Many of our compatriots think that as soon as they go abroad, they will find themselves in heavenly conditions, accompanied by clean paths, trimmed lawns and respectful attitude of others. In this context, it is interesting to study the peculiarities of the life of the Israelis, because it was in Israel less than a century ago that an amazing mixing of cultures took place against the background of the thousand-year-old traditions of Judaism.
1. Kitchen
A kitchen in Israel consists of several bedside tables, lined up in a row, with built-in and placed on top of household appliances. That's all, no additional surfaces, shelves and tables. Most often, the kitchen does not even have a separate room, only a nook or one wall. Cooked food is brought into the living room or dining room, which is much larger than the kitchen.
2. A week of field life
Every autumn, in October, the Israelis celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Traditionally, at this time, true Jews move to live on the street, in a hut with a roof of palm leaves, which is called "sukkah" (hut). For seven days, the inhabitants of the country spend all their time in the open air, paying tribute to the clouds that protected the people from the scorching sun of the Sinai Desert during the Exodus.
3. More bathrooms
In Israel, it is customary to have two bathrooms if the apartment has three or more rooms. According to Novate.ru, one of them is full-fledged - with a toilet and shower, and the second is a guest one, in which there is only a toilet and a sink. By the way, Israelis are not very fond of baths and rarely buy them, preferring showers. By the way, not traditional shower cubicles, but an ordinary corner lined with tiles.
4. Security rooms
Many people in Israel live in constant fear of the potential for military conflict. This is especially acute in areas in the immediate vicinity of the border, which from time to time are subjected to rocket attacks. For the purpose of protection, sheltered rooms called mamak are being built in Israeli apartments. The apartment buildings also have bomb shelters called mamad and are designed for several families. These rooms have a hermetically sealed window and reinforced walls to protect the occupants from shelling. On peaceful days, these rooms are ordinary living quarters.
5. Large living space
Small apartments in Israel are not in demand. Most often these are premises for rent, which are chosen by single people or childless couples. The rest prefer spacious apartments with three or more rooms with a total area of over one hundred square meters. Everything is explained by the fact that most Israelis have large large families and many relatives who love and do not miss the opportunity to gather under one roof.
6. Minimalism
Israelis do not pay too much attention to the decoration and decoration of the walls in their homes and apartments. And this does not mean at all that they are lazy or ignorant. It's just that the scorching sun does not spare even the highest quality materials, burning out paints on expensive wallpapers and beautiful curtains in just a year. Therefore, Israelis prefer minimalism and the usual white paint. As for the floor, earlier in the houses they laid specific tiles with polka dots, but more recently, the inhabitants of the country, inspired by European trends, have switched to plain light coatings.
7. Mezuzah
Where does the home of a true believer Israelite begin? No, not from the door, not from the threshold, but from the original bulb attached to the wall by the front door. This thing is called a mezuzah, inside it they put a scroll with words from the Torah. Before entering the house, every believing Jew must kiss the mezuzah, putting two fingers to it, and then to the lips.
8. Saturday
Do not be surprised if, being in Israel, you go out for a walk on Saturday and see no one on the street. This is not surprising, because on Saturday the Israelites celebrate the Sabbath - the day of rest, joy and service to the Lord. On this day, believers should not do anything. You can't even turn on / off the light. Observing tradition, most of the country's residents prefer to spend this day at home with their families.
9. Central heating
What you won't see in Israelis' apartments are batteries. Yes, there is no central heating in the country. For heating running water, absolutely all residents use boilers, but with heating things are much worse. Of course, everyone uses air conditioners and radiators, but these devices are not able to cope with high humidity. In short, during the winter period, staying at home can hardly be called comfortable.
Continuing the topic: 8 "native" habits that never cease to amaze foreigners.