Forget about what you see on the news. Tel-aviv is not a war zone. It's not full of extremist jews (now that would be Jerusalem?) and it's not racist.
This review is only about Tel-Aviv or rather my experience of it. This is not a political review nor a review of Israel as a country but only the city.
I visited Tel Aviv twice, once in 2005 and the last time in 2007.
What is striking for the first time visitor is how safe you feel in Tel Aviv. Like plenty of visitors my major concern before going on that trip was whether or nor i would return home alive.
I felt safer in Tel aviv than in any major city in Europe (London, Paris etc ). The locals are generally helpful and willing to help. They seem to be always surprised to see non jewish visitors as they are aware how Israel is perceived abroad.
It's a clean city, sightseeing is good to average, not that many things to see, but that's what i love about Tel aviv, it' s not such much about apperances, it's about being real, open and welcoming. Tel aviv is the only gay friendly city in the middle-east by the way. Not that it matters for most visitors but it gives you an idea of how liberal the city can be.
Jaffa (a short walk from the city centre) is a must see place. It can be seen from the beaches in central Tel aviv. It' s a beautifil area, you will feel like going back in time. There is an amazing mix of people in such a small area: jewish arabs, catholic arabs, jews and muslims etc . If only it could be that easy everywhere..
As i mentioned before, safety is not an issue in Tel aviv. I am aware of the terrorism risk but you are very unlikely to be a victim of a sucide bomber. It's not like it happens everyday, besides they search people everywhere, entering a train station, a shopping centre. It can get annoyig after a while but you understand why they do it. At first the high presence of heavily armed soldiers can be intimidating.
The beaches are great, they are right in the centre. You can go shopping for hours then go for a dive. The weather is hot all year round.
In short, i see Tel aviv as the New York of the middle east. It's trendy, friendly, affordable and safe. You'' ll return home relaxed and tanned!!!
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Advantages: cheap - but I would rather pay a bit more and avoid all the hassle Disadvantages: contrasting communication, no customer service, bad at handling problems
go_elsewhere 28.05.2008 (28.05.2008)
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