The Middle East in the news

We woke up this morning to see two news stories this morning that were definitely unsettling, we feel very lucky in the timing of our visits:  The first story was of the escalated violence in the Gaza Strip and bombings near both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from the militant group Hammas.  We feel extremely grateful that the middle east portion of our trip ended and we were far outside of Israel before this conflict began again.  When we were there we could definitely sense tension in the air, while we thought that was just the normal tension caused by the religions clashing going on in this part of the world, I can't help but wonder if perhaps it was intensified because this was on the verge, who knows.  The second story was about the violent protests occurring in Amman, Jordan in response to rising fuel costs, wherein the protesters are demanding the resignation of the king.  Needless to say, we are glad we were there last week, and not now. 

We truly did enjoy our time in the Middle East and it saddens me to see that there is so much conflict and hate in that part of the world. 

I have already posted a couple of times about our time in Israel, but I had a lot to say.  I haven't yet had a chance to post about visiting the ancient ruins of Masada (a fortress built by King Herod in the desert), the Dead Sea, and the ancient city of Petra.  I was planning to write about India today, but because of the news we heard this morning, my thoughts are on these places instead.

We took a day trip to Masada and the Dead Sea from Jerusalem, it was awesome.  The ruins of Masada are incredible to see, they are in remarkably good shape considering the fortress was built in the late 1st century B.C.  The fact that it is completely isolated in the desert and doesn't get much erosion from rain has left it in very good shape.  After visiting Masada we went to float in the Dead Sea.  I was excited to float in the Dead Sea and cover myself in black mud, but it was so much better than I had imagined.  Floating in that water is such a cool sensation, it's truly like nothing I have ever experienced.  The water does not feel like water at all.  Here are a few pictures:

Desert fortress of Masada

Floating in the Dead Sea

Famous black Dead Sea mud

The day after our excursion to Masada and the Dead Sea we had to cross the border from Israel into Jordan.  I was nervous, we had done tons of research, but we were doing it on our own and the idea of walking across the border from one country into the other seemed strange to me.  We took a bus from Jerusalem to Eilat, which is a small town on the Red Sea at the tip of Israel.  In Eilat we got off the bus and found a taxi driver to take us to the border crossing.  We arrived at the border crossing and paid our Israeli exit fee and received our exit stamps in our passports.  Then we walked out of Israel and into no man's land until we reached the gate with Jordanian border guards.  They checked our passports and pointed us to the security check point.  They put all of our bags through x-ray machines and waved us on to the visa terminal.  We had heard and read tons of various prices for the Jordan visa, they ranged from $20 - $65 per person.  We weren't sure how much it would be, but I had my USD ready.  The man examining our passports and issuing our visas asked me the meaning of my name, I was rather thrown by this question and told him I didn't know.  (Actually, we looked it up this summer, but I really could not remember and figured it wasn't all that important to memorize the meaning of my name...guess it might have proved useful in Jordan.)  The border agent then asked what my surname meant, I looked at Charles since Watson is his surname and he tried to explain the origin of the name, but neither of us knew the meaning.  The Jordanian guard then went on to tell us the meaning of his name and lectured us on how every word in Arabic has a distinct meaning and that knowing that meaning was very important.  We just stood their nodding and watched him fumble with our passports, and I waited for him to ask for money.  He never did.  He just handed them back to us and pointed towards the immigration check.  We handed over our passports again and I was ready with the money, they never asked for any.  They checked all of our stamps and visas and returned our passports and waved us towards the exit.  I just went with it, I thought at any second they would realize their mistake and come back to us asking for money, but it never happened.  We still aren't sure exactly what happened.  Our theory is that the agent preparing the visas was so concerned with the meanings of our names and explaining the importance that he forgot, which works great for us! 

Once we were safely in Jordan and in a cab to our hotel we relaxed.  It was much easier than I had imagined.  Our next task was to figure out how to get to Petra, which is about a 3 hour drive from the city of Aqaba where we were staying that night.  We inquired at the hotel and they recommended we talk to Hertz to rent a car or a driver and a car - it was ridiculously expensive.  Next we went to a tour operator and their quote was even more expensive.  I had read that many people just take a cab.  I figured it would be just as expensive, if not more than making arrangements with a tour group, but it was worth a shot.  There was a taxi right outside our hotel and we went up to him and asked him how much to drive us to Petra the next morning, he said he would do it for 50 Jordanian Dinars, which is about $70.  We were thrilled, we made the arrangements and he said he would arrive at 9:00 the next morning.  We did a little exploring of Petra that evening, the city of Aqaba is on the Red Sea and so we had to go and stick our feet in, we walked through the market and stopped into a few shops. 

Walking into Jordan

Red Sea in Aqaba

Had to stick my foot in...

Markets in Aqaba

Charles with a shop owner, he was a character

The next morning we got up early to head to Petra.  After a long drive through the desert in Jordan we finally made it.  We dropped our stuff in our hotel and made our way to the park.  Petra is incredible.  It was built around 312 B.C. and it is like nothing I have ever seen.  Truly amazing.  We met two Bedouin girls our first day in the park, they came to see what Charles was doing.  They were completely in awe of his paintings and loved all of them.  We spent an hour or so visiting with them, even being introduced to some of their family. 

In the Siq about to see the Treasury for the first time.

Treasury in Petra

Bedouin girls - so silly and funny

Our new friends

Charles showing them the bowtie

Monastery in Petra

Shopkeeper where we had lunch - he would yell out have a break, have a kit kat

Camels in Petra

We really loved Petra and are glad we planned two days there, we could have easily spent a few more.  I loved interacting with the kids in Petra, there are tons of them running around, but it made me sad to see them working and peddling things to tourists.  As you walk through Petra someone is always yelling some slogan or price to you in hopes that you will stop and spend your money.  Overall though, we really loved our time in Petra and in Jordan as a whole. 

Giving Jerusalem a second try

I already wrote a little bit about our first day in Jerusalem, if you missed that post you can find it here.  Luckily even though our first 24 hours in Jerusalem were pretty terrible, the rest of the time there was much better.  We woke up our first full day in Jerusalem a little uneasy about what the day would hold, but we were planning to participate in a walking tour and felt like that would ease us into exploring the city.  The tour was recommended by our hotel and it was free, so we felt like we couldn't pass it up.  If you are ever in Jerusalem, I recommend taking the walking tour from Sandeman's New Europe.  So, after breakfast we made the long walk from our hotel to Jaffa Gate, where the tour was meeting.

We signed up for the tour and met our tour guide Naomi.  She assembled the group and we entered the old city walls to begin learning about Jerusalem and its history.  The old city of Jerusalem is divided into four parts the Christian Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Jewish Quarter, and the Armenian Quarter.  We started in the Christian Quarter and our first stop was the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is the church built over the place of Jesus' crucifixion and burial tomb.  We didn't have time to go into the church on the tour, but Charles and I went back later that evening to see the different parts of the church.  It truly was amazing to be there and to be among all of the people visiting from all over the world.  After visiting the church we made our way to the Muslim Quarter, which is the largest and most populated section of the old city of Jerusalem with about 24,000 people living there.  Naomi pointed out that some of the graffiti we noticed the day before when we were wandering lost, was actually happy graffiti.  The tradition is to spray graffiti on the home of someone who has recently returned from their pilgrimage to Mecca, which is indicated by hanging a sign above the door of the home.  Next, we made our way to the Western Wall, also sometimes called the Wailing Wall.  Naomi explained that the reason it is so important to the Jewish people is that it is the closest that they can get to the Temple Mount that now lies under the Muslim Mosque called the Dome of the Rock.  The Dome of the Rock is built over the place where Muslims believe that Mohammed left earth and ascended to heaven.  It seemed that everywhere we turned all of the religions seemed to overlap in both history and time, all in this one small city.  After the Western Wall we continued into the Jewish Quarter, which was extremely quiet, since it was Saturday morning.  Naomi explained that this section of the old city looked entirely new because it was rebuilt after the Six Day War.  She also showed us where the new part of the old city is built over the roman ruins, you can see the main street below with Roman columns on either side of the wide avenue.  From the Jewish Quarter we made our way down Ararat Street and into the Armenian Quarter.  Mount Ararat is the mountain where it is believed Noah's Ark landed.  It used to be within the borders of Armenia, but now lies in Turkey, although the image of the mountain still appears on the Armenian crest.  The Armenian's claim to be the first nation to convert to Christianity and they have been in Jerusalem since the first century B.C.  There are very few Armenian's still living in the Old City, but we enjoyed learning about their history, and eating Armenian food for lunch once the tour was over. 

Outside of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher

Happy Graffiti and Sign of Pilgrimage to Mecca

Western Wall

Lunch - Armenian Restaurant

After our morning of touring Charles wanted to paint and I decided to stay with Naomi for a second tour of the Mount of Olives.  Charles and I went our separate ways agreeing to meet at the Austrian Hospice in the center of the Old City at around 5:15.  On the afternoon tour of the Mount of Olives we went to the following sites:

• Chapel of Ascension - which marks the spot where Jesus ascended into heaven (it is now a mosque)
• Convent of Pater Noster - the convent built where Jesus taught the disciples the Lord's Prayer, it includes the Lord's Prayer in hundreds of languages, it was wonderful
• Jewish Cemetery - which is where Jews believe the resurrection will begin when the messiah comes
• Church of Dominus Flevit - which is the place where the Lord wept and predicted the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple
• Garden of Gethsemane - the place where Jesus was arrested the night before his crucifixion
• Church of All Nations - the place where Jesus prayed before his arrest
• Tomb of the Virgin Mary - believed by some to be the tomb of the Virgin Mary, there is some discrepancy here between the actual place and beliefs of whether Mary was buried before she ascended, or simply fell asleep and ascended to heaven. 

The tour was wonderful and Naomi did a fantastic job with the information about the Mount of Olives.  I also had the chance to meet some wonderful people on the afternoon tour - Mark and Jenny from London and Edwina from Australia.  I really enjoyed swapping travel stories and learning about what brought them to Jerusalem.  Believe me when I say I was overwhelmed in so many ways with all of the history in Jerusalem.  It is amazing to walk in the places where all of these biblical stories took place and originated.  Unfortunately, since I was on the tour by myself most of the pictures are just of scenery. 

Door of the Chapel of Ascension

The Lord's Prayer in Maori in the Convent of Pater Noster

On the Mount of Olives looking towards the Old City

Jewish Cemetery

Garden of Gethsemane and Church of Nations

After a long day of touring I met Charles at the Austrian Hospice and we found a spot for dinner.  His painting of the Western Wall and the Dome of the Rock is beautiful and he had some great interaction with kids from the Old City who stopped to admire his painting.  Overall our second day in Jerusalem made us realize that coming to Jerusalem was not a mistake after all. 

The next morning we woke up and our hotel had no power....but we had a plan for the day so we just went with it.  We walked to the old city and got some breakfast (since our hotel didn't have power they weren't able to supply coffee) and then set off to walk the ramparts of the old city.  Walking the walls of the city was a great way to see Jerusalem and be away from all of the other tourists and vendors in the winding streets of the city.  In the afternoon we visited the archeological site of the City of David, the Church of  Dormition (the place where the Virgin Mary lived after Jesus was Crucified) and the place where the Last Supper took place.  All without a guide, which felt like a big accomplishment.  After our sightseeing we decided to find a place Charles could paint and we could relax before we went to mass that evening.  All in all a great day in Jerusalem. 

Charles with the Old City wall and a UN vehicle

Inside the room of the Last Supper

More on Isreal

We’re currently in India, but I still have lots of things to say about our time in Israel and Jordan, before I can attempt to cover India.  Since it’s late and I’m tired from the hectic ride from Delhi to Jaipur I’m only going to try and cover Israel, and even then I know I won’t be able to do it justice. 

Israel was not at all what we expected.  In some ways it was worse and in some ways it was better.  We arrived in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, October 31st around noon.  We had booked a hostel and they had emailed me directions using public transportation, so after getting through Israeli immigration we made our way out of the airport and into the train station.  Purchasing the tickets was easy, the train came on time and we got on and had almost the entire train car to ourselves, it was actually kind of strange after the crowded trains in Italy and Istanbul.  Once we arrived at the main train station in downtown Tel Aviv we had to find bus #16 and take it to the oceanfront.  It sounded easy enough, except we couldn’t find the bus stop.  I noticed it was across the highway from where we exited the train station, but we weren’t sure how to cross the highway.  Eventually a girl walked up to us and asked where we were trying to go, I guess seeing us looking confused carrying large backpacks was a dead giveaway that we were lost tourists.  With her help we made our way down the street to cross over to the other side of the highway and sat and waited at the bus station.  As we waited we looked around at the city of Tel Aviv, it was not quite as shiny and cosmopolitan as we imagined.  

Tel Aviv is often called the White City or the City that Never Sleeps; we had read that it was a hot destination full of beaches and restaurants.  It was less sparkling than we imagined.  There were parts that were nice, but there was also a lot more poverty and dirt and crumbling buildings than we expected.  When the bus arrived at the bus stop we were a little unsure if we should get on.  The bus was a little more like a mini-van and it looked like it might break down at any moment.  The driver waved at us to get in, I hoped in with my back pack still on and tried to maneuver to the back of the bus hoping I wasn’t giving anyone in my wake a black eye.  Charles paid our fare and since there were no seats left he hunched in the aisle and heaved his backpack to his feet.  The bus weaved its way through the streets of Tel Aviv stopping here and there, we heard no announcements of stops and didn’t see any names of the stops, so we weren’t sure when to get off.  Charles asked the driver and he assured us he would let us know when we arrived at our stop.  In hindsight, we probably could have figured it out, our stop was the last stop, we were the only people still on the bus, and there was the Mediterranean right in front of us.  We followed the hostels instructions and made our way down the street a few blocks until we found it.  We checked in and were given the keys to our room, it was less than desirable especially the communal bathrooms at the end of the hall, and despite being a hostel it was more expensive than many of the hotels so far on our trip, but cheaper than any other option in Tel Aviv.  I was pretty bummed out.  But, we were determined to make the most of it, so we decided to walk around and check out the neighborhood around the hostel.  

Waiting for the train at the airport train station

Waiting for the bus to go to the hostel

Our hostel room

We walked a block down and oddly enough saw a pub called Mike’s Place.  We noticed they were advertising a Halloween celebration and so we thought as American’s we should go in and help celebrate Halloween.  The staff was all dressed in costumes and the whole place was decorated for Halloween, we immediately felt at home and didn’t realize how much we were missing America.  We began chatting with the bar tenders, who were both Americans who came to Israel to become citizens.  They were really nice guys and gave us some tips on restaurants and things to do in the country.  Charles really enjoyed talking to them about college football and we both enjoyed just catching up with other Americans.  We hung out for about an hour and then decided we should find a place for dinner and get some sleep, we were both pretty exhausted from our whirlwind tour of Istanbul.  They tried to convince us to come back later for the real party, but we declined.  They assured us if we changed our minds the party would continue on until well in the morning, the rule in Tel Aviv is you don’t close as long as there are customers.  So, I guess the tour books are correct on that front – it really is the city that never sleeps. 

We followed one of the bar tenders instructions and walked a few blocks down until we found a kebab restaurant.  The food was awesome.  We had hummus, falafel, and kebabs – yum!  After dinner we walked back to cozy up for some sleep in our awesome bunk beds. 

The next day after a good Israeli breakfast of eggs, tomato and cucumber salad, feta, and some bread with hummus and jam we were ready to tackle the day.  Our plan was to go visit the old city of Jaffa, which is part of the city of Tel Aviv, then just relax and get some exercise.  We walked to Jaffa, thinking it was pretty close – it ended up being almost 2 miles away.  The walk was nice though, we walked along the oceanfront and took in the sights.  The old city of Jaffa was wonderful.  It definitely made up for the disappointment we felt when we arrived in Tel Aviv.  Jaffa is famous for being the town associated with the biblical story of Jonah and the whale and the story of Andromeda’s rescue.  The history in this tiny port town is wonderful, we really enjoyed learning about the stories that originated in Jaffa.  After exploring a bit, we walked through the market and met the most interesting man selling artifacts and signs.  He was a character!  We enjoyed sitting with him and having tea and learning about all the languages he speaks and all of the places he has lived.  

Just before we reached Jaffa

Jaffa

After our afternoon exploring Jaffa we made our way back to the hostel to change and go for a run along the waterfront.  It was awesome.  We miss getting in good heart pumping exercise, we walk a lot, but it’s different than planning a real work out.  We were happy that Tel Aviv seemed to be a place where people work out and we were happy to fall in with the crowd.  After our workout we went back and cleaned up and found a place for dinner.  I tried a traditional Israeli dish called shakshuka and some Israeli wine and was pleasantly surprised – it was delicious.  After dinner we went back to our hostel to get some sleep before heading to Jerusalem the next morning.  

Shakshohka and Charles' giant schnitzel

Bus to Jerusalem listening to Girl Talk  (Yes, that's the same shirt Charles was wearing the day before)

Update from the Holy Land

I planned to write another post about Istanbul as my next post, but we are currently in Jerusalem, and I felt like I needed to write a post about this incredible place. 

We arrived in Jerusalem on Friday from Tel Aviv.  We arrived on a public bus and negotiated a cab fare to our hotel.  The hotel was not what we expected, I think the nicest way to describe it is to say that it is well past it's prime.  We saw a sign in the lobby indicating that valuables should be left with management, so before leaving to explore the city we thought we would leave our computer bag with the front desk.  The man behind the desk was confused and didn't speak English but he took our bag and put it in the store room. I was a little uneasy, but we had put a lock on the bag, so we left it and headed out.  As we walked through the neighborhood toward the walls of the Old City I realized we forgot to bring our map.  We walked past stray cats in dumpsters, teenage boys hanging out in the street, drivers careening around corners, cars parked on the sidewalk so we had to take our chances in the street.  It was crazy and dirty and stressful.  We were without a map and low on money so our plan was to get into the Old City walls and find an ATM.

The first gate we came to was Herod's Gate, so we went in and began to try and find our way to the market street, assuming that we would find an ATM there.  We were wrong and we were lost.  The streets in Old Town Jerusalem and a maze and although we found the market street there were no ATM's anywhere.  We asked a vendor where we could find an ATM, he told us to go to the end of the street and we would find one at the wall entering the Jewish Quarter.  We walked until we found the ATM - relief!  Except, the ATM was only in Hebrew, and we don't speak Hebrew.  So, we went back the way we came to find the other ATM they mentioned which was just outside Damascus Gate.  We were getting worried, because we were without a map, without money and it was getting dark and we didn't feel very safe walking back to our hotel after dark.  We exited the Old City and saw a sign for a bank across the street.  We thought we would find an ATM there so we crossed the busy street and walked on the sidewalk lined with men selling used phone chargers and electronic cables, shoes, clothes, and purses, and any other random thing you could think of.  As we were walking Charles heard a quick zip, he didn't feel anything, but he sensed that it was his bag.  He noticed a man following closely behind him and he intentionally quickened his pace and the man followed.  Then Charles stopped to look at one of the tables of junk, which forced the pickpocket to keep walking, or be caught.  As we turned around we saw the pickpocket approach another man on the street, they were talking and looking at us.  We walked a few steps further and Charles quickly took off his back pack and saw that his zipper was unzipped, but luckily nothing was taken.  The whole thing took only seconds, Charles was furious and I was nervous.  We kept walking down the street, but never found an ATM and had to turn around and walk past the pick pocket again, as we passed Charles acknowledged he knew the guys scam.  We still had no cash, no map, and we were clearly not in a good part of town. 

We did eventually find an ATM, and we re-entered the Old City at Jaffa Gate and found a restaurant for dinner.  Our first day in Jerusalem was pretty crappy.  We were wondering if coming here was a mistake, we regretted our hotel choice and the number of days we planned to stay here. 

I'm happy to say that our opinion of Jerusalem has changed.  This is a beautiful, historical, spiritual city.  It is a place where many religions overlap in space and time and there is history and faith everywhere you look.  There is religious tension, but there is also religious harmony.  The city is a place that is full of traffic and chaos and people everywhere, but it is a place that people love so much that they feel privileged to call this holy place their home.  We have met Jews, Christians, and Muslims while we have been here, who have all equally shown pride and love for this city.  They have all welcomed us as visitors to enjoy the history of this place and experience our own spirituality.  Tomorrow morning we leave Jerusalem to go to the Red Sea.  I am leaving feeling blessed to have seen and experienced this holy city.