I visited Israel in Spring 2006 and enjoyed every moment of it. I am very grateful to a Royal Society UK grant which made the trip possible.

Eilat, Israel

I always wanted to visit Eilat and the 2006 Mediterranean Salsa Congress was the perfect excuse. What was it like? A lot of dancing in bikinis. A lot, dancing in bikinis. A lot in bikinis! A lot!

Never was the modesty of so much owed by so many to so little.

Sadly, I have no photos to offer; first, my brain had switched off; second, I might have got kicked out, and then I wouldn't have all these wonderful memories, would I?

The coach trip there was quite interesting. These shots were not easy; plenty of light, but the ride was hard and rough like ... well, never mind.

1 should I overtake

2 he looks angry perhaps not

dead sea (with THE local petrol station)

local grazing

ornamental tire

overcast

road to dead sea

tequila (eilat style)

towers (leaving tel aviv)

weeds

Bricks (Israel)

Bricks!! Bricks!!!! An absurdly profligate plenitude of bricks!

barnacle brick

botanical garden bricks

brick (with seeds)

close packing bricks

concave brick

concrete bricks

concrete by night with rusty nail

concrete

dry bricks close up

dry bricks

dry plant

flower and brick 2

flower and brick

geometric brick

just bricks

multicultural brick

overgrown bricks 2

overgrown bricks

pavement actually

pebble bricks 2

pebble bricks

posh bricks

pretty bricks

red bricks

resourceful plant

two brick

varigated bricks 2

varigated bricks

varnished wood

violet bricks

wall

wall with steel element and peeling paint

wall with steel element detail

Tel-Aviv by night

Tel-Aviv is a night city. For example nearly all supermarkets are 24 hour; I did all my grocery shopping after midnight coming back from dancing, or from a concert, or from an evening lecture on (say) napoleon, or from a street festival, or just from hanging out with friends ...

fire 1

fire 2

fire 3

fireworks 1

fireworks 2

from azrieli towers 1

from azrieli towers 2

from azrieli towers 3

illumination

other end of the street in evening

tel aviv opera backstage (so thats why operas are always at night)

yo yo ma scratches a tune

Israel (flora)

My visit to Israel began at the end of spring ... when the flowers came out.

after the rain

bee

blossoms 2

blossoms

botanical garden blossom

cactus flower as home

cactus flower

efficient israeli irrigation

explosion

flowers 2

flowers 3

flowers and leaves

flowers

focus

friends

fruit

house

just overdone 2

just overdone 3

just overdone 4

just overdone

light and shade

many blossoms

pretty nettle 2

pretty nettle

street outside the house

tel aviv campus

two flowers

Israel (streetscapes)

Tel-Aviv looks like it was put up in a hurry (it was), and like it has better things to do than erect fountains with angels and fish and stuff (it does). This is not a pretentious city. There is public art; it seems to address daily life.

bad neighbour

balcony with sheet

beach

beam me up scotty, theres no signs of intelligent life here

bench

bird on street

cafe nina neve tsedek

cat council

cat model

cat shadow

colour coordinated

development

electricity box 1

electricity box 2

garden by night

garden

haifa 1

haifa 2

haifa 3

heading north from beer sheva

hotel by night high contrast

hotel by night

just resting

late to synagogue

locals

morning walk

much earth shovelled (sorry)

nervous and injured cat

one small step for pigeon

other side of my street

patriotic

pole and balconies

pretty as a picture

reflection on a street scene

surprised in a snooze

sweet thought

tel aviv beach 2

tel aviv beach

wall with wires

watching

Israel typography

Are you interested in fonts?

Hebrew is written in the hebrew alphabet. Quite apart from its beauty, its history, and the fascination of the language it is used to denote, the different alphabet raises typographical issues — say you own a brand worth billions; how do you translate your logo into Hebrew? And if you have a Hebrew brand, how do you make it accessible to people who do not know your alphabet?

For this reason, Israel is positively littered with creative typography, for the delight of anyone who pays attention.