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We sat on the sun-roof terrace of the Mount Zion Hotel, with cascading jasmine flowers in late May. It offered an unimpeded view of the Old City walls. The sky was of a blue colour impossible to either imitate or describe. It’s like no other blue to be found in any other city.
"Yes", continued Ambassador Isakov, "And communicating with God is much easier from here. However you call your God, you are closest to Him here."
Mr. Isakov has come to meet Serbian journalists for yet another reason. In the course of an evening spent in Tel Aviv, where the Serbian embassy is located, a seminar was held with the participation of Jews and Serbs from the United States, headed by Dr. Srdja Trifković. They came together to lobby relevant US institutions against Kosovo independence.
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We set off from Tel Aviv on a tourist trip around Israel. The lovely hotels mostly have stars above their names. The fact that Tel Aviv city is the seat of the country’s administrative, political and economic life in no way prevents tourists from enjoying the beauty of the Mediterranean. The sandy beaches and luxury offerings are in keeping with international standards.
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Dead Sea |
Tired from the journey, we spent one night in Tel Aviv to get some rest, but that was not wise, we soon realized, because as the saying goes: "In Jerusalem pray, in Tel Aviv play."
The old Tel Aviv harbour has been turned into a centre for nightlife. Former warehouses and depots are now discotheques, night clubs and restaurants…. People go out late in the evening, and come home after sunrise…. On weekends, people from all across Israel come to town, and some even from Cyprus…
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There is not enough space here for a broader story on the historical background of Tel Aviv (or Tel Aviv Joffa), which emerged around the ancient city of Jaffa that was historically important to both Jews and Christians, because this was where Apostle Paul began to spread the faith. This is a city turned to the future, a city that must excel in every way because it will always be compared to the incomparable Jerusalem, because modern Israel needs a functional capital city, and Tel Aviv certainly is that. The city continues to develop as a tourist centre, drawing ever larger numbers of tourists from many parts of the world.
After Tel Aviv, we began our journey. Mrs. Sela Varda, born in Novi Sad but now a decades-long resident of Israel, was our guide and host. The trip would prove strenuous but interesting. Mrs. Varda began by posing one basic question that would determine everything else; she asked the Serbian journalists whether they wanted to see as much as time allows or would they rather just shop and enjoy the sea? The former option prevailed, but just barely.
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The programme was elaborate and the schedule rather tight, and we occasionally had the feeling we were merely driving around in an air-conditioned minibus, leaving it briefly to tour a historical or cultural monument. Yet, it was worth every drop of sweat. After Tel Aviv, we toured Caesarea, a city with an ancient harbour. Today, it is a tourist centre whose monuments are exceptionally well preserved, including an amphitheatre, which speaks to the turbulent history of this city. |
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Apart from the fascinating facts about Caesarea’s history, the presentation of this monument also meets the eye: state-of-the-art technology is used as is rarely seen elsewhere. Touch-screens offer a variety of epochs and historical personages to choose from for video beam presentations. Appropriately costumed actors take the visitor on a historical and cultural tour of this longstanding major Mediterranean seaport. This approach is something the Serbian tourism industry might find well worth applying. The Belgrade Fortress with Kalemegdan Park is the first thing that comes to my mind.
Then, off we went to Haifa, another major port and industrial centre. The saying from earlier has a continuation: "In Jerusalem pray, in Tel Aviv play, in Haifa work."
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Baptizing in Jordan River |
Bahai Gardens in Haifa |
In this small seaside town are the Bahai gardens, a masterpiece of landscaping, something like a Garden of Eden, as Baha’i, the youngest religion that has emerged from Israel, imposes aesthetic principles that people should enjoy the aesthetic aspects of nature.
Turning the hill that rises above the German quarter into a garden cost a mere 270 million dollars. Even so, it was worth every cent spent.
Plants collected from all around the world that do well in hot climates, and which are scrupulously watered, have made this place surrealistically beautiful. |
This attraction alone places Haifa in the category of major tourist destination, one that the visitor to Israel would be well-advised not to miss.
The Dead Sea was the next stop. Luxury hotels are placed next to swimming pool complexes where one can have a proper swim. The Sea, despite the salubrious effects of its water, has such high salt content that one can’t really swim, but that’s why floating is so easy. The best combination is to swim in the fresh-water pools for enjoyment and then take an occasional dip into the Sea that’s only 20 or so metres away, in order to take in the wholesome effects of its water.
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Then there’s the Masada. After Jerusalem, it is the second most frequently visited site in Israel. Here you find Herod’s palace on a rock that would be difficult to build even today with our advanced construction technology.
This was the last stronghold of the Jews before the onslaught of the Romans, and it was defended to the last man for three years. It is a story about indomitable heroism, so redolent of Serbian epic poetry.
Today, it is a place that every Jew – regardless of where he or she lives – longs to visit. To say anything more would lead to broader journalistic, perhaps even literary, forms and comparisons….
On our way to Jerusalem we stopped at the Jordan River.
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This is not the exact place where St. John the Baptist baptized Christ, but that is the impression one gets looking at this site of individual and collective baptisms, with tourists eagerly bathe their faces with the holy river water. The fish in the shallows and along the river bank clearly don’t mind the presence of people in their water.
Nazareth. Though we know the history – the impression is unexpected. Perhaps this is the best preparation for Jerusalem. A mixture of religions and nations, life gushing forward unstoppably, a wealth of sounds, scents, a chaotic blend of tourists and locals – the former to see as much as possible and the latter to profit. All the languages of the world can be heard here; Christians rush to their temples, while Muslims appreciate this primarily from a merchant’s point of view….
"Are there any atheists in Nazareth", a colleague asked Mrs. Varda.
She smiled and shrugged her shoulders. It was the first and only question during our seven-day trip to which she could not provide a clear answer.
We then toured a kibbutz that looked like a pretty garden owing to the fact that plants have been brought here from around the world over the past decades, and a spring provides water. The host, an Egyptian Jew who has been here since its founding in the 1950s, noted with visible sadness that this type of life has become outmoded. "Soon they will begin privatizing kibbutz facilities. But no matter, something is bound to remain. Several of us older people will not leave…"
Mrs. Varda explained that the end of the kibbutz as an institution began when children began to leave their dormitories to go visit their parents overnight. Then separation of families began, and time did the rest, so that everything remained at the experimental level.
And then Jerusalem, the city of all cities. No matter how much you prepare yourself, or how much you study and read about the city of three religions, you are bound to be surprised. When you see Jerusalem, you ask yourself why you haven’t come sooner. It’s difficult to leave and you want to return.
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Tel Aviv |
In the end, Tel Aviv again.
Yad Vashem. Having toured the most significant Jewish museum and the emotional shock it invariably inflicts, for an instant one has the impression this is a wound this nation will never quite allow to heal and it will turn into a faded scar. But not so. Yad Vashem is a scar on the face of one whole civilization and it will be visible for as long as that civilization endures.
In the very end, prior to returning to Belgrade, Mr. Yehuda Shen, a director at the Israeli Ministry of Tourism, hosted a dinner for the Serbian journalists. Energetic and eloquent, he recommended food, which is excellent in Israel, chose the wines, some of which were very good, and skillfully inquired about our impressions. "Tourism is a dream come true for both tourists and their hosts," I remember him saying.
The conclusion comes on its own: Israel is a country and Jerusalem a city that must be seen. Between these two there is space for thinking.
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Jat Airways flies regularly from Belgrade to Tel Aviv on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m. and on Sundays at 11:35 p.m.
Return flights are on Wednesdays at 11:35 p.m. and on Sundays at 6:15 p.m. local time. | |
