bryndia had been anticipating their arrival to israel for awhile. not because tel aviv was constantly cited as the youngest and hottest city in the middle east. not because of the constant sun blaring over beautiful beaches. not because of the thousands of years of religious history. (though these ideas did help.) mostly, bryndia was excited to be reunited with india's bff judith chriqui, a corrupted but sweet jew who had offered the pull out couch in her apartment to them for two weeks.
bryndia rode a hot six hour bus ride through the sinai desert, empty sand the only thing they saw for miles at a time. they reached taba, a dreary port town on the red sea, where they walked a kilometer from the bus station to the country line. here, they passed their bags through security, bought a reentry visa for egypt, and were pushed into israel. immediately, the tone of their surroundings changed. two buildings not 100 meters apart bore drastically different conditions. in egypt, floor tiles sat in piles, cracked. there was no furniture, save for a few rickety plastic lawn chairs. unsavory bathroom options. and then, right there, across the street, in elat, israel, were luxury tour buses, towering hotels, sparkling toilets! bryndia passed through israeli security, all executed by army officials, none older than 20. they hopped a cab to the bus station, ate some hurried falafal, and boarded a five hour bus to tel aviv. a full 18 hours after leaving their hotel in cairo, bryndia arrived into the arms of judy. and her cute jew roommates, sabrina from LA and marta from philly.
the girls lived in a large, breezy three bedroom apartment on dizengoff, a busy street dotted with sidewalk cafes, designer boutiques, corner markets selling greasy pastries and bright fruit juices. their apartment was above a yellow painted bakery that made their bedrooms smell of baking chocolate and powdered sugar every morning. across an alleyway was a window into their friend civonne's kitchen. greetings and dinner invites were shouted across the way. the glass doors to the balcony were always left open, the tea kettle was often on, and music flowed constantly from small speakers in the living room. the girls were relaxed and inviting. bryndia welcomed this feeling of home.
bryndia's first weekend in the city was commemorated in many celebrations. sidewalk art shows before pizza and bottles of cava, long walks through the busy city at night. a traditional shabbat dinner, the fixings of which were bought from large jewish families selling them inside of a large mall every friday afternoon. a long day on the beach, watching macho boys play paddle ball, hacky sack. the group swim in different waters of the mediterranean. and a late night party on the girls rooftop. dozens of their friends gathered around pink jungle juice in sparkling white christmas bulbs and tea lights. by the end of the weekend, bryndia felt acquainted with the israeli lifestyle. and they liked it.
when sunday rolled around, judith headed to a fancy job in a tall building downtown, and marta went off to work at a chic pr firm. sabrina, who worked from home, stepped up to the plate as tour guide. the three of them fell into a nice workday routine. a leisurely breakfast, a walk to the shook, a dark and busy market where they could buy pitas, fruits, alcohol, and any clothing item or kitchen appliance they could dream of. a slow walk back to the apartment to drop off their purchases, and then an afternoon of adventuring.
they walked the long length of the beach. wandered through the dodgy bazaars of old jaffa, trying different famed hummus restaurants. they swam in the ocean and visited judith at her work. they napped in the sun, met friends for drinks, lived life slowly.
after almost a week in tel aviv, bryndia decided to venture out and see more of the country while two of their three friends were busy with work. they hopped an hour long bus to jerusalem and arrived in the country's capital in the early afternoon. they first wandered through a packed market, where they ate smooth hummus and saucy green beans over rice. they discovered sabrina's favorite bakery, marzipan, and spent sheckles on a big box of ruggula for their hostesses. they lay in a park and soaked in the heat. and finally found their way to the old city without a map where they walked the tight covered alleys packed with trinket shops and hooka cafes. that night, they slept at citadel hostel in the armenian quarter, spooning in sleeping bags on a bare open roof overlooking the ancient walled old city. the awoke early and watched the sun rise, a loudspeaker pumping melodic muslim prayers from a mosque nearby.
the two visited the wailing wall, where india's knees were hastily covered by a female guard, and she was scolded by an old woman for turning her back to the gray stone as she walked away. they braved their claustrophobia and trekked through the pitch black tunnels of the city of david, up to their knees in icy water, holding hands tightly, sandwiched between loud israeli school children. they walked through the same streets that jesus christ had. saw the tomb of the virgin. circled the old city from atop the wall's ramparts. ate an israeli breakfast and discussed their historical adventures. and headed back to tel aviv.
bryndia's second weekend in tel aviv was marked by a special visitor. judith's mama, mindy, came to play with the group for a while. india's second mother showed them some serious maternal affection and took judith and bryndia out to a fancy dinner on the namal, the chic new neighborhood of restaurants and clubs that bordered the harbor. after cava and burgers, bryndia met marta and sabrina and the four of them partied late late late, dancing to bumping house music on flat leather couches. the next day was spent recovering with iced coffee on the beach.
the following week, while the girls were busy with work, bryndia attempted a day trip up north to haifa, a small coastal city famed for the baha'i gardens. and where india's sisterfriend brianna had lived and volunteered for two years. foiled on their first try by a fire on the tracks, bryndia finally made it to the top of mount caramel and looked down upon the gardens - 19 terraces of perfect symmetry, bright red flowers at the bases of large palms hanging over sparkling fountains, that seemed to cascade down the mountainside and into the ocean. bryndia took a tour from the top to the center terrace, learned a little more about the baha'i faith, and thought of bri, working hard to clean the marble of the temples with a tiny toothbrush.
one evening, the group attended a goodbye party for a friend of the girls at a bar in a busy courtyard. they drank cold beers and smoked hooka and laughed at a girl kissing a friend on the mouth and immediately turning to vomit everywhere. the bartenders handed out popsicles and bryndia marveled at the dark hair of israeli girls - some wore it so long it seemed to touch the ground. another afternoon, sabrina and some friends joined bryndia on a wine tasting tour at a vineyard thirty minutes outside of tel aviv. their young guide talked with her hands and flipped her long braid everywhere before serving them big glass pitchers of delicious red wine in a leafy courtyard. another evening was spent at a party for an up and coming food blog on a hotel rooftop. the group drank cocktails, watched shirtless boys cannon ball into a glowing pool, and bryndia gathered advice about asia from israelis who had traveled there. one particular late night was capped off by bryndia trudging to an empty sports bar on the beach to watch an important lakers/thunder game aired at 430 am in israel. kicked out when the sun was rising and the bar needed to be mopped, the pair sat on a picnic bench outside and watched the final minutes through an open window.
two weeks in israel slipped by too quickly. bryndia had become accustomed to their new roomies. it was their home away from home. and they were sad to leave it. their last night was spent at the most special of jewish occasions: judy's young cousin was having her bat mizfah. mindy met judy and bryndia at their cousins home.. a large open courtyard that was surrounded by four different townhouses that housed a grandmother and her three sons and their families. bryndia was welcomed into the family. they ate kosher bbq blessed by a rabbi and watched the girls of the family join hands and dance in hopping circles while the uncles played their guitars and sang boisterously.
the next day, bryndia said mushy goodbyes to their amazing hostesses, and hopped a bus down south. their plan was to cut the long journey back to cairo in half by spending a few days relaxing in the beach/border town of elat, with a day trip over to jordan to check out petra squeezed in.
on their way through the desert, bryndia's bus spiraled down deep into a valley where the dead sea sat quietly. the two spent an afternoon floating in the salty water, permanently pushing their feet downwards, their bodies buoyed in the dense liquid. they ran their feet along the sea floor and pulled out huge rocks of salt between their toes, felt their skin smooth in the sun after an hour of floating. famished, they ate french fries and milkshakes at "the lowest burger king in the world!" and another two hours on the bus and they reached elat and the red sea.
bryndia found a hostel close to the bus station, dropped off their heavy backpacks, and found sushi for dinner. they circled the compact downtown, found the movie theater, and paid the low price for iron man two with only a handful of other viewers. the following day was spent sunbathing next to the red sea, swimming in clear water with the most colorful fish floating around their ankles. purples and oranges glowed all around them; their presence didn't bother the sea creatures. that night, they ate a picnic in their room with cnn on, falling asleep early, preparing for an early journey across the boarder to petra.
bryndia had been determined to get to the hidden city by themselves. the package tours that were offered by the front desk clerk seemed expensive and boring. the pair set off for the boarder early, excited to save money and pave their own path. at the boarder, they paid the country tolls, got fresh stamps in their passports, and hired a driver to the nearest town in jordan. here, they were sketchily passed on to another man in another car who would take them the two hour journey to petra and back. the ride passed quickly, the orange sand zipping past them. they reached petra's entrance by mid morning and entered eagerly, agreeing to meet their driver four hours later at the gate.
petra was as breathtaking as had been promised. men wrapped in scarves galloped by on horses, trotted by on camels. a long passageway cut into the tall red earth led them through the mountains and out into the city center. there were very few guards or gates, and bryndia enjoyed jumping all over the place, climbing ancient staircases that led to huge empty caverns. they avoided the crowds and tried to find unseen paths with new views. they loved how free and uninhibited this world heritage site was. literally the opposite of the controlled colosseum in rome. after hours of wandering, they turned to begin the long journey back to the gate, dehydrated and sweaty. another seven wonder of the world the pair had gotten to see on their journey. the car ride back was broken up with a hot sweet tea at a roadside stand with their driver and concluded with an easy reentry into israel. their last night was spent munching pizza and calming india down about the next days journey to cairo, and then asia.
the next morning, bryndia packed their bags and kissed israel goodbye. they would miss this country. such a small area packed with so many different kind of cities. the laid back beach life in tel aviv. the mystic air in jerusalem. the manicured beauty of haifa. so many different kinds of people in different kinds of places with a shared love of their country. they made their way through the gates and back into egypt. a guard greeted them. "richard gere and julia roberts!" that makes me a prostitute, india pointed out. the two were then told the next bus leaving for cairo wasn't due to depart until four pm, too late for bryndia to make their flight from cairo that evening. they debated their options. bryn visited the tourist office and returned proclaiming that the guards had been wrong! there was a bus leaving at 1230 and hurry hurry! the two ran to the bus station quickly where the sat for over two hours, strung along by the constant promise of a rude egyptian. "five more minutes and bus come for my friends. no problem. five minutes only. no problem." finally, when they realized there would be no bus until four, and confronted their "friend", he offered them a shared seat in a rickety mini van, packed with large egyptian men. no, thank you, my friend. enraged by their afternoon disappearing, bryndia stalked back to the gate where they were forced to hire a private car to drive them the five hours to cairo. they made it to the airport with time to spare and boarded a flight to the next destination on their world tour: india.
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