A Site for all you Humus Lovers

Humus is one of the most popular dishes in the middle east, and it is known worldwide. The famous mash of chickpeas can be found in every house, although it’s always better and more fresh in a Hummus bar, or a Hummus restaurant.

Now, a whole site is dedicated to the Humus: http://hummus101.com

 

In the site, you can find Hummus recipes, debates about Humus and diets, economic news related to Humus, and practically everything related to Hummus (and sometimes related issues such as Falafel and Tahini). And yes, it’s in English.

So, if you’re into this great dish, or want to know about more about the middle eastern cousine, that’s the place!

Earthquake in Israel

Today it happened again. The building shook for a second. As you can see, my lambs made it through these earthquakes:

Today it happened again. The building shook for a second. I work on the 6th floor of a 30+ story building. I’m not sure that it truly was an earthquake, but it sure felt like one for my colleagues and myself. This followed two minor earthquakes that were reported a few days ago.

Lambs that survived the earthquake

As you can see, my lambs made it through these earthquakes. The tower mounted on my computer screen withstood the danger:

Every kid here knows that Israel is located on the Syrian-African Rift or the Great Rift Valley. Experts have warned in the past that a major earthquake would be devastating, and that 107,000 buildings should be strengthened (Hebrew link) . The authorities have more important issues to deal with. I guess.

::Comments are available again::

Commenting to posts is available again on my blog.

I wondered why I hadn’t received any comments lately. This includes regular comments and also spam comments. I was sure that the spammers left me alone, and about regular comments, I’m used to being alone.
Anyway, thanks to Ingrid that told me about it, I discovered the problem and fixed it. Well, Shana Tova to Ingrid and to everybody visiting here.

A visit to post war Haifa

Moria_small.jpgI paid another visit to Haifa, this time after the war. Contrary to my previous visit, this time it was just to visit some friends and hang out. No rocket landing sites were seen this time.

I traveled from Tel Aviv with my partner from a trip to Nepal. After meeting those friends from Haifa in Tel Aviv (mentioned here), it was time to meet them as hosts, and not as refugees.

A big traffic jam welcomed us in the entrance to Haifa. The “Beer Festival” was going on at that time. This 10 year old festival has always been held on the beach in Tel Aviv. This year it moved to Haifa, as a tribute to the people that suffered the war.

Although being concentrated on the road directions, I noticed that there were lots of flags on the streets. Our hosts said that it feels like independence day. We decided to skip the festival and to go to the main road of Haifa’s nightlife: Moria street.

Barbarossa_small.jpgThe start at the Sinta Bar wasn’t promising: The place is poorly decorated and it also didn’t attract too many people. We decided not to call it a night, and we continued wandering around. Other places seemed quite active. I noticed the Frangelico and Brown (which has a branch also in my city).

Our hosts insisted on taking us to another place, and by car. I was worried that we wouldn’t find a parking spot, but they reminded me that we are in Haifa, not in Tel Aviv.

We went to the hottest place in town: Barbarossa. I don’t know if it’s named after the code name for the Nazi invasion to the USSR in WWII, but who cares. We had to stand in line, and only after our hosts used their acquaintance with the owners, we got in. This good looking place had some good looking people in it, good music and great atmosphere. The others said that the waitress was flirting with me. I deny it.

Bay_of_Haifa_small1.jpgAfter drinking “one more cup of coffee for the road” and saying goodbye to our friends and their beautiful view, I drove back home to Tel Aviv. There, I met another traffic jam at the entrance to town.

War? Our hosts described it as a terrible period. They fled to Tel Aviv only for a day or two, but stayed for two weeks. When they escaped gloomy and rocket hit Haifa, they immediately found themselves having dinner in a crowded Tel Aviv restaurant. It felt like a different world for them.

Now the war belongs to the past. It took several days for the city to get back to life. 3 weeks after the ceasefire, only the vast amount of flags on the streets are a distant memory from the dark days of the war.