Purple Travel
[September 22 2018]
Laia Benavides’ “Mixed Postcards from Israel”
There are those special places where you arrive and just know you want to stay much longer. I knew that seven days in Israel would not be enough time. In seven days we visited seven different places, maybe even nine.. and there is so much to see. “Mixed Postcards from Israel” are my memories from these days visiting my friend Orly.
Orly means MY LIGHT in Hebrew. In Hebrew all names have meaning. Layla is the closest to my name, which means NIGHT. I loved the idea that my name would be NIGHT during that trip.
Orly, her father and her friends took us to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Nazareth, the Dead Sea and thousands of markets. We went to the Lebanese border, Ako, the Bahai Gardens, the Tomb of Jesus, the Wailing Wall… We also celebrated Shabbat with Orly’s family.
Without really understanding why, sometimes I found myself in tears from mixed emotions. Israel has a lot of energy.
I didn’t want to leave.
When I got back I knew that I would have to stare into that beautiful starry sky again and experience the healing powers of the Dead Sea once more.
Text and photo Laia Benavides
