Part One
It is hard to imagine any Filipino who does not wish to visit Israel at least once in his or her lifetime. Although the shared Christian heritage might be the most obvious connection shared between these two countries, the movie Quezon’s Game reminds us of the deeper tie that the Philippines has had forged with the Jewish people since 1938 when the Filipinos embraced fleeing Jew refugees from war-torn Europe. That meaningful relationship lasts to this day.
Our five-day trip last year, which was sponsored by the Israel Ministry of Tourism, revealed and taught us so much about Israel’s culture, history and complex identity. However, it also did not take us too long to realize that there are still so much more to see, experience, and discover in the Holy Land—these are, perhaps, reasons to return there one day. This first article installment recounts the highlights of our stays in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, both amazing cities in their own ways.
Lively Tel Aviv and its neighborhoods
Tel Aviv was literally carved out from the desert. Established beside the quaint old port of Jaffa, whose many Ottoman period edifices have now been turned into boutique shops and art galleries, such as the Ilana Goor Museum, Tel Aviv is considered as an impressive feat in large-scale innovative city planning and landscaping. The city’s nickname “White City” is derived from its more than 4,000 white-colored Bauhaus buildings, of which some of the most beautiful are those along Rothschild Avenue and around Dizengoff Square. The city houses the highest concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world, a major milestone in the modern movement. Tel Aviv, is in fact, the youngest Unesco World Heritage Site in the Middle East having been only built in the 1930s.
Around the White City are historic quarters, such as the German Colony and Neve Tzedek, Tel Aviv’s oldest neighborhood. The German Colony, like the one in Haifa, has been redesigned into a shopping and dining complex with the Sarona Market serving as a 21st century gastronomy center. Aside from soaking under the Mediterranean sun on the beaches of Tel Aviv, there are two other exciting things to do: give the segway tour along the Hayarkon river and port area a try, and hop among the numerous bars with club master Eviatar Gover to sample the city’s notorious nightlife.
Axis Mundi: The Walled City of Jerusalem
Of all my travels, there are probably only a few cities that I have been to that can truly equal Jerusalem’s charm, reputation and importance. Far from being an open-air museum, the city and its three identities are very much alive. The Dome of the Rock is highly revered among the followers of Islam, while the adjacent Western Wall stands as the most sacred site to Judaism. The one that probably means the most to Filipinos, however, is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, the holiest place in the Christian faith. The best way to reach the church is by retracing the Via Dolorosa, which is a very spiritual undertaking especially when you grew up in a town where the Stations of the Cross is religiously observed every Holy Week. Different pilgrims from all walks of life, from various corners of the Christian world, all converge in the church bringing with them their own petitions and that of others. Every evening at the Tower of David, a light and sound show takes visitors on a tour throughout history, allowing easier understanding and appreciation of the complex historic city.
Jerusalem is filled with so much energy and substance that it is impossible not to be moved at all by the scenes happening inside no matter what one’s religion may be. While Jerusalem is indeed a city of contrasts, it could easily be a city of unity, too. Its potential toward that direction is neither difficult to grasp nor imagine.
Image credits: Bernard Joseph Esposo Guerrero