Tel Aviv

They call it the City Built from Sand. They call it the City that Never Sleeps. 60 Jewish families moved here early in the 20th century, looking for a place to settle. They found only dunes. It was here in 1948 that Ben Gurion, Theodore Herzl, and some other Zionists declared the Jeiwsh nation-state.

And now what do we find? Skyscrapers, Microsoft, computer chips, well-manicured gardens, Japanese food, shawarma sandwiches, music festivals, gay pride parades, and of course Momo's (as well as plenty of other discount-priced, let-me-give-you-some-free-Nescafe, cigarette-reeking hostels).

Oh, plus you've got your cheap-cloth-selling shuke markets and your building on LSD. It's a place for artists and artisans, this city of sand.

Don't forgot that nagila, hookah tobacco, when you go to the beach on Shabbat! Pack your walking shoes too, because it might be hard to jam yourself onto a van taxi at sunset!