Time for Meze in ISRAEL

You barely sit down at the table, and, even before getting the menu, you see some restaurant employees bringing you a big glass of lemonade or chilled water and one of them holds a platter with lots of small bowls which they place on your table.

These are the Meze, or, starters. It is a word I have heard being used in Greece, Turkey and Cyprus as well (I'm including only my personal travels here) for small bites of a dish. Usually put in the middle of the table, to share. Just a way of making a feast out of every meal. And it's about the spirit of community, of enjoying together, of sharing with your friends, family and all your loved ones.

But it is also about the pleasure of eating and what better way to discover a community or a culture than through its food. Meze in Israel have a wonderful mix of influences, most of them due to the great location at the Mediterranean but also very Eastern and with Arabic influence. Hoummus is never missing, but you also find a lot of dishes with or made from eggplants, you see salads made of carrots with spring onions but also ones from carrots with fresh coriander leaves (wonderful combination - I used this recipe at home as well).

 Here you can see how a table for two can look like in Israel... and all my cousin and I ordered were the mains (on the plates in front of us). Yes, the mains are rather expensive (and from the countries I've traveled to, Israel was unfortunately one of the more expensive ones when it came to food), but we got all what was put there in front of us, plus tea and desert at the end of what we can call a feast, not a lunch! Oh, and in case we would have been starving, we would have gotten refills on those meze, with no extra charge. In the end, it is so important that with only one lunch/dinner, you can learn so much about the culinary culture of a country and about what locals do when they meet: enjoy live to the fullest!

ISRAEL - I now understand the Berlin Wall

...or at least, I have also experienced that feeling of controlled separation in a country, controlled by check points and guns, walls artificially built up to separate people from people, barbed wire and young (very young) soldiers holding guns (while some were still talking on their phones with pink and blingy covers).

A world of so much contrast, something totally new for me.

In my student semester in Berlin I lived in a student home in the Eastern part of the city, next to the East Side Gallery, a remaining of what used to be the Berlin Wall, the witness of history. It was interesting and of historic value, but it never had the same impact as driving along a wall which still retained its function, like the one in Israel, close to Jerusalem. It didn't give me the same feeling mixture of fear combined with immense sadness and constant question: WHY? Why does it have to be like this.

Then I remembered a the photographic and social project called "Face 2 Face" by French artist JR in Israel and realized the boldness of it: take a look at this video and think....we are not that different...there are more things we have in common than things which set us apart. So why put barriers between us? And why point at each-other with guns when we can just smile and make the world a better place...together.

(picture source: http://www.jr-art.net/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/photos/0.jpg)

The Red Thread Blessing

"You aren't wealthy until you have something money can't buy."-Garth Brooks
On my way to the Western Wall, yesterday, in Jerusalem, I saw a lot of people offering red threads. I approached a man, who seemed to be the only one who was not pushy to "sell" me this thread, and asked about its significance. He calmly answered it's a blessing, and asked about my name, wrapped it around my left wrist (I later read, that the right side/hand is considered the spiritually receiving side), held his hands abovey head and blessed me. Even if I belong to another religion, the moment felt amazingly right, the simplicity and his calmness gave me a feeling of inner peace...and I smiled. I later read, that this thread is supposed to protect against the evil eye (funny enough, in Romania red is considered as well to protect against the evil eye), and that the initial coloring was given by a simple worm, so simple that it would symbolize humility. And I feel it does. This is one of the many experiences I will never forget from Jerusalem!

A Lot of New Experiences

My dear readers,
A lot of new experiences I am taking in at the moment in beautiful Israel.
With only one phone, limited time to visit new places and so much to "digest" and process, I can only post little from this fascinating adventure of mine, but will surely post more once I get back.
I've been only here for 2 days now, but it feels like 4 or 5.
Tel Aviv, the desert, camels, the Dead Sea, Beduin style Eating, the Wall between the people of this country, military,...all is just something I need to tell you more in detail.
Soon, on the blog :)