Anyone who has ever been to Israel is aware of the unique character of Israelis and the Israeli way of life. Every-day activities here are simply different than in other places. The adventure of getting on or off a bus is worthy of a sea pirate; entering a shop means disturbing the proprietor. Everyone knows that traffic laws here are mere suggestions; that ‘snow days’ are rare, but ‘rocket days’ are far too frequent; and that Israeli soldiers are the best-looking in the world. Even the specialness that is Israel often has an extra aspect of special. During Purim this year, a photo made its way around Facebook showing Spiderman, surrounded by oblivious chariedim, praying at the Western Wall. ‘Only in Israel’ was the title of the picture.
1.Beer Sheva’s mayor, Rubik Danilovich, is a young, energetic, forward-thinking, ambitious man. His plans for the city include building a beach front (no actual sea, just the front), the largest amphitheater in the country, a boating lake (not adjacent to the beach front), and restoring the old, dilapidated, neglected Turkish areas of the city into tourist sites. But first, to greet the hordes expected to descend on the city when all these projects are completed, Danilovitch decided to build a new central bus station. In truth, a new one is needed, as the current bus station, which sees tens of thousands of people a day, was built in the 1950s when Beer Sheva was a small immigrant town. Today, the Beer Sheva bus station acts as a hub for all points north, south, east, and west in the country, in addition to serving the nearly 200,000 residents of the growing city. So money was collected, architects hired, and plans were drawn up. This being Israel, an added challenge was thrown in, just to make it interesting. It was decided to build the new bus station in the exact spot of the old bus station, without interfering with or rerouting the daily bus service. No problem; the powers that be agreed to build the new station one bit at a time and rope off small bits of the old bus station. The plan was approved, and construction began. And then the problems started. That incoming buses had to detour somewhat around the new building site did not bother anyone. That dust filled the air so that travelers had a hard time breathing didn’t deter the plans. What threw a wrench in the works and stopped construction was the fact that shortly after digging the foundations commenced, ruins from the Byzantine era were found. Digging was halted, construction was put on hold, and the proper authorities were notified. Archeologists swooped down on the area and uncovered one of the largest sites from the Byzantium period ever discovered in Israel. Only after all that could be removed was removed, and all that could be preserved was preserved could work on the new bus station proceed. It appears that the new Beer Sheva bus station will comprise a 1500-year-old Byzantium bus station in the middle of it. Only in Israel.
