Dave's Trip to Israel

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Thanks to Art Mellor for his thumb-nail program and for the easy-to-understand picture page format and script.

In the spring of 1995, I went to Tel-Aviv, Israel to visit and train a customer on our products. Everyone I met in Israel was positively wonderful--including the cab driver who took me around and told me some very nice stories. The customers I worked with were great and they showed me many cool places. An Israeli friend of mine had just moved back before my visit and gave me some great tours of Tel-Aviv on the back of his motorcycle. These photos are from my stay in Tel-Aviv, visit to Jerusalem, and my long stay-over in Frankfurt, Germany on the way back to the states.

This is a newly reformatted page combining several old pages into one with the hopes of making it easier-to-load (smaller pictures) and easier-to-browse (one page). Please let me know if you have any difficulties. (Mail me.)

Jump right to Views of Jerusalem right below.

Jump right to Inside Jerusalem on this page.

Jump right to The Holocaust Memorial on this page.

Jump right to views around Tel-Aviv hotel on this page.

Jump right to views from my hotel on this page.

Jump right to Frankfurt, Germany on this page.

Jump right to Comments on my pictures

Jump to a story about an X-31 plane crash. (I sat and talked with the pilot of this tragedy during my flight.)

Views of the Old City of Jerusalem from high on a hill

I did not realize before I travelled to Israel, but the entire Old City of Jerusalem is within walls that you can see here. The Old City is huge and there are many, many hallways and passages and shops and living locations and you could become lost inside there just about instantaneously.

The Old City of Jerusalem

Left of the Old City

Right of Old City

Further Left of Old City

Some guy happened by with a camel, and it sat down, so I photographed it.

I think I recall that a wealthy couple (from America?) donated a "balcony" with this lovely view. It isn't really a balcony; it is a huge turn-off from the road, like a rest area on the highway, big enough for many buses and it has a spectacular.

Bethlehem

The Tomb of Rachel. Although this is in now-Palestinian-controlled Bethlehem, there were Israeli guards on patrol there and many Jews praying at the tomb. I have heard that they have renovated this entire area since I was there.

"That is Damascus Gate on the North-West side of the 
Old City of Jerusalem.  Gate in the lower left of the
picture is the original gate dating from the Roman period."

Thanks to Loren Griffith for the information.

Inside the Old City of Jerusalem

The Western Wall of the Old City of Jerusalem is also known as The Wailing Wall. I did not know before I visited the history that led to it being called The Wailing Wall. This is a link to a live camera shot from the Wailing Wall.

The Dome of the Rock.This is the high holy location where Abraham first proved his belief in God and was prepared to kill his son. It is also the place where the Muslims believe Mohammed ascended. It is where the First and Second Jewish Temples were built and destroyed. For a lont time now it has been the site of this Muslim mosque. The (real!) gold roof was a gift from King Hussein of Jordan. I believe that this single structure is one of the most recognizable things in all of Jerusalem and perhaps all of Israel.

The Third Station of the Cross. Our guide pointed out several "Stations of the Cross" along some of the walkways in the Old City that trace the walk that Jesus did with the cross. This is the location where Jesus first fell while dragging the cross.

The Fourth Station of the Cross. I think this was the one where Jesus stopped and talked to the women of Jerusalem.

The Fifth Station of the Cross. I don't know what happened here, but the man in the left of the picture is Albert, our excellent tour guide from United Tours. He spoke much Arabic inside the Old City and was fluent in at least French and English. I toured with many French-speaking Canadians.

One of the many passageways of the Old City--this one with TV antennas reaching to the sky.

A very special church-thing. The religious man with the beard would not let me go in to see anything, because I was wearing shorts. I took this from where I was allowed to stand. (Do not wear shorts to the Old City!)

A lovely mosaic depicting how they cared for the body of Jesus after they removed him from the cross.

The rest of the mosaic with the stone where they washed Jesus--the center picture in the mosaic.

The Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. It has all been rebuilt since 1967, so everything looks much, much newer and fresher than the other parts of the Old City.

The Cardo in the Jewish Quarter. This was the road that the Romans built I think, long ago. Now those pillars are in a very nice courtyard where lots of little kids were kicking soccer balls around.

The Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem

One of the hills of Jerusalem is dedicated as a Memorial to the Holocaust with a cemetery and a museum and park and lots of interesting things.

The Day of Rememberance Candelabra. This large, six-stemmed candelabra is lit only on the Day of Rememberance for the six million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

The Hall of Rememberance. I believe this is one of the most important places here. It is a large room with all stone walls representing the Jews under the opression of the large cement roof pressing down on the stones. The floor lists each of the Nazi concentration camps where Jews were killed. The flame and the stone and flowers are also important reminders of all the Jews killed in the Holocaust.

"All That Remains" -- I believe that was the title of this sculpture. It is an eerie representation of a heap of ownerless leather shoes.

Some newer developments around Jerusalem on one of the hills. I peeked through some bushes I saw while walking around at the memorial and this view was impressive, so I took a picture.

Views from Around Tel-Aviv

Some places down and across from the beach. This is another fun shopping and eating area along the beach. Construction in Israel is a little different than in Boston.

Dizengoff Square. This is a beautiful square, elevated above the street--cars drive underneath and there are nice people-ramps up on all sides. Dizengoff Square is also where a terrorist bomber got rejected from the mall just down the street and detonated his bomb in the street (or was it on a bus?) near here. Fortunately, all the damage of that blast is pretty well hidden from this excellent tourist area. The Tel Aviv Hard-Rock Cafe was very close to here, although I hear it has been closed now.

A closer shot of the fountain in Dizengoff Square. The fountain is pretty big and quite colorful. Kind of a retro 70's disco kind of thing, which is very hip for the 90s now.

In Israel, old men pass time by feeding pigeons. Just like any old park or plaze in any old country, I suppose.

Blue Moon seems to be a popular ice cream around there. And that hot dog on the right side is called "The Original Boston Hot Dog"...

...and it is available at the Boston Deli Being from Boston, I found that particularly amusing. This "food court" is in the mall just down the street from Dizengoff Square.

I stopped at the very Irish-sounding Mulligan's Irish Bar a few times since I was staying a short walk away. You can't quite tell that it says Mulligan's, but you might be able to make out the shamrock. I took this picture from the beach.

The beach was cold, so I had coffee here and watched the lovely ocean. You can tell by the empty chairs that nobody was enjoying the beach on this particular day. I found the beach pretty crowded on some other days that I was there.

And then police on horses came by.

Views from the Sheraton Hotel in Tel-Aviv, Israel

The view North from my hotel

The view (sort of down), from my hotel balcony.

The walls out in the ocean were implemented to stop the erosion of the beach. You can see the beach does extend further into the water directly in from of the wall on the right side of the photo--so it seems to be working.

One of the busy beach-side "joints"

The skyline view from my hotel.

An Israeli pigeon on my balcony.

The pigeon and the Tel-Aviv skyline.

The view of the pool below my hotel balcony.

Frankfurt, Germany

The view as I came up from the Hauptwache subway stop.

German people dancing to some fancy German music. And a lot of pretzels in the background.

"Leaving In Las Vegas??"--sounds like a translation problem to me.

A church I saw while walking around.

They paint their trolleys quite a lot in Frankfurt. Beat the US (at least Boston) in that trend.

Another nice steeple.

Some construction on the skyline.

Last picture on the roll...how about a store window?

Comments on my pictures

Diana Cook:

Hi David - I sure enjoyed browsing through your photos of Israel.  Would
you mind telling me how you got them to look so nice?  My husband and I
recently had some photos developed with the intention of putting them on
the web - but we're dissappointed with how they turned out.  The colors are
odd, and the photos look really grainy.  We had Kodak photo-disks
made...did you scan your photos?

Thanks -

Diana Cook

........................................................
Diana Cook, Contract Officer
phone:  650 723 4637, fax: 650 723 1654
Stanford University Sponsored Projects Office      O
651 Serra Street, Room 260                       _-'\_
Stanford, CA 94305-4125 ........................(*)<(*).

ilia trunov:

Hi ! I'm writing a site about Tel Aviv and I made a link to your Tel Aviv
pictures, if you don't mind. You can check it out :
http://shekel.jct.ac.il/~trunov/TA.html
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            http://shekel.jct.ac.il/~trunov
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Efthimios K.:

Hi Dave, 

	I'm taking my first trip to Israel and would like to know if you have any 
suggestions for a hotel thats within walking distance of the old city?
Also, does Tel Aviv have a Hard Rock Cafe?

Thanks,

Efthimios K.

Wendell Smith:

I just tried to send you a message and don't think it went.  Enjoyed =
seeing your pictures.  How do you do that on a Home Page.  What kindn of =
scanner did you use.
Grandma in Mississippi
wdsmith@teclink.net

Janice Lovekamp:

Dear Mr. Baker:

You don't know me from Adam and I haven't a clue who you are, either,
but my name is Janice C. Lovekamp and I live in Steelville, Missouri
(about 80 miles southwest of St. Louis off of Interstate 44, back in the
woods in the middle of 272 acres...we invented the word "boon docks"!).

I am leaving next Tuesday, May 6th for a trip to Israel.  One of the
desires of my heart has always been to worship my God at the "Wailing
Wall" in Israel.  Who knows why we desire such things, but this is a
"biggie" with me.  At any rate, I put "Wailing Wall" into my search
engine and came up with a kazillion matches, but on Page One was listed
"Dave's Trip to Israel".  I went there and I just had to e-mail you and
let you know how much you have pleased my heart!!  I loved your photos,
the way you had everything mapped out, and well, just everything!  I
have told everybody I know on the net to visit your Trip to Israel Page
for a real treat.  So far, no one has been disappointed.

I hope you don't mind, but I was so excited by your photo journal, that
I printed it out on my little Cannon BC-620 printer and made me a
"reference booklet" to take with me.  I also went to the Israeli Foreign
Ministry Page you had listed and got more really neat stuff to look for
when I'm there.  It is so cool!  How in the world do you do all this
stuff?!  I'm just this side of computer stupid and consider mastering
e-mail a major hurdle I've crossed in my meager life.  

Well, to continue, I then followed you to your hotel room in Tel Aviv
(loved the pigeon) and then went on to the rest of your trip.  I can't
thank you enough for sharing.  I haven't got the foggiest notion why you
put all this on the internet...thought maybe it was so you could share
your trip with some of your friends..but you just never know who gets
touched out here in Cyberspace.

Anyway, I thank you again and again for sharing you trip on the net...if
no one else out here appreciates your efforts, there's one little old
fat Italian lady way down in the Ozark Hills of southeast Missouri who
does. (Don't ask how I got here...it's all my husbands' fault and we
don't discuss it a whole lot.  I'm from New Orleans, LA..a transplant
since 1976.)

I don't know how old you are, hon, but you appear to be young (I am 50
years old?Young? whatever!) and so talented.  I introduced myself to
your fiancee' Judy (just visited her web page...no message or e-mail)
and hope you will be very happy together.  Was there a photo of you
somewhere that I missed?  I don't recall seeing one, but then most of
the time I don't recall lots of things.  

Well, I have rambled on enough and suppose the best piece of advice I
have received so far was from my son (my only child) who cautioned me,
"Mother, when you get there, leave your Mouth at the border and pick it
up on your way back!  Otherwise Dad and I may not be able to raise
enough bail money to get you back home!"  It's been nice talking to you.
If you have any words of wisdom that might be useful to me before I
leave on my trip, feel free to e-mail me anytime.

				Warmly and with Thanks,

				JANICE C. LOVEKAMP

Shani:

Hi David,

I enjoyed very much the pages on your trip to israel. It's good that
there are people who find our country beautiful and interesting.

- Shani.

mira:

Hi David I liked your page about Israel with the pictures and all.... I
made a link to your page from my Homepage check it out 
www.geocities.com/paris/9302 I got some coments from friends about
it - everyone liked my and your pages... I heard some even wrote to you
directly.

So keep up the good work.

Shalom
MIra

Herbert Harari:

Dave,I came across your internet page. On October 14 my wife and I will
arrive in Frankfurt and spend 4 days there(on October 18 we leave for
Israel). Can you recommend a decent hotel,tell me something about the
transportation from the airport,and what's worth seeing there ? Thanks a
lot.

-- 
Best regards     Herbert Harari

visit http://www.harari.net if you like blues,jazz,dixieland,boogie,and stride music

Eli Hay:

Hi david.

I enjoyed you site , especialy to see your puictures of Israel. it seems
that you
enjoyed very much your visit in israel.
it is nice to see the town that you live in from a diffrent view, you
sometimes miss the small details but importent ones.

I hope that you'll get the chance to visit Israel again.

thanks

Eli Hay

ehay@math.tau.ac.il
http://www.math.tau.ac.il/~ehay

Loren Griffith:

That is Damascus Gate on the North-West side of the Old City of
Jerusalem.  Gate in the lower left of the picture is the original gate
dating from the Roman period.

...

Again thanks for putting the pictures out there.

Danny Dorfman:

Hello David!

I have been surfing the net lately, and stumbled upon your pictures from
Tel-Aviv. I must say, that I was very much impressed by them. Both the 
technical quality, and the composition are excellent.
Since I am a bit of an amateur photgrapher myself, I wanted to ask you,
what kind of equipment (camera/lense/film) were you using? My old Pentax ME-F 
camera is a little outdated, and I am looking for another (modern) camera to 
replace it. I can use all the advice I can get.

Thank you in advance!

Danny Dorfman
danny-d@orbotech.co.il

Shachar Shamir (a.k.a. "taz"):

Return-Path: 
Date: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 22:29:29 +0200
From: taz@ibnet.co.il (taz)
X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.04 [en] (Win95; I)
Mime-Version: 1.0
To: dvb@midnight.com
Subject: Israel
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit

Hello
I am a guy from Israel... I have been in Germany in a place called
Strusberg (on the east side - one hour from Berlin) it was part of
exchange students program...
I see that you've been in our country and I hope you enjoy there...
I would like to stay in contect with you if you like so write me back if
you want...

yours
Shachar  Shamir
Israel....

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