This weekend was a whirlwind of alternately riding in cabs and hiking through ancient sites. When I was younger, I would watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and think that this scenery was just a set. Turns out it is known as the Treasury, one of the most famous sites in Petra I got to see.

We entered from the southernmost crossing, starting in the Israeli city of Eilat and arriving near Jordanian Aqaba. Eilat is right on the Red Sea, and its main attraction is definitely the beach. I traveled there last weekend with a friend, and we snorkeled in a beautiful coral reef where we even saw an octopus cruising around the ocean floor!

Sorry, the octopus wouldn't come up for the photo shoot.

But this time, we were only passing through Eilat. There was a surprising lack of security, and we were across the border in no time. I managed to get what I believe is a slightly discounted cab ride to Petra, simply by throwing out some Arabic greetings to the drivers (it also helped to know how to push their buttons a little by using an expression for “crazy expensive!”). Jordanian public transport simply does not compare to that of Israel, so we had no choice but to taxi it up.

It is 3 hours to Eilat and another 3 back up to Petra from where we started, so by the time we arrived at our hostel it was late afternoon. We were welcomed with tea and coffee by the hostel manager, and decided to visit “Little Petra” while there was still some daylight. This is a nearby park that actually offered free admission — a rarity in Jordan! It was a great place to whet our appetite for what was to come the next day.

The town of Petra was fairly limited, but still had some tasty places to eat cheaply.

In addition, we discovered a concert of traditional music that evening. It mostly consisted of singing and the guitar/sitar Arab hybrid that none of the locals were able to name for us in English.

Apparently bagpipes are more common in Jordan than we thought. The man in the posters is the King of Jordan, whose noticeably light appearance stems from having an English mother.

We found some local high schoolers to hang out with that evening, and in the process I broadened my colloquial Arabic base a bit. It was interested to watch their reactions as we described our experiences in Israel to them. These guys made no attempt to conceal a certain disdain for the Jews that would unfortunately be echoed throughout  our trip. This sentiment seemed to be directly mostly at Orthodox Jews, whom they claim would treat Arab shopkeepers and Bedouin guides poorly when they visited the country. Yet we enjoyed hanging out at the show with them, and even lent some cheering support as their rapper/beat-boxer friend took the stage (which was quite the departure from all the previous folk singing, and probably shocking for the older listeners!)

The next day, we got up early so as to get to the site before it got too hot. The entrance fee was a whopping 50 JD (dinar), or $70! Indeed, each subsequent fee on our trip would always make us wonder what Jordan would do without its burgeoning tourist industry!

This gift shop turned out to have nothing but a bullwhip. Sadly, I could not ride into the movie location with a fedora on.

It was nice and cool in As-Siq, the winding canyon leading to the Treasury.

Meh, I've seen bigger.

The suspense steadily built as we walked further into the canyon. On the way, there were some neat carvings and other historical asides. Most of the sites in Petra are over 2,000 years old, built by the ancient Nabeatan civilization. The Nabeatans were mainly traders that settled Petra as a strategic hub connecting European, African and Asian spice routes. However, their rule didn’t last very long, and they were eventually conquered by the Romans. The resulting Greco-Roman architectural themes in some of the sites are impossible to miss.

The second rock formation we've been told resembles an elephant (along with one on the way to Little Petra).

While we would spend the day trekking around several awesome sites, the first one was the one I was most anticipating: Al Khazneh, or the Treasury.

"Wait a sec, is that up ahead what I think it is...?!?!"

And when we finally got to it, the Treasury was even better than I had imagined it.

Supposedly, it is called the Treasury because the urn that sits at the top once held some kind of treasure that was looted some time ago. The spots on it are pock-marks from travelers shooting at it to try and recover some of the loot.

It’s hard to even know where to begin when describing a place like Jerusalem. I struck out for the Old City by myself after the White Night in Tel Aviv, and wasn’t too sure what I “needed” to see. I was dropped off a few blocks from the Jaffa Gate (one of many entrances to the city), and of course began snapping away en route.

Walking along Jaffa Road.

Even in Israel, there are some things that just follow you around!

Before I could even locate a hostel, I was swept up by the first of many Arab storekeepers I would meet. After a few trips around the block you began to get a feel for the algorithm they use to lure in tourists:

“Hello please, how are you? Where are you going?”

(Name off a place/point to a map)

“Ah yes, very good place. Down this way, I take you…”

(Move forward ten feet)

“But first, come see my shop! It’s very nice, please, this way…”

And just like that, you’re browsing silver plated tea cups, nagilas (hookahs) and wooden camels! I ended up picking up a nice bedspread/table cloth/rug/tapestry that was handmade up in the north for my parents — but not after a fair amount of bargaining! You really have to be on your guard, as the store owners can move pretty fast. One second you’re walking inside, the next they’re asking what kind of credit card you have! Even at the checkout, they attempted to add a “surcharge” to cover the cost of running the machine. This is not so unreasonable, until they start bartering with you over the exact amount and you realize they are just trying to skim a few extra bucks off you!

I checked into a nice hostel, and got a private room so that I could recover from a night of wandering on the beach in Tel Aviv and not sleeping. I then started to explore the city, which is divided up into the Muslim, Christian, Jewish and Armenian Quarters.

Standing room only -- just don't slip on the really worn stone steps!

The deeper you go into this labyrinth, the cheaper (and possibly better) the food gets. Since I am now virtually addicted to falafel, I of course helped myself. I also went outside to walk around the “modern” city, and stumbled upon a block party of sorts, that apparently happens every Friday until Shabbat!

The common denominator of all of Israel: live music and overpriced beer!

But after the Shabbat began, the city went stone quiet. I wandered around some more, and enjoyed the unique and well-worn architecture that permeated even the newer parts of Jerusalem.

After calling it an early night and sleeping early (but not before the evening prayer reverberated throughout the city), I awoke the next day to make a friend at the hostel who became my travel buddy. At first we tagged along with a free tour, but we quickly became aware of how much of a nuisance the residents perceive groups of 40+ tourists crowding a tiny market avenue to be. We decided to avoid the feeling of being herded around like cattle, and opted to follow a guidebook and map and explore ourselves:

Inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

The purported site of the Crucifixion of Christ.

In particular, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was an amazing visit. Regardless of one’s religious views, it is nonetheless impressive to be in the presence of such a holy site. Indeed, it was incredible just to observe how moved some of the other visitors were to be there — some had no doubt been waiting their entire lives for this chance. And whether or not you believe in Christ, it is powerful to realize that you are standing at a site whose events would unforgettably shape modern history. Perhaps this makes the so-called “Jerusalem Syndrome,” where a visitor to the city returns to his home believing himself to be a prophet, slightly more believable!

Near the Wailing Wall, right before we were asked not to take photographs!

I won’t go into the details of the history of these sites (in other words, I don’t feel like plagiarizing Wikipedia), but needless to say these sites are at least as old as your grandfather. After I had walked enough miles to qualify for a half-marathon, I retreated to the city to kill some time (a.k.a several more hours) before the Shabbat ended and I could catch a bus back to the lovely Sede Boqer.

The closest one will ever get to being in the movie "I Am Legend"!

The one slightly disappointing aspect of the trip was the difficulty I experienced trying to get people to help me practice speaking Arabic. When I would say hi to an Arab storekeeper, I would normally not even be understood at first because they are expecting me to address them in Hebrew or English. They would become curious where I studied Arabic, but were surprisingly reluctant to teach me local words/phrases. Perhaps this hints at a suspicion that I was a government operative or something! However, my relatively poor speaking ability no doubt soon dispelled this notion from their minds. It is both to my credit and embarrassment that after 1.5 months of being here, I can already get around with Hebrew significantly better than I can with Arabic — which I studied intensively for two semesters! Ah well…

Now, back to work until the still-in-the-works trip to PETRA! Check back soon — and in the meantime look at this sweet picture of one of our collector dishes focusing the sun (for once! Usually they are doing maintenance on it):

Maybe this is how they did the special effects for the end scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark."

This post will cover two separate weekends spent on the beach in Tel Aviv. The first time in Tel Aviv, I went with some friends from Sde Boker and stayed two nights in a hostel located just one block from the beach. The great thing about a hostel is that you can always turn a group of total strangers into a group of friends, because most of its inhabitants are just passing through like you. I met visitors from Australia and New Zealand, Germany, and more. The hostel had a pretty cool rooftop view.

View from the hostel roof.

I got very familiar with this room, as the room we were assigned had no ceiling fan and for me it was simply impossible to sleep there. So, this became my bed (from 7am, when the roof was unlocked, until our 10 am checkout time!):

We managed to catch the last day of a two week food festival, which featured cuisine from nearly every region of the world, as well as live music, beer gardens, and other fun stuff.

I still have no clue what this radio gameshow was all about!

The main attraction of Tel Aviv is definitely the night scene – but be prepared for excruciatingly-high prices if you go to a trendy lounge! I also roamed around the market during the day and shopped for souvenirs, but as far as I can tell the city is not exactly brimming with cultural destinations (see: Jerusalem). The two things one goes to Tel Aviv for: relaxing on the beach by day and partying by night! Although be careful- even the beaches can be expensive. We stayed near one of the free ones, but unfortunately they still charge you for plastic chairs to sit on (burning to the touch on a sunny day) and charge you even more to sit under an umbrella. At first I thought the collectors were just scammers, but sure enough, everyone has to pay at least a little for some fun in the sun.

The second (and most recent visit), we stayed just for one night: the Layla Lavan (White Night). After the city was named the White City by UNESCO in 2003, Tel Aviv began putting on once-a-year parties that consume virtually every part of it. In fact, it was such a mob scene that I was not able to find a hostel, and instead stayed out on the beach until morning! There was a huge concert on the beach, as well as smaller events scattered all over.

Front row view in a crowd that stretched a few hundred feet back!

In summary, Tel Aviv is a great place to relax for a weekend, get a tan and enjoy a vibrant nightlife with whomever you are lucky enough to meet! We were lucky because the same “crew” of hostel inhabitants was still there the second time around, so it was good to be among friends old and new alike.