Tel Aviv, Israel




Six years ago we left Israel and always knew we would return. It's almost hard to believe we are back in the land and we want to savor every moment. We want to balance our time between doing and being. I have an easy time with the 'doing' because I am such a planner - I have a harder time with the 'being'.  We want to be intentional about being in the Word and being aware of what God has planned for us while we are here.

After a long flight we arrived in Israel yesterday afternoon. We had time to settle in, have dinner, and went to bed early to get a fresh start in the morning.

First stop ... Tel Aviv.

Tel Aviv translates to Ancient Hill of Spring. It's hard to believe that 110 years ago it was just sand dunes on the outskirts of the port of Old Jaffa purchased by Jewish immigrants. Today it is the second largest city in Israel with over 444,000 people.

I almost left Tel Aviv off of our list of places to visit while planning our trip. There is not much memorable in Tel Aviv (especially with Independence Hall closed for renovations) but I love the old cobble stone streets of Jaffa - and how can you come to Israel without putting your feet in the Mediterranean.

Our little apartment in the Sea Executive Suites has a balcony overlooking the Mediterranean with a beautiful view of Old Jaffa in the distance.

Our Hotel in Tel Aviv

Old Jaffa in the far distance (about a 30 minute walk)

Ann and I got up early this morning and walked to the Carmel Market to get breakfast. We brought back fresh cheese, strawberries, bread, and sweets and had a beautiful breakfast on our balcony.
Breakfast on our balcony


There is something special about the markets in Israel. They are a treat for all the senses. The food is just beautiful (although we did discuss how sanitary the market actually is) and the smell is wonderful! This will definitely not be the last pictures you see of markets as the markets in Jerusalem are even more amazing.
fresh spices
dried fruit
halvah
cheese

pastries
fruit - and a cat on the scale

market in the morning
market in the afternoon

Our next stop was to visit Avi Mizrachi at Dugit. Avi has been a guest in our home several times and we wanted the opportunity to visit him in Israel. Dugit is a ministry supported by us and by Rocky Mountain Church. They are a Messianic Outreach to the (primarily Russian) Jews of Tel Aviv. They have a congregation, a food pantry (which serves 100+ families each week), and they just purchased a storefront which houses their coffee shop, HaOgen (which means anchor). Unfortunately, we didn't think of taking a picture of all of us together but we did get a picture of the coffee shop where they do a lot of their ministry.


Two sunsets over the Mediterranean and neither one have been spectacular. Hoping tomorrow, our last night in Tel Aviv, will provide something picture-worthy to share. Tomorrow we head in to Old Jaffa.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Mount Hermon Nature Preserve

Image
Yesterday we began our day visiting the Mount of Beatitudes. It was the one place along the Galilee that we hadn't been to. If it wasn't for all the tourists it may have been easy to picture Yeshua preaching to the multitudes on the hillside. We then traveled all the way up to Dan (the furthest most part of Israel) to the Mount Hermon Nature Preserve. I was driving north on 90, missed our exit, and I was glad the road ended ... otherwise we would have been in Lebanon. This nature preserve has ancient ruins of the temple of pan and beautiful hiking trails. The area is lush and green. Unfortunately, it is also surrounded by land mines left by the Syrians when they controlled the Golan Heights. There are areas sectioned off by barbed wire warning you not to enter. This water is the source of most water in Israel - leading down to the Galilee and in to the Jordan. Mt Hermon Springs
Read more

Old City Jerusalem

Image
Yesterday was a pretty special day. We got to spend it with Ari, our tour guide we had on both of our previous trips to Israel. It is said that touring Israel with Ari is like shoving a college semester in to two weeks. We met for coffee and Ari spent the next hour and a half explaining the history of Jerusalem and how the walls changed over the years. We have heard it before but it is always good to refresh our memories, especially since we would be spending the day in the Old City. Unfortunately, this is the only picture I took of Ari. Ari loves to draw maps - whether on paper or on his hands. This is the map of Jerusalem we took from him at the end of the day. It makes perfect sense to us and I'd be happy to explain the Old City to anyone using this map. Although Israel became a nation in 1948, the Old City of Jerusalem was not open to Jews to visit. It was under Jordanian rule and didn't become part of Israel until after the 6 day war in 1967. The Jewish sect...
Read more

The Sea of Galilee

Image
Although it's still overcast the sun was shining bright this morning as we ate breakfast on our deck. Ann made a friend, named him Wiggles, but we told her that she couldn't take him home! Yesterday we spent the day driving around the Sea of Galilee exploring the places where Yeshua walked. Our first stop was Magdela, the home of Mary Magdeline. Did you know that you cannot build before the department of antiquities checks first to make sure you aren't building on top of something significant. Well, the Catholic Church had plans to build a retreat on the Sea and found a first century synagogue and town. The retreat is being built around the ancient town. the site of the synagogue where Yeshua taught a menorah on the Magdela stone It was amazing to see the difference 6 years made. When we visited 6 years ago Magdela had just been discovered and wasn't even open to the public but Ari, our guide, got us in anyway. There was nothing but the uncovered sy...
Read more