Tel Aviv is a stunning, modern, and seemingly western city. This country is a land of seemingly variety and multiculturalism - even if many in the west would see that word in a poor light. The city is clearly highly westernised - no doubt from the countless Jewish immigrants to here over the decades from places like Western Europe, although the sprawling city encapsulates the small Old City of Jaffa - where my guesthouse is located, situated within easy viewing of the statue of Jonah. It reminds me of wandering about the souks in Tunisia many years ago - unsurprising given the reach of the Ottoman Empire over the years I guess. The Jewish Nationalists say they could attract more immigration and citizens if they were an independent and sovereign nation, but they seem to have done pretty well for themselves anyhow, and the faction is quite a vocal minority in the Jewish Assembly.
Following the Egypt/Syria - Palestine war, and tacit acceptance that for defensive reasons it was probably best to be part of Palestine with a unified military and defence, the ground shifted towards the political negotiations. Non-negotiable was the position of King Abdullah as the King of Palestine and all those within it, and the rights of the Jewish population to elect representatives to the Palestinian Parliament. Devolution to a Jewish Assembly was part of the agreement; the level of devolution seems to be roughly in the middle of the status of Scotland, Bavaria or Catalonia. Most social policies, such as healthcare, education, emergency services, local transport and housing are devolved (with some guidelines they must follow apparently, the most obvious seems that all must learn Arabic as a second language if it's not the language of instruction). Most tax revenues are controlled by Amman, but with many proceeds from the Jewish Canton going to the Jewish Assembly in order to fund it's budgets. This area seems to be some kind of linguistic melting pot; clearly Hebrew is a popular language between Jewish people; Arabic is also frequently spoken as it's taught in schools, with English also widely spoken as the fashionable language and global lingua franca. And there is a huge amount in English in use here. The road signs make me laugh - most of them are trilingual between Hebrew, Arabic and English, which means huge signs everywhere.
The Jewish Militia, or Haganah as it's officially known locally, is the remnant of the Jewish paramilitary forces that fought for Jewish independence in the 1940s, attempting to drive out the British and form a new independent state. It's role and duty have never been properly defined it seems - although they seem to crop up all over the place. I suppose they are something like the "State Defence Forces" in the US States, acting against another potential hostile invasion, although they do seem to have some civil duties; they are easily viewable on duty protecting the Jewish political establishments (Assembly buildings, official residences, etc), and like Bavaria used to do, have managed to get themselves a role as the local Border Force, processing international travellers arriving at the local airports and seaports. Palestine seems to have copied the mantra of British politics at home; "no matter how crazy or bizarre it seems, if it ain't broken, don't fix it".
And it does seem to have worked; Tel Aviv is a bustling, successful, city. Most major international companies seem to have their national headquaters here, although several seem to have some R&D/design labs located up the coast in Haifa, with production again ending up elsewhere - often over in Jordan (usually the east side), or elsewhere in the world. The money is apparent compared to trundling around southern Palestine; the cars are new, there are multilane motorways, light rail trams around the city centre, and locals engaged in recreational activities - especially in the Yarkon Park. Anyhow, enough musing on the local politics; I've bought a ticket on one of those hop-on-hop-off tourist buses. A bit mass-market, but at least you see a load of things, and can then decide later what to visit in greater detail. We've driven through Israel Square (where the Jewish-Palestine final political agreement was eventually signed in 1955), Orchestra Plaza (apparently the Palestine equivalent to Leicester Square!) and past the Jewish Museum of Palestine within a short time. After wondering around the Museum later, it seems there is a minor version of the Elgin debate doing on; several large artifacts from Petra, Jerash and Ramla are here, which provokes the ire of some Islamist groups who demand that they should be shown in Jordanian museums instead, local to where they came from. Seems to be a storm in a tea cup though; as long as the Jewish Museum is free to enter (a refreshing change for me), I can't see why there would be much real serious debate about it, but maybe I'm biased considering the British Museum/Elgin Marbles situation.
I've done a day trip out as well - it's a lot easier getting around Tel Aviv then previous cities thanks to the city light rail system and excellent bus system. Ramla is the first place for me to visit, where the historic tower still stands (and is pictured on one of the banknotes). It is a steep climb up the top, although the view is magnificent. There is also a Commonwealth War Graves Commission site here with a few thousand memorials - I think I had a distant family member die here, but I have no idea if he is buried inside, so I've not bothered going much to my mother's consternation. Although the nightlife and bar scene is great in Tel Aviv, it seems to be time to move on, as there isn't actually that much tourist stuff to see here. Hopping back on the local trains, it's easy enough to get a seat northwards to the Jewish second city of Haifa. If I thought Aqaba was a bustling sea port, this is a whole different level. Apparently there has been a constant stream of Iraqi oil piped in to Palestine over the years, and the refineries here are testament to it - as are the number of oil tanker ships hovering in the harbour, awaiting the black gold. Forget what I said about Tel Aviv - this is clearly the economic centre of Jewish Canton. Apparently "Haifa works to keep Tel Aviv playing". Who knew? As I mentioned earlier, there seem to be a string of international corporate offices on the outskirts on the way up; I think I spotted IBM, Microsoft, Oracle, Apple and Motorola on the way up, pretty much the all the big technology companies. The Port of Haifa is one of the busiest on the Mediterranean coast, and has historically refined and exported Iraqi oil for decades - taking on a new level of importance when Egypt nationalised the Suez.
Haifa is a nice hub for day trips out though; there are an abundance of sights up this way. Historic Akka and it's Old City is again a little gem (as are most of the Old Cities here it would seem), as is the Templar Tunnel from the fortifications to the port. Nazareth is another interesting day trip out, especially as one of the "Christian Holy Cities", and the epic Basilica of the Annunciation is testament to it. I feel a little out of place though as I'm somewhere between an atheist and agnostic, but the architecture of such large religious buildings are almost always incredible to see and testament to the capability of man no matter who they worship. My last day trip out from Haifa is to the Sea of Galilee at Tiberias. This country has been one enormous history lesson so far, and Tiberias is no different, with ruins aplenty, The Scottish House is a convenient place to stop for a cuppa as well; a nice English Breakfast brew is even on offer. The Sea is a pleasant experience to swim in (much easier then the Dead Sea), being freshwater, but although the water is apparently pumped and used for drinking water I'm reluctant to take a taste. You can see the opposing banks easily, the Sea is that small; the other side is officially occupied territory by Palestine. The Golan Heights have historically been one of the biggest problems in Palestine-Syria relations, captured following the war in the 1980s, but whilst Syria still claims it and presses over it, it doesn't seem to hold up progress as much as it used to.
Anyhow, time to pack up the bags again now. It's getting a bit tiring unpacking and repacking my rucksack every few days, but I've not got much longer to go anyhow. Time to head back to the train and continue on the train, nipping up to Beirut.
