A 2 day return to Israel. Food, Beach, Desert, Nightlife

Even though Israel is my native land I always get exited when the plane land on ben grunion airport. I have leaved away for 5 years now and I come back 2 year. When I get back to Israel I consider my self a tourist since I come for leisure purpose but with all the benefits of knowing all the right people and the right places.


Tel-Aviv
First and a most stop for your trip. Tel aviv is the heart of the Israeli modern culture and the biggest concentration of youth and night life in the middle east. From the airport I took a train to tel aviv 20 min (Azrieli station) and from there took a bus to the city centre eager to drop my bags in the airbnb I booked prior to the trip.
My mind is actually locked on my first target which is feasting on freshly made authentic hummus.

the bus drops me on Allenby St., 200 m from my flat which is located in “Kerem Hateymanim” neighbourhood this is an excellent neighbourhood to live in since it’s very central but at the same time very chill, close to the sea, the lively “Carmel Market” and most important, between the narrow alleys you’ll find some of the best hummus restaurants in Israel. i dinned at “Shlomo & Doron” and had hummus with baba ganush toping. After my need for hummus was satisfied and since it was a beautiful day i decided to walk down the “Carmel Market” which i never get board of, making my way towards the beach. The “Carmel Market” is a narrow street full of market stands on both sides. A colourful mix of fruits, vegetables, sweets, delicious street food, cloth, cosmetics and bakeries.  the Market is packed with people and is an all senses experience. I had to stop to get my self some halva sweet (a sesame and honey typical arab sweet). From the end of the market street i grabbed a motorised public scooter (they are everywhere, you just need to download an app for it) to the beach. The beaches where full of people as suited for hot summer day. i took out my shal and laid in the sun for the rest of the afternoon, alternating the warm sand with the cool water and the waves. After a shower at my flat i headed to the old city of Jaffa (all with the public scooters).
Old Jaffa is more than 3000 years old and you can feel the magic on the streets. After meeting with friend in the old harbour, an excellent place to see the sunset, I headed to Jaffa’s flea market which in the night time transforms into a vivid night life centre filled with bars and street restaurants.
I met with friends and we ate and had shots of Arak (anise liquor) into the night at “Pua”, a lovely fusion food restaurant.

Day 1: With a slight hangover and after a quick but delicious breakfast at a small yemenite restaurant under my flats window I met with my friend Amir and we headed with his car (you might want to rent a car to do this trip even though its possible by bus too) to my favourite natural place in Israel. The Dead Sea. 2 hours drive from Tel Aviv on highway #1. The Dead Sea is a salty lake and it's the lowest place in the world! As for that you can find there many unique natural phenomenas.

We’ve headed to “Metsukei Dragot” beach which is an un official beach where you need to pay no entry. when you walk along the beach you can find plenty of sweet water spring on the verge of the salty water lake which makes for a great relief after the salty water bath. what’s so curious about the Dead Sea is the fact that you automatically float, without any effort. on the beach you can also find reservoirs of medicinal mud you can spread all over your body!
actually people come from all over the world to the dead sea for medicinal purposes.
we slept in “Metsukei Dragot’s” vacation village located 5 km up the hill from the beach, located on top of a cliff, with a spectacular view over the dead see and the Jordanian Mountains on the other side of it. The place has it’s own restaurant who serves a pretty nice combination of Israeli and international food.

Day 2: At about 7am we went walking into the dessert and went down the “Dragot River” a both beautiful and challenging trail that runs along a dessert river with ladders and pools you have to swim across. it’s recommended to notice the office in the action village that you’r leaving for the trail.
the trail took us 5 hours and it took us all the way to beach (not far from where we’ve been the day before) we then hitchhiked back to our cars and made our way to “Ein Gedi” which is a botanical garden inside a kibbutz. They have a nice restaurant and it’s lovely to walk around.
before night time we headed back to tel aviv exhausted , sunburned and full of beautiful experiences .