in all it was really a greatttt day!
turkey in 2 days cant wait!
i called Ariana right when i got up to see what he plans were since i knew she didnt go to JRU either. Ariana, for those of you who dont know is a fellow badger!!!!! her and some of the boys (cali boys- stephen, oren, and dave) were going to the taiellet (the boardwalk by the beach). so i got dressed to join them and it started pouring down rain miami style. 30 minutes of rain 30 minutes of sunshine and so the cycle goes....
anyway, i had the briliant idea of going to the movies. the theater is in herzilya which is a 10 min cab ride away. we all agreed to see the bucket list, got in a cab and were on our way.
now, the reason im writing this post is because of the movie theater, it's called cinema city. let me tell you this place is a little city in and of itself. it is beautiful! huge! amazing! when you go up to pay for your ticket you must choose your seat there, they mark your seat in the computer and when you enter the theater you're escorted to that exact seat. after paying, while waiting for your movie to start there is an indoor avenue of shops to browse: a book store, candy stores, a chocolate fondu store, an israeli take on pink berry, an israeli take on tcby, burger joints, jewlery stands, coffee shops, etc. all along the avenue are sculptures, life size figures of real celebrities, elvis, cowboys, astronauts, soldiers, angelina jolie, brad pit, etc. it was like its own little disney world almost. also there were love seats that were shapped like VW bugs. then there was a food court with fast food places, mcdonalds, kfc etc standard US crap food.
upon entering the theater, once you are escorted to your seat, you plop down into the most comfortable chair you have ever sat in, and so spacious, you completely lack the desire to put your feet up.
the movie was very cute i totally recommend it morgan freeman and jack nicholson were great together!
after the movie Ariana and i walked around ramat aviv a little bit by campus and stopped at burgers bar for a scrumptous dinner.
all in all it was really a greatttt day!
turkey in 2 days cant wait!
Monday, February 11, 2008
JRU aint nothin like it!
On Thursday, Feb. 7, following 4 grueling hours of Ulpan i set out for a weekend in none other than the HOLY CITY: Jerusalem! there were some minor complications getting there (aka we got on the wrong train and went 45 minutes out of our way!!) it was well worth the wait. While i have been to the holy city before, each and everytime i am there it is like my first, in one word it is breathtaking.
there were 8 of us girls, we all stayed in Sasha's apartment which is right outside of the old city jaffa gate enterance, from her dining room window you can see the kotel, i have never seen an apartment like this before it was amazing. our first night there we went for dinner at a place called shnitzy. catchy name i know. i tried schnitzel for my first time, it was good, but i gotta say the whole fried food thing grosses me out. we called it an early night as we were all exhausted. the next day is when all the fun starts anyways.
friday morning we all got up and headed over to the Jerusalem Shuk which is an outdoor market, the one on Jerusalem is about two times the size as the one in Tel Aviv. when you walk in you are bombarded with fresh vegetables of all kinds, then fruits, then the nuts, dried, fruits and spices, followed by fresh fish, followed by baked goods, and lastly clothing and flowers. it is so colorful, and on friday before shabbat you cannot imagine how packed it was everyone in jerusalem must have been there preparing for the evening.
the girls and i picked up all the goodies we needed to make an authentic persian shabbat dinner. i have never had persian food before so this was especially a treat. after we picked up everything we needed we left the shuk and went for lunch, and a walk around the city before we had to retreat to the kitchen.
jerusalem, for those of you who do not know is unique in that the edifices are all constructed from jerusalem stone, a pale pink/peach sandstone type. with everything in unison the city equates a sweet harmony, it doesnt look like one of those developments in westin, it look idealistic, almost unrealistic.
that night to bring in the Shabbas we headed to the Kotel where everyone, im talking generation upon generations of Jewish Mishpuhas were dancing, singing, and bringing in the Sabbath. especially on the Men's side, they were going NUTS!!!! all things i have seen not much changes but each and everytime it revitalizes something in you. for me it reminds me why i am proud to be Jewish, why i came to israel to study, and why i want to keep Judaism alive. i know that may sound trite but its 100% the truth. that night at the kotel the girls and i went our separate ways for 20 minutes and prayed on our own, touching the wall automatically sends chills throughout my body, it makes me recognize the fact that i do believe ever so strongly in HaShem.
following our visit at the wall we walked back to Sasha's apartment via the Arab Quarter, elisa we were there with daddy a few years ago i dont know if you remember. once at the apartment we all gathered around the table, said kiddush, and hamozi and bon apetite! the food was AMAZINGGGG!!! We have rice and stews, a chicken stew and a beef stew. there were so many spieces, hands down the best meal since i have been here which is a bold bold statement since the food here is amazing!
saturday morning we all slept in!!! jerusalem is DEAD on shabbat no one is out everything is closed, it really is a day to just relax. we had shabbat lunch, again said kiddush and hamosi, we had omlettes, cheeses, salads delicious! then we took a small walk around the Jewish Quarter, and went back to the apartment to get ready for the evening.
that evening we went to ben yehuda street where there are a lot of bars and restaurants and clubs. we stopped off first at a place called zollies were we all got a drink and a hookah. it was very american but also very fun. the music was great! afterward we went next store to a bar called nadin which was very similar.
sunday was a great day, we got up fairly early and went over toward ben yehuda. i had the best falalfel i have ever had, some original and some spicy at the falalfel bar. im talking the works were in my pita: humus, cucumber, tomatos, cabbage, tehina, etc...im talking gooooooooood stuff! then we went shopping, and into the old city for another walk around where i got elisa her graduation presents (which you are absolutly going to LOVE), and a last visit to the kotel before getting the sharut back to tel aviv.
all in all it was a wonderful weekend i couldnt of asked for anything better, good company, good food, good times, and an unbelieveable place. it all keeps me appreciative for having the opportunity to be here, to be apart of this, of something bigger than myself.
there were 8 of us girls, we all stayed in Sasha's apartment which is right outside of the old city jaffa gate enterance, from her dining room window you can see the kotel, i have never seen an apartment like this before it was amazing. our first night there we went for dinner at a place called shnitzy. catchy name i know. i tried schnitzel for my first time, it was good, but i gotta say the whole fried food thing grosses me out. we called it an early night as we were all exhausted. the next day is when all the fun starts anyways.
friday morning we all got up and headed over to the Jerusalem Shuk which is an outdoor market, the one on Jerusalem is about two times the size as the one in Tel Aviv. when you walk in you are bombarded with fresh vegetables of all kinds, then fruits, then the nuts, dried, fruits and spices, followed by fresh fish, followed by baked goods, and lastly clothing and flowers. it is so colorful, and on friday before shabbat you cannot imagine how packed it was everyone in jerusalem must have been there preparing for the evening.
the girls and i picked up all the goodies we needed to make an authentic persian shabbat dinner. i have never had persian food before so this was especially a treat. after we picked up everything we needed we left the shuk and went for lunch, and a walk around the city before we had to retreat to the kitchen.
jerusalem, for those of you who do not know is unique in that the edifices are all constructed from jerusalem stone, a pale pink/peach sandstone type. with everything in unison the city equates a sweet harmony, it doesnt look like one of those developments in westin, it look idealistic, almost unrealistic.
that night to bring in the Shabbas we headed to the Kotel where everyone, im talking generation upon generations of Jewish Mishpuhas were dancing, singing, and bringing in the Sabbath. especially on the Men's side, they were going NUTS!!!! all things i have seen not much changes but each and everytime it revitalizes something in you. for me it reminds me why i am proud to be Jewish, why i came to israel to study, and why i want to keep Judaism alive. i know that may sound trite but its 100% the truth. that night at the kotel the girls and i went our separate ways for 20 minutes and prayed on our own, touching the wall automatically sends chills throughout my body, it makes me recognize the fact that i do believe ever so strongly in HaShem.
following our visit at the wall we walked back to Sasha's apartment via the Arab Quarter, elisa we were there with daddy a few years ago i dont know if you remember. once at the apartment we all gathered around the table, said kiddush, and hamozi and bon apetite! the food was AMAZINGGGG!!! We have rice and stews, a chicken stew and a beef stew. there were so many spieces, hands down the best meal since i have been here which is a bold bold statement since the food here is amazing!
saturday morning we all slept in!!! jerusalem is DEAD on shabbat no one is out everything is closed, it really is a day to just relax. we had shabbat lunch, again said kiddush and hamosi, we had omlettes, cheeses, salads delicious! then we took a small walk around the Jewish Quarter, and went back to the apartment to get ready for the evening.
that evening we went to ben yehuda street where there are a lot of bars and restaurants and clubs. we stopped off first at a place called zollies were we all got a drink and a hookah. it was very american but also very fun. the music was great! afterward we went next store to a bar called nadin which was very similar.
sunday was a great day, we got up fairly early and went over toward ben yehuda. i had the best falalfel i have ever had, some original and some spicy at the falalfel bar. im talking the works were in my pita: humus, cucumber, tomatos, cabbage, tehina, etc...im talking gooooooooood stuff! then we went shopping, and into the old city for another walk around where i got elisa her graduation presents (which you are absolutly going to LOVE), and a last visit to the kotel before getting the sharut back to tel aviv.
all in all it was a wonderful weekend i couldnt of asked for anything better, good company, good food, good times, and an unbelieveable place. it all keeps me appreciative for having the opportunity to be here, to be apart of this, of something bigger than myself.
Monday, February 4, 2008
All Kinds of Wonderful
To sum up our weekend it was simply spectacular, so much so that the girls and I are craving the merriment Thursday night is sure to bring, aint no thang about December 25, in TA Christmas comes 365.
Following our dreaded 5 hours of ULPAN we hailed the first cab and headed toward Jaffa to meet up with some “OSPers” (as we are lamely called), Aviv and Funt (great kids!). They were on the market for a hookah and we were on the market for some entertainment, the two went hand in hand.
Although Jaffa is only a 10-minute cab ride from our Brodetsky Dorms, the old city, with its Arab influence, small filthy streets, and congested market areas is a worlds away from the vibrancy Tel Aviv embodies. There is one main road, tons of alleys aligned with shops, which are all full with a TON of shit; I’m talking lots and lots and lots of stolen garage sale leftovers. Mismatched jewelry, doorknobs, furniture, all kinds of goodies including a-create your own chandelier stands with all the chandelier crystal pieces anyone could ever want (check out the album on FB).
Either way the boys got their much-needed hookah, a Syrian since according to Aviv they are the best. Before heading out the boys got some schwarma and fruit juice. Upon arriving home we tested out the new smoke pipe, great piece of equipment, worked like a charm! After spending a fun filled day together exploring we all pre gamed together and headed out that night with tom to academia.
Now let me tell you a little about this sketchy character tom, he is an Israeli born and raised 20 year old whose only responsibility is to party, when I say party I mean party like a rock star. In an American sense the kid is rollin on 22s and flying first class. But consider this…who has ever heard of an Israeli named tom? Weird, I knooow. Either way we rolled up to academia, walked through the line and went to tom’s table where we were bombarded with vodka shots, I got my tights burned by some Israeli bitch I don’t know, and we danced the night away! It was tons-o-fun!!! Following we “a-bared” at this exclusive joint called the breakfast club, very cool place, but at this point I think we were all kinda tired and ready to go home. Next day I didn’t roll out of bed til around 2, Melissa and I went for a walk to the beach. That night we hit up 22 lilanbloom we called it an early night at around 2 am and all chilled at Aviv’s. the reason I mention this is because he gave mars 2 packs of Orbit gum from the states, haven’t seen the girl so blissfully happy in days. We took a photo shoot ☺.
Last bit I want to share is superbowllllll Sunday, and the experience we had in Tel Aviv. The game didn’t start here til 1:30am. There is an American bar on the beach call Mike’s Place, we knew it was going to be packed so we got there at 11, just in time to get a spot. At 1:30 as the American anthem was blasting over the speakers in the bar and the giants and pats were getting ready to play ballllll every single person in the bar stood up put their right hand over their chest and sang the American national anthem at the top of their lungs. It was an amazing this, absolutely incredible, and loads of fun. A perfect way to end a perfect weekend!
Following our dreaded 5 hours of ULPAN we hailed the first cab and headed toward Jaffa to meet up with some “OSPers” (as we are lamely called), Aviv and Funt (great kids!). They were on the market for a hookah and we were on the market for some entertainment, the two went hand in hand.
Although Jaffa is only a 10-minute cab ride from our Brodetsky Dorms, the old city, with its Arab influence, small filthy streets, and congested market areas is a worlds away from the vibrancy Tel Aviv embodies. There is one main road, tons of alleys aligned with shops, which are all full with a TON of shit; I’m talking lots and lots and lots of stolen garage sale leftovers. Mismatched jewelry, doorknobs, furniture, all kinds of goodies including a-create your own chandelier stands with all the chandelier crystal pieces anyone could ever want (check out the album on FB).
Either way the boys got their much-needed hookah, a Syrian since according to Aviv they are the best. Before heading out the boys got some schwarma and fruit juice. Upon arriving home we tested out the new smoke pipe, great piece of equipment, worked like a charm! After spending a fun filled day together exploring we all pre gamed together and headed out that night with tom to academia.
Now let me tell you a little about this sketchy character tom, he is an Israeli born and raised 20 year old whose only responsibility is to party, when I say party I mean party like a rock star. In an American sense the kid is rollin on 22s and flying first class. But consider this…who has ever heard of an Israeli named tom? Weird, I knooow. Either way we rolled up to academia, walked through the line and went to tom’s table where we were bombarded with vodka shots, I got my tights burned by some Israeli bitch I don’t know, and we danced the night away! It was tons-o-fun!!! Following we “a-bared” at this exclusive joint called the breakfast club, very cool place, but at this point I think we were all kinda tired and ready to go home. Next day I didn’t roll out of bed til around 2, Melissa and I went for a walk to the beach. That night we hit up 22 lilanbloom we called it an early night at around 2 am and all chilled at Aviv’s. the reason I mention this is because he gave mars 2 packs of Orbit gum from the states, haven’t seen the girl so blissfully happy in days. We took a photo shoot ☺.
Last bit I want to share is superbowllllll Sunday, and the experience we had in Tel Aviv. The game didn’t start here til 1:30am. There is an American bar on the beach call Mike’s Place, we knew it was going to be packed so we got there at 11, just in time to get a spot. At 1:30 as the American anthem was blasting over the speakers in the bar and the giants and pats were getting ready to play ballllll every single person in the bar stood up put their right hand over their chest and sang the American national anthem at the top of their lungs. It was an amazing this, absolutely incredible, and loads of fun. A perfect way to end a perfect weekend!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)