[img]96|left|Shachar||no_popup[/img]Dateline Jerusalem — I am blessed to have wonderful friends.
Some have traveled to Israel to visit their relatives or see this beautiful country for the first time, but despite their busy schedules, they have made time to meet with me.
Yesterday I traveled to Tel Aviv for a reunion with such friends.
I arrived at the train station (rekevet) with about 10 minutes to spare. My hand luggage took a trip on a conveyor belt through an x-ray machine while I walked through the metal detector.
As I waited with others for the train to arrive, I observed a soldier with a bomb-sniffing dog walking up and down the station platform. Security is part of everyday life in Israel. One cannot enter a bank, a mall, a supermarket, a bus station or high-rise building without having bags, packages or purses checked.
With ticket in hand I boarded the red, white and blue double-deck train and settled into a blue velour cushioned seat facing backward. I think I get a better view that way.
Enchanting Scenery Overcame the Sunless Sky
On each side of the aisle, the seats are arranged so that four seats face each other with a table in between. The train glided on the rails in the direction of Tel Aviv. The ride was so smooth, it was like floating in air.
Although the sky was somewhat gloomy and gray with the morning sun trying to peek through the clouds, the scenery was beautiful.
Israel is thought of as a dry desert, like much of the Middle East. Prior to the Jews moving back to this land of our ancestors, it was just that, arid and parched. But, just as prophesied in the Bible, the land blooms when the Jews live here.
From my seat on the train, Israel looked like a tropical paradise.
Miles of green fields, orange groves, greenhouses and palm trees of several species ran adjacent to the train tracks, as did telephone poles encased in 4-sided, pyramid-shaped metal structures reminding me of a child's erector set. High-rise concrete apartment buildings and small Mediterranean-style villas with red tile roofs dotted the landscape. As we approached Tel Aviv, one could only see high rise office buildings of steel and green or blue tinted walls of glass.
I was so mesmerized by the scenic beauty that I did not hear the announcement of my stop (there are 4 stops in Tel Aviv). When I finally awoke from my trance and alit from the train at the last Tel Aviv stop, I stepped into a rain storm.
I hailed a taxi (monit) to take me back to my original Tel Aviv destination. I opened the taxi door and stepped into a river of rushing water almost mid-calf deep in front of my friends' hotel. My leather shoes with little holes for my feet to breathe and my suede skirt were soaked.
I met my friends in the lobby of their hotel. We sat and reminisced until the rain subsided. We then took off for the Allenby market, an open air shuk (bazaar). Little stalls of all kinds of merchandise lined the narrow aisles. I found shawls, scarves and tablecloths for much less than I bought them on sale at a discount store in my town last week.
Among the clothing, Judaica and jewelry stalls were vendors selling fresh fish, fruits and vegetables. One stand had pomegranates the size of large grapefruit and eggplants of several different varieties. Another stand had exotic spices, nuts, fruits and vegetables I have never seen at the supermarket. One fish stand even had shrimp, difficult to find in this country where shellfish is forbidden by the Torah. That fishmonger was watering down the fish and shellfish, spraying passersby with the fish tainted water.
By this time we were hungry and found a kosher restaurant.
Besides the normal Israeli fare of shishlik (beef, chicken or lamb shish kabobs), falafel, schnitzel, shwarma and ground beef kabobs, the menu had some unusual delicacies: ox testicles, spine (have no clue what that is), goose liver, turkey heart, duck shishlik, lungs in sauce, and calf feet soup. I ordered an entrecote steak, my friend's husband ordered denis fish (sea bream in the States), and she and her sons had chicken shishlik. The boys and her husband also had beef bone soup.
Of course, we also had Israeli salad (chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, lemon juice, parsley), pita bread, olives and pickles, finely diced tomatoes and garlic to spread in the pita, and chips (french fries).
We said our goodbyes and the rain began to pour again from the sky. A wonderful day with wonderful friends.
L'hitraot. Shachar.
Shachar is the Hebrew name of a California-based attorney and former Los Angeles County deputy sheriff who moved to Israel 2 1/2 years ago.
