Israel 2018 UPDATE: Pg. 2 Masada, Ein Gedi, Dead Sea

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an Arab taxi driver thought he could try and scam me. Typical Arab behavior which I was expecting having dealt with them in the past.

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I worked with ME guys for years. Their general attitude is that if you are dumb enough to get taken then it is your fault. They have zero sense of morality or loyalty when it comes to business. This isn't a knock on their culture as a whole, just the way they do business.

As an example, we had done business with a guy for years. I got in a jam and needed something from him last minute. He jacked the price up on me triple the usual rate because he knew I was backed into a corner. I paid him but told him we would never do business again. He was legit confused by my reaction, he didn't understand at all.

Great pics. Keep them coming.

looks kinda like orange beach....

I've been to Israel about a dozen times and it is hands down one of my favorite places in the world. I laugh when friends get alarmed at my trips and say they'd never go because "it's not safe".

The breakfasts here are amazing. There are a lot of pastries and like full up cheesecakes. I took some pictures of the stuff I enjoy...

Make sure get get some Kanafeh from a street market

God I miss the Schwarma stands, super spicy and topped with fries or falafels

Been in class the last few days haven’t done anything spectacular. Here’s a few shots of the situation on the border between Israel and Syria/Lebanon. We went to assess the situation at the border and all is quiet despite the fact Assad is going to begin his offensive against the rebels in the very area we were at to the north of the Golan Heights.

This picture is overlooking Syria from Mount Bental in the Golan Heights. Assad is said to begin his offensive against th rebels here any day.



This is the town of Metula on the Israel Lebanon border. This is the main funnel point of illegal narcotics and activities into Israel from Lebanon by Hezbollah.



A far away shot of the border wall between Israel and Lebanon. There can be no doubt of Hezbollah’s presence as for every one Lebanese Flag you see there are ten yellow Hezbollah flags.



Surprisingly a lot of th Israel Lebanon border is only a chain link type fence.



This is looking into Lebanon from a overlook at Mount Adir onto the battlefield of the 2nd Lebanon war in 2006.



Completely unrelated note, these people hate dogs. Cats are everywhere.

I didn’t personally see anything like that on the border between either Syria or Lebanon. I wouldn’t doubt that is the case however.

Headed down to Tel Aviv today. It’s hot as absolute hell and I probably walked close to 15 miles.

Talked to a few locals and they suggested Sabich Tchernichovsky for the best sabich in Tel Aviv. The dudes were super cool running the place giving me the VIP treatment for my first time at their place and ever eating sabich. They will ask you several times if you like “spicy”, but nothing is remotely spicy.



Place right next door to th sabich place sells gluten free falafel which I found to be good. I’m not a huge fan of falafel like a lot of people are so my results may be skewed.


Here’s a taste of the city. Graffiti on everything. This building is on the corner of King George and Allenby if I remember correctly.


Not sure what the fascination with graffiti is but it’s everywhere. Some of it is artistic like the following but there’s also a lot of vulgar ones...


This is the entrance to the Carmel Market. I do not suggest it other than going once for the experience and possible the fresh food. Miles of garbage they are peddling.


Rothschild Boulevard has super nice walking areas with cafes and whatnot all along it.


There’s random parks and picnic areas all along Rothschild Blvd. Here’s a place I suppose you could lay down on some not so comfortable hammocks?


Here’s the boardwalk along the beach in Tel Aviv. Super crowded. The beaches in Herzliya are better in my opinion but you don’t get as much eye candy as you do in TLV.


Here’s the highlight of my day. I randomly stumbled upon an internet site saying there’s a local artist market on Tuesday’s and Fridays. It’s called Nachalat Binyamin Market and it’s not a place tourists are all over. It runs directly parallel to the Carmel Market. I suggest you make Atleast one lap down the artist market for some really unique items that are not mass produced in China. I met one super cool guy who creates puzzles out of wood and shapes them into dinosaurs and whatnot.



Beautiful sunset from my hotel room balcony.

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I take it you’re not going to the West Bank?

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I’m not going to the West Bank. Not going to tempt fate with the Hamas terrorists there. I know a little bit too much on the subject to feel comfortable.

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For such a small country there’s so many sites to see ... working it all into a week will be difficult.

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I’m here for 3 weeks, but my primary purpose is studying at the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism which is everyday except Saturday 8am-5pm which makes things difficult sometimes. The last thing I want to check off the list is Masada/Ein Gedi/Dead Sea which I’ll do next Saturday probably.