Southbound

When Justin and I arrived in Israel in early February, we were entering a country that was essentially an active war zone. In the media, many allegations were made accusing Israel of using excessive force in Gaza. Hamas' constant rocket fire into southern Israel received much less attention. In fact, with the aid of Iranian weapons, Hamas was able to dramatically increase its missile range, subjecting several once-safe Israeli cities to almost daily attack. My buddy Pavel had the bright idea to pay a visit to one of those cities to find out what life was like during the bombings. I thought he might be on to something, so I decided to tag along.

We decided to head to Ashkelon, a port city pretty close to the Gaza border. According to Pavel:

Ashkelon is a city of about 100,000 that sits on Israel's golden [Mediterranean] coast. Situated about 50 km (30 miles) South of Tel Aviv (one hour by bus) and 10 km (6 miles) North of the Gaza Strip the city has a beautiful coastline and beaches and a lot of new medium-rise construction. Villas near the water look, stylistically, like homes in Southern Europe and the Caribbean--red tile roofs, pastel shades of stucco, and architecture that mixes Middle Eastern and Southern European traditions.

In fact, Pavel did a very good job chronicling our trip to Ashkelon. You should check out his blog post (linked above). I really have only a few things to add. Although there were no overt signs that there had been a war just a few weeks prior, we saw unusual amount of "construction." Most of the work being done seemed normal, but there were several buildings that appeared to have structural damage. Whenever we saw such a building, Pavel would ask a local what the construction was for. Unfortunately, we were never able to get a clear answer. This makes sense, though. I don't know anything about any of the construction going on in Conshohocken. Hey, look at some pictures with explanations!

We spent a good amount of time at the Marina, the main shopping, eating, and nightlife area in Ashkelon. We later learned that a rocket landed in the Marina during the war. People stopped visiting the section and several businesses closed.

The beaches were very nice.

Look, an ampitheater!

This is a park.

Our trip to Ashkelon? Two thumbs, waaaaay up. Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee