Currency, Electricity, Eating -Drinking,Going Around , Internet, Passport, Material For Your Talk, Sightseeing

Currency Rates

Many ATMs accept international credit cards, and often implicitly provide the best change rate. At the airport these Tellers are hidden, you will find them just opposite and next to the custom exit, or in the arrival hall. Best rates for cash are in "Change Offices" in town or the Post Offices.

Electrical Appliances

Current in Israel is 230 V, 50 Hertz Plugs are of type H, but two with type C plugs will fit; three might be problematic.

Eating , Drinking

Good local food is available in several restaurants near the food market "Makhane Yehuda" ( a short ride by cab from the hotels). I like, "Sima", "Yma", and "Steakyat Khatsot", they are all on Agrippas street. The more adventurous will find good small restaurants inside the market, in the old city they are not expensive but tourist oriented, and most of the time open only at noon. The less ones can always find French or Italian food downtown. On low budget there are plenty of Pizza rings and a Mc Donald in the town centre ( I guess the only non-kosher one in Israel!), and of course our own local version of fast food : Falafel in a pita, ( watch for the dripping tahinah!), and of course your hotels have restaurants ( Saturday noon , cold buffet only)

Going Around

In Jerusalem you can use cabs to go everywhere ,a ride on average should cost around 20 to 40 shekels, insist on having the meter on ( in Hebrew "mone'h bevakacha" , sounds nearly like money and means "meter please". There is a small extra charge when you order a cab from a phone or hotel ( 3.50 shekels). There is no such thing as a taxi with a meter that does not work.Tips are at your discretion, usually rounding off up to 3-5 shekels. From Jerusalem to the rest of the country buses are the most common mean. Car rental is best ordered from abroad, take the full CDW TLD coverage, no need for an International driving license in most cases. Watch for the different speed limits and the messy directional traffic lights.

Internet

There will be WiFi open access both in Belgium House and French House , and we hope to set up a small room in the CS building with some PCs, their usage will be strictly limited to web-mail type applications, and there will be a printer accessible on the CS network.

Passport Stamps

For those who do not want their passport stamped just tell it clearly when you hand your document to the immigration officer on your way in and out.

Material For You Talk

There will be a PC ( Windows) in each room with a "Barco" type projector. Presentations can be in PowerPoint ( safest is Office 2003 or 2007) , Adobe's PDF, and for those who even better in HTML. Please try and give us in advance your presentation on a CD or a Memory Stick, or even better send us ( berco@cs.huji.ac.il) your file ahead of time. If you have movies and animations in your PowerPoint best is to bring your PC or test it on our material well before! There are no black boards and if you really need an overhead projector tell us now!

Sightseeing

Well there is plenty ! We will on Tuesday go to Mount of Olives for a view of the city, then to the Old City (from Lions' gate to the Holy Sepulture,and the Cardo.) Temple Mount is opened only some morning these days. You will have a long list of sites at guides.travelchannel.com/jerusalem/ , . This web site has also good tips on restaurants , shopping etc.