At the entrance to Jalal Alai’s villa in Eilat’s Shahamon neighborhood stands a roughly 300-year-old olive tree brought from the Arab town of Arraba. “That’s how it is with us northerners – the Galilee runs in our blood,” Alai says. But the tree, ancient and impressive, is not the main attraction here. The house sits on a hill overlooking the Gulf of Eilat, with a view of the point where Jordan meets Saudi Arabia. Every morning, Alai sits next to his pool and watches the sun rise over the Red Sea.
