Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The Red Sea Pearl



I celebrated the first days of our Jewish Passover in Eilat, the popular desert resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea Gulf. The night before our plane arrival in Eilat, two Grad rockets , fired from the egyptian Sinai peninsula, have landed in the city causing big explosions and anxiety, but luckily no casualties and no damage.


Eilat airport located.. in the town center

Eilat, the southernmost city and port of Israel has lots of attractions - most of them for free: sun (as they say, ' everyday here is SUNday'), sea, sand, many beaches to choose from, red mountains, bird watching, shopping centers; some attractions require entrance fee: the underwater Observatory, coral reefs Reserve, dolphin reefs where dolphins interact with swimmers (I've visited the observatory and the reefs on a previous trip).

Eilat museum and art gallery


Hayam Mall- northern beach


Dancing near the mall

The climate here being very hot and dry, most of the time people are at the beach, sunbathing , practicing water sports such as swimming, snorkeling, surfing, diving - or inside the house/hotel/mall/museum and other air-conditioned spots.


on the beach


see the mountains in the background?

I needed a change of scenery and climate, and I fully got that in Eilat. The festive Passover meal (Seder Night) was also quite successful. As for the Sinai missiles, they'll probably 'visit' Eilat again, partly thanks to those wise guys who've encouraged what's poetically yet stupidly called ' arab spring'.

28 comments:

  1. I just looked Arib Spring up ,
    Thinking there is alwas a new word like KUDOs. I was hoping it was a huge metal spring to shoot them to the moon. If they can't live in peace, maybe there is a vacant planet that resembles their
    world before they were intoduced
    to water wells and irrigation. There, they could run wild killing each tribe out. These are thoughts of an old woman. Happy Passover.
    God Bless yvonne

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  2. I am glad you had a good time in Eilat despite the whole missile mess. :)

    I can't stand this stupid 'arab spring' BS either.
    Even if there was an uprising, did it really help the poor people in these countries? -No!
    Did it bring them democracy? -No!
    It only brought thos money & power who had already been in the background years ago. :/

    But I do digress... I really like the perfect sky & beautiful sea in your images!

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  3. Didn't understand the 'arab spring' either, but have read the other comments and now have a rough idea. But those photos! How very different your world is to mine, and how wonderful that we share these worlds, even if it is via our blogs! Glad you had a good stay at Eilat.

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  4. I miss so much sun and hot temperatures:) The beach looks great!
    Life and travelling
    Cooking

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  5. Oh sweetie, I'm so glad you are safe and there were not casualties or damage. This world of ours!!!

    Eilat looks like a perfect place to spend some quality time in the sun!!! What a lovely part of the world.

    No palm trees here!!! Heeehehehe!

    God bless and thanks so much for sharin' your part of the world. As always...a beautiful presentation sweetie! :O)

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  6. What a lovely place to visit. I am the type of traveler who likes the spend the day outside if possible and rainy days or early evenings browsing stores. How nice you had the time in Eilat. And yes, its wonderful how we can check out each other's lives through our blogs!

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  7. I am glad you got to spend the week in Eilat and really glad that you are safe. To me that is very scary, and would be hard to get used to. Crazy people in our crazy world. Looks like a wonderful place and I love traveling with you through your blog. Thanks for sharing!
    until next time... nel

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  8. What a beautiful place to visit. It's a little cold here in Wisconsin right now (40's and 50's), so your warm weather is very appealing. In March, we had weather in the 80's..oh, well. I would find it hard to relax with the threat of missiles, Duta. God Bless, Duta.

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  9. Too often "peace" means war...

    I love sun and heat (in moderation!); a visit to Eliat during the winter would be wonderful!

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  10. Looks like plenty fun was had.

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  11. La Petite Gallery,

    'Arab Spring' refers to the wave of protests that originated in Tunisia and spread across the arab world in 2011. We used to have a quiet stability with Egypt while Mubarak was in power; now we get missiles and acts of sabotage from terrorist groups in the Sinai peninsula.

    PinkPanthress,

    So far, Arab Spring has brought nothing but unrest and killings within the arab world. It's going to get worse as The Muslim Brothers will probably be ruling this world.

    Vera,

    Glad you like the photos; they represent a nice place with lovely attractions both natural and man-made.

    Ola,

    Yes, Eilat beaches are great. I know from your posts on the greek islands ,how much you like the sun and the beach.

    Nezzy,

    It's a mad, mad world!
    The palm trees in Eilat are lovely.
    Thanks for your kind words.

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  12. Cheryl,

    Well,it hardly rains in Eilat.Most of the year it's warm and sunny -just what is needed for a trip out.

    Nel,

    I admit; it's rather scary to know terrorists might strike any time. Nevertheless, life is worth living here even with all the threats around.


    Bica,

    It's not easy to relax in Israel, but the fact is people here go on with their life despite all dangers.

    Dimple,

    I suppose winter and early spring are best for visiting Eilat.

    One Fly,

    Indeed, the city with its beaches and water attractions offer a lot of fun to people of all ages.

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  13. When you have a Seder in Eilat, do you still end it with "Next year in Jerusalem?"

    The rockets are troubling. Ironically, I always thought the Egyptians were Israel's friendliest neighbors. So much for the past peace treaty. I'm glad no one was hurt. It's become so common place that news of these rockets never reached the states.

    Catch My Words
    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/

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  14. Duta,
    I'm admire your attitude and glad you are well and I hope you enjoyed your trip. Eliat definitely looks like a resort area with lots of sun,sand,palm trees, water and even mountains in the distance!

    Lisa

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  15. It looks so peaceful, and how calmly you talked of the explosions made me reread that twice, three times. Geesh. I'm glad no one was hurt and the peace continues regardless.

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  16. I do see the mountain in the background...I like seeing your pics...so interesting

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  17. Joyce Lansky,

    Well, not neccessarily. Jerusalem is in the prayer of those outside Israel.
    Not the egyptians. Mubarak. It was Mubarak who kept stability and quiet in the area. Now it's chaos.

    Lisa,

    Welcome to my little blog! Yes, Eilat is quite a lovely resort.It has not only natural attractions but also lots of hotels and shopping centers.

    Tanya Reimer,

    Unfortunately, we kind of get used to tension and dangers, and try to get on with our lives praying to God for his protection.

    Kim&Stuff,

    Eilat is encircled by red mountains.
    That's a very nice view - the sea and mountains in the distance.

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  18. Warm, beautiful beaches...one could not dare but have a wonderful holiday, even with the dangers. Insane are those who chose to harm innocent people. Bless you for being brave.

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  19. Love the title and looks like a great place to unwind. I enjoyed the little fishes on the rail with the flamingo looking over the flowers. Also, I kept wishing for close up of the art work at the museum. I would love to see any you took up close. Also, the white furniture makes the blue water so delightful. Now did you get in that water? Being a kat I get in the water only to cool off but love to walk along the beach with the water swirling around my ankles and the sand moving the earth under my feet. In the south we say "You cannot fix stupid" thus how I feel about arab spring. Note I did not use a capital A on purpose. Peace

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  20. C Hummel Kornell a/k/a C Hummel Wilson,

    The beaches are indeed wonderful. I wish I was brave, I'm not; just trying to cope with our reality.

    Lady Di Tn,

    I don't have close ups as I usually wish to get as many items in a picture as possible.

    I'm much like you in that I prefer to walk along the beach with the water somewhere between the ankles and the knees.

    I'm glad we share the same opinion on the arab spring.

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  21. Thanks for the comment. I am having a heck of a time with my hip, can't walk and using a walker. It is awful. i am afraid of the pain pills. I could become
    addicted. So I switch back and forth with IBuprofen. Can't wait to get the new hip. Never thought I would want an operation. Duta take bone supliments, you are young. Wouldn't want anyone to have this constant pain. Take care, hope you had a Happy passover. yvonne

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  22. Hello Duta

    I find your blog to be interesting and enlightening. As your new follower I look forward to reading future posts and I shall look forward to your visit and comments
    Helen

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  23. Great pics. Eilat is very beautiful. You had great courage to travel to this dangerous place. But you have done this sort of thing before !

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  24. La Petite Gallery,

    Sorry for your hip condition. Nowadays, hip replacements are common and the surgery quite successful. So you"ll soon be OK.

    helen tilston,

    Welcome to my little blog! Thanks for your kind comment. I'm off to your blog in a few minutes.

    R.Ramakrishnan,

    Thank you. Eilat is not usually a dangerous place, and I wish and hope the missiles that have landed there on the night before my arrival in town , will be the last ones.

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  25. Looks like a wonderful place to relax and refresh yourself. I hope you had or are having a wonderful time Duta!

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  26. Alicia,

    True. It's a wonderful place offering relaxation and pleasure. I did have a good time there. Thank you.

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