A Lot About Eilat

Okay, I don't really know that I'm going to tell you a lot about Eilat, but I couldn't think of another catchy title for this post so that's what you're stuck with.  I have spent the past few days relaxing by the beach on the Israeli side of the Red Sea this time.  Unfortunately, my hostel in Eilat is not right on the water like the hotel was in Aqaba, but luckily it is a little bit cheaper.  It's also only a 10-minute walk to the beach so it's not that big of an inconvenience.

The biggest dissimilarity between Aqaba and Eilat, besides the obvious language and religious differences, is that Eilat is much more westernized than Aqaba, which shouldn't come as that much of a surprise.  Walking around some of the market areas of Aqaba reminded me of the cheap local bazaars in India and Nepal, but Eilat is all glitzy malls and boutiques.  I'm not saying one is better than the other because it's all about commercialism in the end, but I definitely feel like I'm able to more easily blend in Israel than I was in Jordan.  There is an ultra-orthodox component here as well, but I don't feel like I'm always worried about making a misstep that will risk seriously offending someone.  I guess it's much more like Europe in that specific regard.

Even though I feel a bit lazy right now, I admit that I have basically just been spending the past three days sitting by the beach and reading.  I'm able to justify it by acknowledging that my body does need a bit of a rest for a while.  I've gone in the water a few times, but usually just for a short swim once a day so I have time to dry off before the sun goes down.  I've also been eating lots of yummy local pastries, yogurt (need those probiotics), falafel, hummus and skakshuka, which is essentially an egg and tomato skillet.  I must admit that quite a bit of ice cream has also been consumed, which I attribute to being at the beach.

Aside from sleeping in late (9:30 or 10:00 so not THAT late) and being a beach bum, I have managed to get my bus ticket for Ein Gedi, buy a new pair of jeans that were on sale since my old ones are falling apart and go to a few local museums.  Yesterday I went to the Eilat Art Gallery, which is a small space that features paintings, drawings, sculptures and jewelry on sale by local artists.  Outside on the plaza between the gallery and the Eilat Museum are more than a dozen painted fish that reminded me of the decorated horses or cows that you see in many American cities.  It was hard to pick a favorite, but I really liked one that was painted like a pirate.

Since the Eilat Museum closed early yesterday, I went late this afternoon to learn more about the history of this seaside town.  The exhibition started first with the story of how troops captured the area from Egypt just about 60 years ago and then showed how different industries and tourism have developed over the past six decades.  There was also a small display about fish and animal life in the surrounding area.  Do you know there are leopard living nearby in the Negev!  I hope I get to see one (ha!)  Before I left, the lady running the museum showed me a six-minute short film that was shot in 1949 before Eilat was really Eilat.  The voiceover appeared to have been added a number of years after the fact so I'm not really sure when the film was actually produced.  However, the curator said that apparently the filmmaker was someone who worked at Kodak and was friends with Prime Minister Ben Gurion.  She told me it was one of the first films made in color, but who knows if that's actually the case.  It's kind of a neat story either way.

Two of the most surprising things during my time in Eilat have been how almost all every car stops for pedestrians approaching crosswalks and how the airport is right smack dab in the middle of the city.  As I'm sitting on the beach I'll see planes coming in for a landing flying right over my head.  I have literally thought I was going to get clipped a few times.  Also, this wasn't unexpected or even that surprising, but it was amazing to see how nearly every shop and restaurant shut down at sunrise yesterday for the Sabbath.  Since I had eaten a big lunch, I went to a grocery store to get yogurt for dinner and as I was walking back to my hostel I was glad I did since all the other food shops around were closed.    Down by the beach there were definitely stores open, but all last night and today mostly everything on Main Street was shuttered.

Tomorrow morning I'm hoping to go dive with the dolphins provided I can prove I dove within the last six months (my log book is packed up somewhere at home) and then it's off to Ein Gedi and the Dead Sea for the week.  I'll check up with you from there.

P.S. Happy birthday to my sister, Becky!!