How Did 'Arik Private Tours In Israel' Started?
Shalom Y’all! I was hoping you could get to know me a little better. So let me tell you about myself and my life trajectory. So at the end of 2008, I had every intention of becoming a teacher at a typical Israeli high school. After finishing my Bachelor’s Degree, given to me by the Hebrew-U in Jerusalem. The same city where I lived for eight memorable years. No other city can compare to Jerusalem with all its complexities. Jerusalem is truly unique.
In 2009, While I was already working as a guide in the Holocaust Museum (Yad Vashem) in Jerusalem, I was looking for a local school where I could do my training as a starting teacher and officially got licensed by the Ministry of Education in Israel.
On one of those days, after I’d just finished guiding a brilliant group of American students from Brown University, a colleague of mine that was teaching in a high school told me I should give it a try and become part of the staff.
Honestly, I felt a little like Michelle Pfeiffer’s role in ‘dangerous Minds.’ In other words, I’ll be able to make a fundamental change in their lives and transform them to love Literature just as I do.
I worked for hours and hours on end, perfecting my lesson plans at home, thinking about each word I was going to tell them, showing them the conflicts the protagonists had experienced in the novels just like they do in reality.
I needed something more suitable to my character, which is more of a free spirit. I wanted something more uplifting and engaging. But to remain in the field of education and passing knowledge. So I went for my dream and completed the official tour guide course by the Ministry of Tourism at the end of 2011. Yea!
Since then, this is what I have done! Being a guide made me the happiest man for more than ten years. I get to know super exciting people, I have the chance to work with people that are keen on listening without the formalities of a classroom.
The Services that I Offer
As someone that likes to travel, I know how stressful traveling could be! All those questions, such as, did I pick the right hotel? Or if it’s your once-in-a-lifetime B’nai mitzvot event for your children. Or did I pick the right rabbi or that skilled photographer for the ultimate pictures? Are all those recommendations online are they that good? So my friends! This is what I’m here for!
Apart from being your top-notch expert private tour guide that will reveal the beauties of this fantastic piece of land. I’ll also narrate all these amazing stories that would come to life beautifully. I’ll be your chauffeur, concierge, photographer, and more.
Either way, in the end, we will all become great friends. Actually, with some of my past guests, I’m still in touch with them to this very day. And even went to visit like Jean and Yuki from Japan!
In the end, my ultimate goal is to make my guests’ trip to Israel, a once in a lifetime experience. I see it as my purpose to weave together all those joint moments we will have into an unforgettable memory. Hopefully, after our time together, you will leave Israel a little bit different than as you came. Hopefully, I’ll be able to show you a different country from what you imagined. Its diversity, Its complexity; the rich history; its fine cuisine, and much more!
My Core Values That I Work & Live By
As a private tour guide in Israel but primarily as a human being, I foremost show respect for the people I am with. Honor their wishes and treat them like family. “Love thy neighbor” is a rule that I try to live by every day. Transparency and honesty, alongside good communication skills, are essential, as I see it for a happy life and a satisfied ‘Arik Private Tours’ participant.
I try to accommodate as much as I can. I consider myself highly attentive to the extent I will go out of my way to try and help my guests. My goal, in the end, is to leave them with a good impression of the country and memories that will last for a long time. But also not sugarcoat the complicated situation here in Israel and surface the complexities and tensions between the country’s various religious/ethnic groups.
So What’s Next?
In 2018 When I turned 40, I needed a change. I’ve decided that I need something more. I’ve started to work with elderly people giving them what you can call `Couch Touring.’ Those old folks simply can’t travel anymore but still want to see the world. So I bring it to them! Rome, Venice, Louver, and The British Museum I am taking them there without needing to get up from their seats. The idea is perhaps to take groups abroad to all those locations I am talking about.
Also, I’ve started to work on some short stories. I have no idea when I’ll ever get to finish them, but that gives me a great sense of meaning in my life. Lastly, just for fun, I have been learning how to play the piano for a couple of years already, and hopefully, I could one day play my favorite piano piece, ‘the Goldberg Variations’ by Bach.
Best,
Arik Haglili
Hi! My name is Arik Haglili, an Israeli native who decided to dedicate his life to share my knowledge about the Holy Land to those that are interested to know more about this amazing piece of land. My career as a private tour guide started at the International School For the Studying of the Holocaust and the rest is history.
