My Last Day in Israel
Day five, our final day in Israel, started out with an unexpected pleasure. Hearing that I was visiting the State of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, invited my travelling companions and me for a 45-minute chat! Despite the fact that the Prime Minister had a host of political issues to deal with that day, he and Mrs. Netanyahu graciously took the time to speak with us. We discussed many things including Israeli food, international travel, foreign policy, and even American television!  Following our conversation, we regrouped and began our drive to Tel Aviv, where we spent an enjoyable day exploring and eating.
1 Here I am with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife Sara Ben-Artzi.
2 Chris and our friend Geoffrey Weill joined us as well. We all voted for the Dead Sea as one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World.
3 After our visit, we started our drive from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. This is the Knesset, the legislative branch of the Israeli government, where all laws are passed and revised as necessary.
4 Naturally, security is extremely tight around all the government buildings.
5 These are government offices in Jerusalem.
6 This is the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This very important ministry's role is to implement Israel's foreign policy, and to promote economic, cultural, and scientific relations with other countries.
7 A shot of a few different neighborhoods in Jerusalem along our drive to Tel Aviv
8 And this is a town in the West Bank, so named because it lies on the western bank of the Jordan River.
9 Arriving in Tel Aviv in the old part of town, called Jaffa, an ancient port city - One of Jaffa's center of activities is the Clock Square, named for the Clock Tower, built by the Turkish Sultan Abed-el-Hamid II in 1906.
10 Jaffa is one of the oldest towns in the world and is mentioned both in the Old and New Testament. This photo was taken from an artists' colony, where there are many silversmiths, potters, and other artisans.
11 Tel Megiddo Jewelery - David Shamay - This is a beautiful jewelry shop.
12 Another shop had amazing handmade pottery. I especially liked this turquoise hobnail design.
13 I also liked the brackets holding the shelves.
14 These pieces were so finely hand-painted.
15 I loved this platter.
16 There was an interesting and eclectic mix of antique and new.
17 There were so many antique stores and interesting shops to wander through.
18 This is a fascinating collection of antique mezuzot (plural of mezuzah) - the talismans that observant Jews place on their doorways.
19 We walked through the flea market and Daisy took interest in this array of menorahs.
20 Another shop was selling an antique gas mask, from one of Israel's many wars.
21 And antique shoe forms
22 This is a street in the old part of Tel Aviv - the architecture is fascinating.
23 There are several fabric shops and I was very impressed by the variety, like these beautiful textiles from India.
24 This gelato shop won 1st prize in all of Israel! I had a yummy lime-vodka gelato.
25 We found a wonderful market in Tel Aviv that sold a lot of Italian products. These are beautiful heirloom grape tomatoes.
26 They had many kinds of fungi.
27 And a good assortment of fresh pasta.
28 And also a fruit juice bar!
29 On our walk, we met a sweet French bulldog. I showed her owner how to log onto Francesca and Sharkey's blog, The Daily Wag. http://dailywag.marthastewart.com/ She was quite amused.
30 A home furnishings store had an amazing selection of glasses to choose from.
31 We visited Dallal Bakery, in Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek neighborhood - a fantastic place - they weren't expecting us, but we were so delighted by the variety of great bread and pastry. http://dallalcoil.rest-e.co.il/arest%20menu/c805.php
32 They had a wonderful assortment of both savory and sweet creations.
33 These little chocolate croissants were quite flaky and tasty.
34 They bake coffee, chocolate, vanilla, caramel, and sugared pecan cream eclairs with glaze topping.
35 We were invited into the kitchen to see the production.
36 They were preparing quiches - cheese, sweet potato, onion, mushroom, red pepper, and cauliflower - very impressive!
37 Bakers notes on the tiled wall
38 A rack of freshly baked focaccia
39 These giant ovens rotate for even baking.
40 This machine is a pastry sheeter, which makes rolling out large pieces of dough a snap!
41 This baker is making a beautiful savory bread filled with cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.
42 Rolling the dough
43 Posing with Aner Zalel - chef-patissier - I'm wearing a green scarf I had just purchased in a boutique in Neve Tzedek.
44 We walked along the boardwalk in Tel Aviv.
45 Along the boardwalk, we found a restaurant called Boya.
46 Here I am with Chris at Boya.
47 Like nearly every meal in Israel, bread is served.
48 And of course, hummus - this delicious one was presented with crunchy chickpeas and fruity olive oil.
49 There were excellent roasted red peppers with hameiri cheese and taramosalata, a spread made with carp roe.
50 Crispy calamari rings, seasoned and fried with lemon
51 A plate of beet carpaccio topped with ceviche.
52 An assortment of sauteed wild mushrooms
53 This cauliflower was the best part of the meal. It was lightly fried and drizzled with a sweet and spicy chili sauce.
54 In Tel Aviv, shell fish is served a lot – note that it’s not kosher!
55 These meatballs were excellent.
56 And so were the roasted vegetables.
57 Shrimp with tomatoes and asparagus - Every meal in Israel was like this - Way too much food!
58 After a busy day of exploring Tel Aviv, we checked into the Tel Aviv Intercontinental Hotel, where we freshened up before heading out again. This is the Hassan Bek Mosque, built in 1916, by Jaffa's Turkish-Arab governor of the same name.
59 The view looking north towards the bustling city of Tel Aviv.
60 At 6pm, I sat down for an interview at the hotel. This apron was given to me by a reporter from USA TODAY. I was very honored.
61 Posing with the USA TODAY reporter - Michele Chabin - She wrote a very favorable article: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/story/2011-09-06/Martha-Stewart-sets-her-sights-on-Israel/50286454/1
62 And posing with Lydia Weitzman of the Israel Ministry of Tourism
63 Here I am with the very entertaining and charismatic reporter from the Hebrew language paper Yehdiot Aharonot - Maya Marom. She made me a lovely basket of delicious goodies!
64 Our flight back home was scheduled for later that night. Can you believe that we gathered that evening for yet another meal? Chris and Daisy at Mul Yam restaurant in Tel Aviv
65 And here I am
66 Skipping right to dessert - The confections were visually appealing and quite yummy. This is the Turkish Sting, a mascarpone mousse with Galilee nectarine, pistachios, and garnished with Kadayif curls.
67 There were several flavors of macaroons and pâtes de fruits.
68 And even something called a Fabergé egg! This is a hollow sugar ball filled with pistachio foam and fresh Israeli cherries.
69 It was very unusual!
The picture #68, looks like it is ready to hang on a Christmas tree, till you open it up in picture #69.
All the pictures are beautiful, and I'm glad you had such an interesting trip and took us along with you.
I liked all the dishes, on the shelves and on the table.
Maybe...someday, you'll have a contest to take a lucky winner along with you on a trip. I'd just like to follow you around for a week in your normal routine to see if I could keep up with your pace. It would be quite interesting.
Thanks again, Martha, for all the interesting photos.
Gloria G!!
Posted by: Gloria | September 15th, 2011 at 12:22 am
Dear Martha,
It was a pleasure knowing you are so close by here in Tel-Aviv..I hope this is the first visit of many more to come!
I will keep enjoying your books, magazines and tv shows.
All The best
Thank you
Tamar
Posted by: TAMAR | September 15th, 2011 at 4:02 am
Shalom, Martha! You look great in all these pictures, especially with Mr. & Mrs. Netanyahu-
and especially attractive in that dress!
Your travel log was positively wonderful!
Hope when you return to make some shows that you will have an audience like you do in US; I would so love to attend!
L'shana Tova!
Sincerely,
MB~
Posted by: Miri | September 15th, 2011 at 4:38 am
Hi Martha,
I have a confession: i was the girl that worked at your visit in this gallery at that day and i must say that i didnt recognized you and your nephew, with was little embarrassing and quite funn. So now it's a good time to do it,rather than neve, and tell you that i love your taste and work.
Also,i'm happy that you loved the turquoise pottery, it's my favored too.
Best regards, Ruth.
Posted by: Ruth | September 15th, 2011 at 6:10 am
Hi Martha !
I was so happy to see the beautiful photos that been taken in my pottery shop in old Jaffa.
I would like to send you a gift from from my turquoise hand made collection.
Can you to tell me where ?
I hope that you enjoyed your visit in Israel and you will come again.
Thank you
Irit Goldberg
I Home
Old Jaffa
Israel
Posted by: Irit Goldberg / I Home. Old Jaffa | September 15th, 2011 at 6:24 am
I am blown away by the presentation, freshness and color of the variety of food in your pictures. It has certainly changed my perception of Israel being only an historical and/or spiritual destination, not necessarily for foodies. Try as I might I can't make out what is written on your apron. What is the last word? By the way love, love your shoes in that picture! You wear the best shoes your show also.
Posted by: Cindy F | September 15th, 2011 at 9:14 am
Hi Martha, I have always admired Benjamin Netanyahu and seeing you and your traveling companions being able to visit with him and his wife was absolutely fantastic! All of you in the first 2 photos looked so happy and I know you were so pleased that he invited you over to visit! The government buildings are superb! Jerusalem is so beautiful and seeing Tel Aviv was outstanding! These photos of your visit to Tel Aviv are so beautiful and it's fun to see all of the lovely items they have in those stores! And yes the architecure is fascinating! All of the delicious food and bakery items in those stores were so delicious looking and I started drooling when I viewed them! Then seeing the food you, Chris, and Daisy were having was beautiful and delicious looking! I did have 5 favorite photos-#1,2,29,60,and 65-outstanding!!!!! Thanks so much for sharing this fantastic trip to Israel! Hope you have a delightful day today! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | September 15th, 2011 at 10:25 am
Thank You! I have thoroughly enjoyed all your posts on your trip to Israel. You are quite the World Ambassador for sharing "Good Things". The photos were beautiful!!!! What an AMAZING,country,people & culture.
I Sure hope the Dead Sea gets the votes it needs to be recognized as something it already is in the eyes and hearts of so many.
Posted by: Rosa O. Clifford | September 15th, 2011 at 10:43 am
Well Martha, you finished the series of Israel bloggings with a bang! All of the food photos looked amazing, but I LOVED the dessert photos at the end. The 'Turkish Sting' topped with kadayif in PHOTO #66 was so unusual (like Don King's hair!) that I had to google the word "kadayif." Surprisingly, its made of shredded filo dough. That image was very intriguing, but not as unusual as that red 'ball' in PHOTO #68. That "Fabergé Egg' resembles the coating of a candy apple, but the filling shown in PHOTO #69 looks like potato salad. I wonder if you liked that dessert at all. I appreciate the oddity, but it did not look tasty.
I also loved the aqua color of the pottery.... and the antique shoe forms. I would have had to make room in my luggage for a pair of the silver-toned shoe forms. They would make interesting book ends.
Thanks again for sharing this amazing trip.
Posted by: Barbara Gookin ~ Nantucket | September 15th, 2011 at 10:44 am
Martha,
I could hardly wait until day 5 was here on your blog on your tour of Israel. It did not disappoint. Thanks so much for sharing these photos. Your the greatest!
Posted by: KLBrown | September 15th, 2011 at 11:47 am
Hi, Martha,
Wonderful! I've so enjoyed your coverage of your trip to Israel with your family and friends. Like me, there are probably many, many people who will consider visiting Israel who had not thought to before. I can, also, imagine you'll bring back the series in the future so those who missed it the first time will have a chance to share in the fun and education. An added delight were the exciting posts from those who have connections to Israel by family, vacation, or home country. They were so genuine and heart warming! Thank you!
Posted by: Bobbie | September 15th, 2011 at 2:10 pm
Hi Martha,
I like the older part of Tel Aviv called Jaffa especially picture #10 with the plain looking buildings. The bit of greenery with the blue sky and water in the background make it quite beautiful and picture #22 which looks even older is also nice with colorful window casings and clean streets. Lots of times older areas of cities can look quite unkempt but not so in Tel Aviv apparently. The flea market shops are appealing also. The more I see of your journey, the more I want to visit. The landscapes are a bit arid looking but the food sure is colorful and looks tasty. I might even want to try fried calamari now! Yesterday at Costco I tasted hummus for the first time and thought it was good. What I had was processed with lots of sodium so I think I’ll look for a homemade recipe. I haven’t really paid much attention to it before in cookbooks but will now. Thanks for all of your beautiful and informative pictures and for showing us the different foods of yet another country. I still think about that hawker food market in Malaysia I think it was and wonder how many things I could taste without making myself sick from overeating. It all looked so good. Trish
~
May I suggest to Cindy F that if she right clicks any picture and then selects open in new window, she can zoom in on letters printed on your apron which reads: Martha Stewart is my Rebbetzin.
Posted by: Trish | September 15th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
We have an owner in the region with many ranches and restaurants. He wearing ranch work clothes, travels to his restaurants, orders one of everything and gives the meals away to the customers. Few employees or customers recognize him the first time. He knows how well his businesses and customers are being treated. After this blog and Ruth's posting I could see you doing similar things. All the wonderful food pictures; I can not imagine who is eating it all, unless it is a crew of thousands. Are they packing packages out of the neat shops you visited?
Posted by: Margie | September 15th, 2011 at 2:27 pm
Thanks for the tip Trish!
Posted by: Cindy F | September 15th, 2011 at 6:44 pm
Thanks for sharing. Armchair traveling with you this evening. The food looks amazing! I love Middle Eastern food. Lovely pictures.
Posted by: Penelope | September 15th, 2011 at 9:45 pm
I can't thank you enough for providing your audience with this travelogue of Israel. It meant so much to me. I now have a very new perspective of Israel, with its antiquity and newness all together. I feel as though I were there with you. Many thanks again!
Posted by: JudyS in NJ | September 15th, 2011 at 10:22 pm
It was really an enjoyable experience to view your journey to Israel both for the sites you went to and the people you met also quaint shops and interesting food both in the preparation and the meals.Thankyou so much for sharing your trip with us.One day I might get to go there myself.Thanks Martha
Posted by: Heather Horsburgh | September 15th, 2011 at 10:41 pm
My husband and I have so very much enjoyed seeing the photos of your tour of Israel..we will be visiting 2 ports in Israel, for the first time, as portion of 12 day cruise soon..
Posted by: Betty Ingle | September 15th, 2011 at 10:43 pm
Dearest Martha,
Visiting the tiny little country of Israel, (1/3 of San Bernadino County), surrounded by enemies that occupy most fo the middle east, at a time of great conflict, reflects your deep intellect. In addition to your class, taste and talent of course.
Always your fan,
Amie
Posted by: Amie Mitchell | September 15th, 2011 at 10:49 pm
Martha,
I have a HUGE scrapbook of my two-week stay in Israel hosted by B'nai Brith. My children and I look through it on a regular basis. You're welcome to come over and we can reminiscence about our Israel trip. Come see your glitter paint in a Gustave Dore fairy tale room!
Posted by: BluBabesCreate | September 15th, 2011 at 11:34 pm
Thank you for portraying our beautiful country in so many good words and beautiful photographs.
Pease except a small remainder of some of the exotic, colorful and nice places you visited and enjoyed, like the amazing Mahneuda Market
In the heart of Jerusalem and the Farmers Market in Tel Aviv:
http://www.salistudio.com/blog/?c=71&y=2010&m=1
http://www.salistudio.com/blog/?c=73&y=2010&m=5
Natasha
Posted by: Natasha | September 16th, 2011 at 4:29 am
It was a joy to "see" Israel through your eyes. A beautiful country and people. Thank you, Martha.
Posted by: Eve | September 16th, 2011 at 8:30 am
In today's (09-17-11) New York Times Online, Thomas Friedman has an interesting editorial entitled "Israel: Adrift at Sea Alone."
Posted by: JohnJ | September 18th, 2011 at 8:31 am
Enjoyed your comments of Israel and your trip. A few years ago, my daughter and I went over to a women's conference in Tel Aviv. It was wonderful! There were 50 Hebrew women there, who were lovely ladies. I was fortunate to have one lady and her husband take me all through Tel Aviv to see places where tourists normally do not go. We went to small restaurants where they wanted me to try all of their foods. Loved everything! Wonderful people! It is a hard country, and I felt at home there with all of the friendly people. I would walk around Tel Aviv by myself, talking with shop owners and I loved it. I made a friend who sat beside me at the conference and we e-mail often. She has invited me to "a room in her house," which I hope to be able to do in the future. Thank you again for your comments.
Posted by: Roberta Purcell | September 18th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
...I adore you. Period. Carry on.
Posted by: James Scott | October 1st, 2011 at 5:03 pm
Part of why I love this blog is the added perspective given by the informative comments of your readership. For the most part they seem educated, decent, and intelligent people. Who wouldn't want a readership base like that? I learn so much from them (and Martha!) and I will keep returning.
Posted by: r. steven page | October 21st, 2011 at 12:46 pm