Celebrating the Jewish Holiday, Sukkot, in Eilat
Our next day in the country was mostly spent on a bus, with a slight panic preceding as we realized we spent too long lounging, lazily eating a shakshuka brekky and the taxis across the city weren't running as frequently due to a bike race. Lugging 40 pounds of backpack, we hit the pavement for a brisk, sweaty walk-run to the bus station which ended up being much bigger than we anticipated. The adrenaline slowly receded as we enjoyed several hours of moonscape via bus. One thing I didn't realize was how the desert stretches across the whole country - there's really not much green aside from these large hedges of gorgeous purple flowers. It's kind of otherworldly - the landscapes are so raw and clear. The houses look like lego blocks made of light terra cotta. Along the road you can spot the occasional camel - like horses back home. The only thing that felt familiar was the McDonald's at each reststop we made (but kosher!).
By the time we made it to Eilat, it was almost 4:30. We checked in to our hostel, the Shelter, which wasn't beautiful by any means (aside from the comfy little common areas) but had a great atmosphere and really lovely people staying there. We dropped our bags and headed into the town to try and grab some cash, some groceries and flip flops for the next day's adventures. Although it was relatively quiet considering our timing (it was Shabbat during the tail-end of Sukkot) it was perfect timing to watch the sunset over the Gulf of Aqaba.
Luckily, considering the town was pretty shutdown, our hostel was hosting a free Shabbat dinner with a Sukkot celebration. We walked back in to a big circle of travellers and neighbours with guitars and hymn books. The Sukkot ceremony turned out to be more of a Messianic one - with a mix of Christian and Jewish traditions. The pouring of wine, blessing and breaking of bread, and even a sermon from one of the elders of Haifa. It was a pretty remarkable experience, watching people from around the world sing together in Hebrew, English, Spanish and celebrate life together, respecting each other's religions and learning a bit more about them. Dinner was a fantastic spread of home cooked local foods - aubergine, rice and potatoes, lentil stew, veggies and salad. I think I'm going to start a petition for North Americans to start calling eggplant, aubergine. It sounds so much classier, no?
We talked into the night with another boy from the States who had moved to Tel Aviv for school before becoming a videographer, shooting with everyone from Kate Upton to Amar'e Stoudemire. He had some really interesting commentary on the Palestine-Israel conflict that was fascinating to learn about - I've felt grossly uneducated about the topic and it's been really interesting to gather all sorts of different perspectives along this trip. The part that struck me the most was a story about a Palestinian man with Israeli friends. He believed in a peaceful solution and held his Israeli friends dearly, but as soon as cameras came out refused to speak on the record for fear of being shunned by his own community. It made me wonder how peace could be found if even the peaceful are afraid to wish for it.
Around midnight we had to say goodnight as some people pay less for a straw mattress that they drag out to the common areas to sleep under the stars. Which sounds romantic but the mosquitos are also a thing in Israel.
While we will be making our way back to Israel, tomorrow we head to Jordan. Want to follow along? Read all about day one in the Kingdom of Jordan here.
