25 July 2010

Last week I had family come to visit me in Israel. We had only one week. What to do, what to do?

They arrived from North America around lunch time and I picked them up at the airport using my special driver Michael. One thing I can tell you about the Middle East – if you can find and befriend a trustworthy driver – you are steps ahead of anyone else. Michael has been my personal driver for two years and I cannot say enough about him and what he has done for me.

So I grabbed a hotel in Tel Aviv – a nice little boutique place called the Abratel Hotel just off the beach on a small side street. It was at best a one minute walk from the front door of the hotel to the beach. We arrived at the hotel and dropped off all their gear. I told Michael he could leave us until the next day. Then I took them to the beach.

Now the beach in Tel Aviv is famous for a lot of things, great sand, warm water, a vibrant life and so on. But I always use it to decompress travelers from North America. The beach also has several great outdoor paces to sit and eat a meal or drink something. I take folks there to keep them awake for a few extra hours. If I can keep them up until 17-1800 hours they will find it easier to adjust to the time zones. I managed to keep these two awake until around 1900 hours on the beach.  It was off to bed for them!

The next day we ran off to the north along the coastal highway to Haifa and Rosh Hanikra. Along the way we stopped and visited the Baha’i gardens and the grotto. The weather was clear and quite warm. On the way back we stopped at Acre and took some time to walk the ancient stone walls along the coastal waters. We then made a short stop at Caesarea, A unique city that was fortified by Louis IX in 1251.  After a relatively long day we headed back to the hotel for a well deserved rest.

Always on guard.

Navy museum in Haifa.

Overlooking Haifa.

A Roman aqueduct along the Mediterranean coast line.

Rosh Hanikra grotto near the crossing into Lebanon.

The sea wall and street in Acre.

Some ruins in the fortified part of Caeasarea.

The next day we drove to Jerusalem – one of the finest historical cities in the Middle East. We stayed at the American Colony Hotel. A place that some would say is the finest hotel in the city. I would not disagree. Driving into the hotel we were greeted by an exceptionally welcoming staff and a nice cool drink. Our rooms were not quite ready as we had showed up a bit early so the staff took charge of our luggage and we walked to the Old City for a relaxing afternoon of touring on foot.

Damascus Gate and Old City walls.
 

The Old City was quiet that day and we walked through the various alley ways and did a little shopping, visited the Church of the Sepulchre and took a thousand pictures of almost everything imaginable. It was beginning to be a long day and the heat was starting to get to us so rather than walk back to the hotel, we took a taxi.

Arriving at the reception desk we discovered our bags had been taken to our rooms, the air conditioners had been turned on it the rooms and we suddenly were quite ready for a shower and a meal. So after agreeing upon a time to meet in the lobby we all had showers and changed our clothes for supper. After a late might and several beers, plus a wonderful meal, bed was calling. We had an early start the next day.

Masada - overlooking Herod's Summer Palace. The little square in the distance is one of the Roman encampments from the seige of Masada.

View from the top of Masada.

Over the next few days we visited Masada, The Dead Sea, En Gedi, The Old City, Bethlehem, City of Davis and Hezekiah’s Tunnel – an amazing engineering feat from nearly three thousand years ago. It is only fair though to relate a couple highlights that made our Jerusalem very enjoyable.

First was the hotel. This hotel is as gracious in its initial appearance to the traveller as it is well kept in its historical manner.  From the web site:

A landmark fairytale get-away in the heart of Jerusalem, Israel, The American Colony Hotel has been providing its luxurious hospitality services for more than 120 years. Personified by classic Arabian arches, elaborate furnishing and opulent suites, this elegant boutique hotel prides itself in offering guests an enchanting ‘East-meets-West’ experience in a distinctively tranquil and romantic setting.

The history can be seen here: http://www.americancolony.com/History/tabid/56/Default.aspx.html

The design, layout and attractive appearance make it a delight to visit and a wonderful place to stay. We enjoyed our 5 night stay here and would highly recommend it to anyone who visited Jerusalem as the best place to stay due to all of the above and the staff who are highly trained, very professional and very friendly. If you ever need anything they know how to get it for you. One can spend the entire day simply taking in the history, the feel and the luxury of the hotel.

Finally, and in this case most importantly – Ibrahim’s Summer Bar. This small restaurant is located just across the entrance drive from the main lobby and in a very quiet and intimate location on the hotel grounds. Staffed by a competent and friendly group of waiters who certainly know what the word service is, this is THE place to eat during the warm weather.  

The menu covers all the basics and has a few special delights we were happy to sample. Be sure to ask for the special of the evening. It got to the point where we did not even look at the menu as the chefs, who run a wonderful barbeque, worked their magic every night we ate there. They know how to prepare everything so well; it was obvious they had been doing this type of work for many years.

The food was well presented and best of all - tasted great!

Just a few steps away is a fully equipped Gazebo Bar with excellent service and a huge variety of alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages.

The cleanliness of the area we ate in was of the highest standard. The flower gardens and the manicured grass – along with the mature trees, the wonderful food, and the friendly and very competent serving staff all combined to make this part of our stay one of the true highlights.

On our last night we were treated to a special desert as we had come to think of this place as our home away from home. I made a point of shaking the hands of the staff in the Summer Bar before we departed as they had obviously gone to great extent to make us feel so welcome.

A happy group of visitors on a busy night.

Be sure to take a small tour of this restaurant at the American colony by going here: http://www.americancolony.com/Tours/TourView/tabid/68/item/14/default.aspx.html

Below is the man who runs the show. Mr. Ibrahim Zaghari - Chef de Bar

This place carries his name so he is very particular how things go - they must be perfect! His thirty plus years of experience certainly showed when a large group of businessmen showed up on our third night at the hotel. His friendly countenance and his organizational skills shone through as he made everyone feel exceedingly welcome. He is definitely the reason this restaurant is so successful.

Ibrahim during one of his very few moments of quiet time while looking after the entire operation and the large number of clients that showed up on this night.

If you are in Jerusalem, you must visit this hotel. You will truly enjoy the experience. And be sure to tell Ibrahim I said hello!

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