Erik's Blog

Starting the Turkey Trot

2011-11-27T17:27:00.001-05:00

Janeen & I had fun at the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving, but the crowds were massive.

My Sweet Anna

2011-10-23T13:06:00.001-04:00

She's sweet when she's like this... but there is a mischief maker side, too....

Happy Birthday Annabelle

2011-08-12T17:26:00.002-04:00

One year ago today, I got a call in the afternoon from my wife.

"Husband, don't get angry at me, but they found a dog at our warehouse." My wife has a soft spot for animals. All animals, but particularly for those in need. She's always told me she like animals better than people. In most cases, I wouldn't believe someone who said something like that, but with her, I absolutely do. Her company's warehouse is just south of downtown Detroit, in a rough neighborhood, so I feared the worst.

"Ok," I said, "What are you telling me?" I was hoping she wasn't trying to talk me into getting another dog. We'd just adopted Howie, a sweet but very skittish Bichon mix from a foster home back in June. We lost two dogs the previous year, and we both still felt that loss everyday.

"What I was thinking was that we can take her for tonight and then tomorrow we can take her to the vet and make sure she's ok. I have someone here in the office who already wants to adopt her."

I'll admit now that I was more annoyed with this then I should have been. I didn't really want to complicate things, even for one night, by adding another dog to our mix. Howie was finally starting to come out of his shell, and I didn't want that progress slowed in any way. Plus, the idea of a vet visit for a homeless dog terrified me. Who knows what was wrong with her? We were already paying off a large vet bill from the previous year, when our beloved Gizzmo got sick, was misdiagnosed by two vets, then sent home with a clean bill of health, only to die a few days later from the undiagnosed brain aneurism. Not only did this experience leave us with with a huge whole in our hearts, it left me with a slight distrust of our vet.

I told Janeen that it was fine to bring her home, and that I would give her a bath (Janeen is allergic to most shedding dogs and I wasn't sure if this dog would bother her) and that she could sleep in my room with me for the night.

Anna on her first night with us

When Janeen got home I went out to her car to help her bring Anna inside. I picked her up and immediately felt her ribcage. She seemed so fragile that she would break if handled wrong. She was also very weak. I could tell this when she wasn't able to shift her weight around the way most dogs do when they are picked up by a stranger. I took her downstairs to give her the bath. She was matted and I knew that getting her clean was going to be difficult. When I went to set her down in the tub, it happened. She looked up at me and gave the tip of my nose one small kiss. I knew at that point it was going to be impossible for me to give her up.

Anna after her first bath

We got her bathed and then fed her some food. For a dog as skinny as she was, she seemed to have little appetite. I worried she might be sicker than she seemed. That night, I let her sleep on the bed with me. It was not a good night. She had two accidents and barked at every little noise she heard.

In the morning, Janeen took her to the vet. The plan was still to give her to the woman from her work, so I left work to come over and see how she was doing at the vet. She seemed so much stronger in just one day. Once the vet appointment was over, I gave her a little kiss and said goodbye. Janeen told me later that she saw me put me head down as I walked back to my car, knowing that I was crying, and she made the decision at that point that we were going to keep her. When I got home that day, she was there with a brand new purple collar with a tag on it that read "Daddy's Little Girl".

We were fortunate that she was moderately healthy, despite all her time out on the streets. The vet estimated that she had probably been on her own a month, and judging from her condition, she probably could have only survived on her own for another week. The vet was amazed that she survived as long as she did. He guessed that her breed was a mix of Cairn Terrier and Dachshund, and that she was probably about 3 years old.

Anna 'dancing' with mom

The past year had been great, but nothing is perfect. We found that once she got healthy, she has quite an abundance of energy. She sometimes likes to pull things off of end tables and other low lying surfaces so she can 'destructo' them. For the first few months, she had to be crated when we were gone due to these destructive tendencies.

It turns out our worrying over how she would get along with Howie was unfounded. It wasn't more than a couple of months later when they started playing together. We were initially concerned, since Howie is quite a few years older, and Anna seems so aggressive toward him. She never hurt him, and those times in which she accidentally did or he wasn't in the mood to play, he would let her know with a well-placed nip. We absolutely love hearing the frantic clacking of their nails in the kitchen as they race from room to room playing. We've come up with out own little term for it- we say it's like they are yelling "To The Battlefield!" when the take off across the kitchen to play in either the front room or one of the bedrooms.

Anna & Howie

Anna is now up to 11 pounds. She was 5.5 during that first vet appointment a year ago. I often think of her before she came to us, out on the streets, dodging cars and going hungry, and it makes me want to cry. Janeen always brings me out of it by reminding me that she was on her 'journey' to us. While that period must have been horrible for her, we are so glad she found us. She makes our lives richer everyday.

Sleeping with her toy Penguin in her mouth

Anna LOVES to give kisses


Post dinner nap in Dad's lap (with the toy in her mouth, of course)

Return to Jerusalem

2010-08-15T20:00:00.008-04:00

After the two exhilarating day trips to Petra and Mount Sinai and baking in the heat of Eilat for 5 days, I headed back to Jerusalem. My original plan had been to spend the last week of the trip between Jordan and Egypt, and then fly straight from Eilat to Ben Gurion Airport then home all in one day. I knew I didn't want to spend three more days in Eilat, there was nothing to do there and it was too hot to even walk around during the day. So I booked a 7 A.M. bus trip from Eilat to Jerusalem. Before I booked the bus trip I'd made sure I was going to be able to get a room at the same hotel I had stayed in on my pervious visit there, the Hotel Hashimi, which I had liked quite a bit. The trip took a little over 5 hours, and followed a route up the Eastern edge of the country, passing by the Dead Sea. I had driven much of the route through the area a week before. The biggest issue was getting all of my stuff to the bus station, which was a thankfully short walk from my Eilat Hostel. I'd spent a couple hours the night before trying to cram it all in the bags I'd brought. I'd done it, but knew that I would need to find another bag in Jerusalem to make the journey home easier.

View from Mamilla on May 27

The same view 20 days earlier

We arrived back in Jerusalem to find it in the middle of a sandstorm, which didn't bother me too much. I'd had great weather on my first visit, and the lack of visibility gave me a perfect excuse to spend most of the afternoon at the hotel napping, exhausted from carrying my 125 pounds of baggage to the hotel through the Muslim Souq. In the evening, I had a leisurely meal and then a long conversation with the owner of my hotel. I took a grand total of 3 pictures the whole day.

The morning I took a walk over to Mount Zion, one of the areas I hadn't explored on my earlier visit. I had seen Mount Zion from the walls of old city when I did the ramparts walk, but I hadn't actually walked around in the area. Mount Zion is an area of biblical importance, with many of the events of the last week of Jesus' life taking place here. The building above is the Church of the Dormition Abbey, built on the spot where the Virgin Mary is to have 'gone to the eternal sleep'. The basilica is one of the most beautiful I saw anywhere in the holy land, but pictures were not allowed inside.

Right outside of Zion Gate is the Armenian Church of St. Savior. The complex was in surprisingly poor condition, and I was told by a monk who took my entrance fee that they had planned a major renovation, but the money had just never come. The guidebook I had with me which was written in 2002 said the complex was expected to be under renovation for a couple of years, but I couldn't see any evidence of that.

Also on Mount Zion, I visited the Coenaculum, or The Room of the Last Supper.

A short walk west brought me to Jerusalem's Catholic Cemetery, where I visted the grave of Oskar Schindler. This grave was made famous by the closing scene of Stephen Spielberg's epic Schindler's List.

Winding downhill toward the City of David, I came to St. Peter in Gallicantu, the church built on the site of the home of the High Priest Calaphais. This is the spot where Peter denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed, as Jesus had prophesied the night before. Today, the site holds the beautiful modern church, with some of the most impressive stained glass I have even seen. The basement of the facility also contains the excavated cells where Jesus was held while awaiting trial by the high priest.

I continued back up to the walkway that took me around the east side of the old city walls, right next to Temple Mount. From this walkway I was able to view all of the Mount of Olives and the impressive churches and shrines that are built on it.
I was also able to take in the ancient tombs of the Kidron Valley. Many of these tombs are falsely labeled (example, one is called the tomb of Zachariah), but archeologists believe these tombs are more likely from the 5th or 6th Century A.D., and instead of holding prophets, they more likely hold wealthy or important citizens of those times. Nonetheless, they are impressive buildings in a dramatic setting.

The above picture is of the thousands of Jewish graves on the side of the Mount of Olives. As mentioned in the post about my day on the mount, the Jews believe that these people will be the first to be resurrected when the savior returns.

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre from above

Temple Mount from the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer

On my last day in Jerusalem, I took another short walk around the Old City. The only sight I took in was The Evangelical Lutheran Church of the Redeemer. This church is adjacent to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and had a bell tower that you can climb for sweeping views over the Old City and it's immediate surroundings. I spent close to an hour up in the belltower, taking pictures and observing the Old City from a new perspective.

Finally, on Sunday, May 30th, I walked the short walk from my hotel in the Old City to the front of the Jerusalem Hotel in East Jerusalem. Normally this walk would have taken only a few minutes, but it took me close to an hour because I was carrying all of my stuff, which by then weighed over 125 pounds. From there I caught my share-taxi to Ben Gurion airport. Security at Ben Gurion was the most intense I have ever seen, but once that was done, the flight home was uneventful, which is about the most you can ask of a 10 hour flight. I arrived in Philadelphia about an hour early, and was able to catch an earlier flight to Detroit, which allowed me to be home almost 5 hours before I though I would.

I have a couple more Israel posts, one about the Stations of the Cross and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, another about my experiences with hotels and food in Israel and a final post trying to take an overview look at the trip as a whole and how it has affected me.

Mount Sinai- Part Two- The Climb Down

2010-07-10T20:24:00.010-04:00

The Climb up Mount Sinai was an incredible experience. I'd made it with relative ease compared to what I thought the experience would be like. The sunrise itself had been breath-taking. As I stood up after watching the sun come up, it realized I was a little sore, partially from the climb up, but also from laying on the hard cement roof of the shed where I'd been camped out for two hours.
Now that the sun was up, I was able to get a proper look at my surroundings. As I mentioned in the last post, the moon had been so bright that I'd gotten an idea of what daylight would bring- just in a darker black and white perspective. The building above, the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, a small Greek Orthodox chapel, was perched dramatically on to of the peak. It was built on the Fifth Century ruins of a shrine that marked the spot where Moses talked to God.
Across the way from Mount Sinai itself is Egypt's tallest peak, Mount St. Catherine, where legend has it angels flew the body of St. Catherine after her martyrdom.
Below the Chapel of the Holy Trinity is a small cave, where Moses is reported to have received the 10 Commandments.
The top of the mountain was also home to many of the souvenir stands like we had seen on the way up. They mostly sold knickknacks like blankets and 10 commandment replicas, but also water, pop, coffee & tea, candy bars. I did have an Egyptian Pounds, but even if I had I wasn't going to carry anything down the mountain with me.

We'd taken the camel path up, the easier, longer, winding path up the mountain. Mohammed had explained to me that we would take the almost 4,000 stairs known as The Steps of Repentance down the mountain in the morning. I'd spent so much time worrying about the trip up the peak, I hadn't given much thought to the walk down. I guess I just figured the stairs down would be fairly easy. I, however, underestimated three key factors. Firstly, I was exhausted from the climb up. It was 6 A.M. an I'd been up for over 24 hours besides a couple hours nap I'd taken the previous day to get ready for this experience. Secondly, the walk up had been comfortably cool, even a little chilly. By 6:30 A.M., less than an hour after sunrise, the temperatures were approaching 90, and the sun was merciless. Thirdly, the idea that the "Steps of Repentance" were actual steps was far from the truth. Legend has it the these 'steps' were carved by penitent monks from the monastery in the valley. The terms steps paint the picture of a nice even orderly staircase winding down the mountainside. I really shouldn't have been so naive to have this picture in my head, especially after all of the blog posts I'd read about them. The steps are amazingly uneven. Even with comfortable tennis shoes I found myself slipping and almost falling a number of times. The most uncomfortable thing about them was their sheer height. It was impossible to step down, it instead forced you to turn sideways and lower your leg down to the next step. That constant pounding had my knees aching less than a quarter of the way down. I can't imagine how impossibly difficult it must be to climb these steps up.
A short distance down from the peak is Elijah's Hollow, a spot where the prophet Elijah heard the voice of God while fleeing from the evil Queen Jezebel. Today this small flat spot has a chapel and is a favorite camping spot for those who choose to spend the night on the mountain before ascending to the summit for sunrise.

Passing through Elijah's Gate heading down the mountain, the stairs got even steeper.
Soon we came to The Gate of Repentance, considered the halfway point of the trek down the mountain.

A short distance past the gate we came to the 6th century chapel of repentance, which was closed this morning, as all the chapels had been. This part of the hike was thankfully shaded, and I took many breaks along this stretch of path preparing for the final push downward, much of which was in the fierce sun.

I'd been proud of my pace on the way up. We'd been the second ones up the mountain that morning. On the way down, I was constantly moving to the side of the path so we could be passed. Mohammed was very gracious about this, allowing me these increasingly frequent rest breaks which started growing in length as well.
Soon St. Catherine's Monastery was visible on the valley floor in the distance. We stopped and looked at it for a long time. I was a little anxious about getting going, but Mohammed reassured me that we might as well wait at this great viewpoint because it was shaded and if we kept moving we'd arrive at the gates of the monastery well before they were opened at 9.

A cliffside, terraced garden tended to by monks from St Catherines

We finally made it down to the monastery around 8:40 A.M. and were greeted by throngs of pilgrims at the gates. Many had also recently hiked down the mountain, but these numbers were supplemented by a large number of tourist groups that had shown up here just to view the monastery.
I had got in a long line to use the bathroom, where I got my first glimpse of the ubiquitous squat toilet which are the standard in developing countries. I hadn't seen any in Israel, but Egypt and Israel are two completely different countries.

The huge crowd pushed their way into the monastery about 5 minutes after nine when a single monk unlocked the doors. I was stopped on the way in and given a light blanket to cover my legs (I wore shorts to be comfortable climbing in), which I tucked into my waistband. I followed the crowds through the chapel, dimly lit and smelling of incense. The interior reminded me of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, just on a much smaller scale. Much of the iconography and artwork was similar, too. (The church was off-limits to photography, explaining my lack of photos). St. Catherine's is reported to be the oldest continually occupied Christian Church in the world, dating from the 5th Century A.D.
The picture above is of the bush that is reported to be "The Burning Bush" from which God first spoke to Moses. I've tried not to sound skeptical in these posts, firmly believing that faith guides people to find inspiration from these sites in their hearts, but if that bush is over 2,000 years old (and was once on fire) it's in pretty good shape. I'm just sayin'.

I walked around for about a half an hour appreciating the art and architecture of this venerated place. I knew even then I would regret not taking more time to explore the monastery, but I was hot, sweaty, hungry and exhausted, and all I could really think about was my comfortable dark air-conditioned room in Eilat three hours away by car. Mohammed was surprised when I reappeared from the inside after only the half an hour.

As I walked back down the path to the parking lot as tremendous sense of satisfaction settled over me. I had done it, climbed Mount Sinai for sunrise. I'd known this would be one of the highlights of my trip and I was so thankful that I hadn't allowed my doubts to talk me out of such and amazing experience. I thanked Mohammed for all of his help and kindness. I tipped him twenty US Dollars, which he was embarrassed to accept, since it was over five times what his guide fee was. I guessed I was committing one of those ugly American faux pas, but I wanted him to know how much I appreciated all his help. He had definitely earned it.
I was so exhausted on the ride back, I watched the landscaped roll by with almost a sense of otherworldliness. I'd seen it by moonlight on the way in, and while similar to what I'd imagined, the starkness of the desert surprised me. The deserts I have visited in the US and Australia seemed less sun-bleached and more alive.
Reaching the coast, we passed Nieweba, the town I was supposed to have reached Egypt by via the ferry from Aqaba, Jordan. The ferry was visible in the distance.

We passed scores of unfinished resorts. I had been warned about these eyesores. Apparently there was a building boom in the late 1990s, when it appeared that the Egyptian shores of the Gulf of Aqaba were on their way to being a prosperous African Riviera. September 11th and some terrorists attacks during the 2000s had left the demands for these types of luxury resorts almost non-existent. Even the resorts that we finished and operating for business looked empty. I was told by my drive that the fear of terrorism was what necessitated so many checkpoints along the way.
We drove for a couple of hours beside the blue expanses of the Gulf of Aqaba. We were stopped at numerous checkpoints, and I saw my driver hand over small bills at a couple. I was surprised to see this because I hadn't noticed him needing to give these bribes on our way in. I had figured there wouldn't be any during the day driving back if there hadn't been any at night when a shakedown is easier to accomplish. They weren't of anything more than a passing annoyance to me, my driver never said anything about the bribes, and never asked me for any money to pay them. In fact, I was never spoken to by any of the armed men at these checkpoints. The bribes must have been 'included' in the price of my tour as part of doing business in Egypt. It made me even more glad that I hadn't attempted to visit here on my own. That feeling was validated also when I saw the conditions of the the public buses and taxi cabs I would have been using to get around.

A Crusader-era fort near Taba and the Israeli border

We arrived back in Taba shortly before noon. The company's Egyptian representative was surprised to see us back more than an hour ahead of schedule. He apologized profusely that he had been able to get a hold of his counterpart in the Israeli side, who was responsible for driving me from the border back to my hostel. I was so tired, I didn't care. I explained to him that if he wasn't there when I got out of customs on the other side of the border, that I could figure it out. Customs didn't take long to clear, since I was just about the only one crossing from Egypt into Israel at that time. My driver showed up about 20 minutes after I walked into Israel, just as I was about to grab my own taxi back to the hotel. I arrived back at my hostel, and after a short conversation with the owner thanking him for finding me the excursion, I walked into my room and took one of the most needed showers I can ever remember. Five minutes after that, I was out like a light.

I woke up later in the day and packed all of my things for the trip back to Jerusalem on the bus the next morning at 7 A.M. I was excited to be going back to Jerusalem, a place I was fimiliar with, and a place that I felt I'd missed seeing some things in because I'd left a day early, excited to get out and explore the rest of the country. I knew with as tired (and homesick) as I was that these wouldn't be the most productive days, but I was going to do my best with them.

Sunrise on Mount Sinai- part one

2010-07-10T14:27:00.013-04:00

After scrapping my plans for Jordan and Egypt that I described at length in my last post, I was disappointed that I was going to miss out on climbing Mount Sinai in Egypt. The truth was, after my exhausting and immensely difficult climb of Masada a week before, I didn't think there was anyway I had the physical fitness to make the climb up to the top. I took my day trip to Petra on Monday, then on Tuesday booked at 7 A.M. bus back to Jerusalem. In the original plan, I was going to come back to Eilat on a Saturday afternoon, then fly straight to Ben Gurion Airport from Eilat the same day I flew home. Once I decided to shorten Jordan to a day trip and cut Egypt entirely, I knew I didn't want to stay in Eilat until Sunday, partially because I was bored there, but also because it was flame throwing hot. I felt like I'd done a pretty good job of seeing Jerusalem, but I knew the extra days there would allow me the time to see some things I'd missed.

The decision to climb Mount Sinai came about in a one hour time frame on Tuesday of that last week. Climbing the hill back to my hostel from a dip in the Red Sea, I off-handedly asked my hostel owner (who'd helped me book my Petra daytrip) if a day trip was possible to Egypt where I would climb Mount Sinai. At this point I wasn't really serious, I just wanted to know if it was possible and how much it would cost. I figured it had to be more expensive than the $200 I'd spent on the Petra excursion. He said he though it was possible, and that he would make a couple of calls and then get back to me. Ten minutes later, he knocked on my room door and informed me that a group was leaving on a tour to climb the mountain for sunrise on Wednesday night. I knew I couldn't do this trip since I had a bus ticket for Jerusalem that left 3-4 hours before I would even get back into Israel. I explained the situation to him, and he said he would call the company back and find out if there were any groups leaving Tuesday night instead. Not wanting to put him through the extra work, and knowing I probably wouldn't have the funds to swing it anyway, I told him not to bother. Ten minutes later another knock came on the door of my room. It was the hostel owner again telling me that he'd found me a private tour leaving Tuesday night that was the same cost as the Petra excursion. I was still unsure I could even do the walk up, but I felt like even if I couldn't it was worth the money to try. I booked the tour, and worked on sleeping enough during the day to be at my best for my 10:30 P.M. pick up at the hostel.

The owner of the tour company picked me up in his personal car at 1030 P.M. for the 15 minute drive to the Israel/Egypt border. Along the way he explained how the next 15 hours would unfold. First, he would take me to the Israel border, where I would fill out the necessary forms, then walk across the half kilometer to the entrance building into Egypt. There I would meet the company's Egyptian representative, who would help me through the Egyptian entrance formalities, then would introduce me to my driver who would drive me the 2.5-3 hours to St. Catherine's, the town at the base of the mountain. Once reaching the staging point for all sunset climbers, I would be introduced to my Bedouin guide who would take me up the mountain via the camel path, the less taxing of the two routes, which would was supposed to take us about 3.5 to 4 hours.

The night was moonlight and thankfully cool. The border crossing into Egypt was very easy. At this time of night I was just about the only one passing through. The tour company representative met me at the customs post and walked me out to meet my diver, Ahmed, a well-dressed young Egyptian man. I got in the backseat of his BMW and, after stopping at some sort of checkpoint where Ahmed gave the men at the booth some cash, we sped onto the highway and into the night.

It is weird entering a country for the first time in the dark. I remember the first time my parents and I flew to Florida from Michigan. We arrived in the dark then, and I could tell I was in a different place just by the temperature change and the intense humidity. It was quite a surprise for that little boy to wake up the next morning to palm trees and the blue water of the Gulf of Mexico. This feeling was similar, but I knew from my readings and seeing many pictures that the Sinai Peninsula looked a lot like the Negev Desert of Israel which I had just driven through three days earlier. The moon was amazingly bright, so I could get some feel for the topography and we sped along that dark highway. Ahemd kept us moving at between 140-160 kilometers per hour (85-100 miles per hour), which was fast, but he had the car in control and there was very little traffic to contend with. Every 15-20 minutes we would come upon another checkpoint, where Ahmed would talk briefly with the armed men at the checkpoint, and usually after the word "Amer-keen" was mention a couple times, we we ushered through the barrier and back on to the road racing toward our destination. I was surprised by the number of checkpoints, so I asked Ahemd about it after about the seventh one. He told me that it was that way everywhere in the Sinai, especially since the terrorist bombings there in the early 2000s. He said that the government was fearful of losing the valuable tourist money generated by the resorts on the Red Sea. I wasn't really bothered by the checkpoints, especially since none of the ones we passed on the way to St. Catherine's required a bribe to pass. That would change on our way back.

Although I had been told it would take us 2.5-3 hours to drive to St. Catherine's at the base of the mountain, We arrived there at 12:55 A.M., just a little under two hours. There was already a crowd of climbers and guides milling around in front of the park headquarters. Many of the Bedouin guides were sitting drinking tea and having quiet conversations. Ahmed left me to go and find my guide and I waited for him while leaning on the car and studying the various groups that I would be sharing this experience with. I could hear at least 5 different languages being spoken within earshot of me. Ahmed returned with my guide, Mohammed, a tall, lanky Bedouin with a soft handshake and a quiet persona. He asked me if I would like to sit and drink some tea before we began our climb up the mountain. I told him that I would rather get going, and confided to him that I was concerned about if I was in shape enough to actually make it up the mountain. He had a calm confidence about him and reassured me that we would have no problem climbing up the mountain before sunrise. The temperature at the base of the mountain was around 60, so when he asked me if I was going to bring a jacket. At the time, I thought it a ridiculous question. I hadn't even brought a sweatshirt with me from Israel. I explained to Mohammed that I came from Michigan and it was a pretty cold place and I would be fine.

We passed through the gate with a noisy group of Americans and started the gradual ascent up the path. We quickly moved ahead of the group and soon were walking the path by ourselves. Every now and then we would pass groups of Bedouins tending to their camels. The night was lit by one of the brightest moons I can ever remember, yet I was still surprised by camels huffing from the dark beside the trail and the occasional perspective guide stepping out on the path asking "Camel?"
The path in most cases was gently sloping upward, which did not make it overly taxing to walk up. The biggest issue was the uneven surfaces and stones that protruded in the middle of the path. Mohammad had brought a flashlight, but generally kept it off unless he needed to use it to point out obstacles that were in front of me. I loved walking in the dark. The bright moonlight made the whole experience an unreal one. I just kept thinking to myself how amazing it was to be here and how glad I was that I hadn't let all the stories I'd read and some negative things I'd read online scare me out of an incredible experience.

The brightest moonlight I can ever remember

Bedouin camps in the distance

We'd been walking for about an hour when we came to the first 'rest station'. We would pass a total of 5 more of these before finally making it to the junction of the Camel Path and The Stairs. These rest stations basically consisted of wooden shack where Bedouin merchants sold a variety of drinks, mostly water and pop, but also tea and coffee. There were also usually a small selection of snack foods such as candy bars available as well. A few of the larger ones also sold trinkets and souvenirs. I had packed three 1.5 liter bottles of water in my backpack, so I had no need to buy anything at any of these stands. I 'm sure they would have taken dollars or shekels, but I had no need to buy anything and hadn't converted any money into Egyptian Pounds, something I'd wished I'd done, even though I was told it wasn't necessary.
At the second rest stand about an hour and fifteen minutes into the trek, I finally asked Mohammad how we were doing on our pace. I had feared for a while that he would tell me that were had a few more hours to go and that we would barely make it up for sunrise. When he said that we were well ahead of schedule and would arrive at the top with at least an hour to spare before sunrise, I was shocked. I should have figured that out on my own, since not a single person had passed us yet and I had seen with my own eyes the large crowd making the hike up at the entrance station. He told me that we had about an hour to go. This made me feel good, I knew I was tired, but I also knew I would make it. I had read about the hike up getting much more taxing when I reached the junction of the Camel Path and The Stairs. I asked Mohammad about it and he reassured me that while it was harder once we began ascending on the stairs, we would have no problem finishing the hike because we had gotten an early start and we'd maintained a good pace.

At around 2:45 A.M. we reached the bottom of the stairs and the largest of the rest stations yet. I was anxious to keep moving, both because I didn't want to lose my momentum, but also because by this time I was a very sweaty from exertion and a little cold. It wasn't as bad when I was walking, but when I stopped, I was keenly aware of how cold I got because of my perspiration soaked shirt. We moved up the stairs slowly, with me stopping for minute-long breaks every 5 minutes or so. After about a half an hour, Mohammed turned to me and explained that we had reached the top. He said he would show me the to the best spot to watch the sunrise, which turned out to be the top of some sort of equipment shed. I'd told Mohammed how cold I was and he said he would go and rent a blanket from one of the Bedouin merchants. Five minutes later he returned with the filthiest blanket I have ever wrapped myself in. I was so cold that I didn't even care. I snuggled down in the blanket, looking up at the amazing canvas of stars that painted the sky above my head. I'd made it up and I laid there feeling as satisfied as I can remember feeling in a long time.

The rest of the morning's hikers began to slowly filter up to the top around 4:30 A.M. I was joined on my perch by a group of hikers who all used a guide who Mohammed was friendly with. Orange finally began to appear on the horizon around 4:50 A.M. The actual event of the sunrise itself went surprisingly fast. I'll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

I'll never forget hiking up Sinai- the cool breeze on my face, the amazingly bright moon which gave me glimpses of the surrounding landscape, and the sense of accomplishment I'd felt laying there waiting for the sun to rise. The guidebooks said the hike up should take 3.5-4 hours, I'd done it in about 2.5, and really didn't feel too bad. Mohammed said we would take the Stairs of Repentance down, the almost 4,000 steps carved into the mountain by penitent monks. I'd heard how awful the stairs were going up- I thought going down would be easier. Boy, was I wrong....

(To be continued in Part two)

Petra- part two

2010-07-09T16:38:00.010-04:00

For the first part of the post on Petra, see the previous post, Petra- part one.

From the colusseum, I went past the souvenir shops and climb up the hill to the building known as The Urn Tomb. It was wasy to see the opulence bestowed on this building, even though it was in ruins.
Before climbing up to the Urn Tomb, I took the above picture, which looks back toward the canyon that contains the Treasury building. If I'd had more time, I would have climb the paths that up to the top of the cliffs. There are other less explored ruins up there, as well as amazing views over Petra. Not having the time to climb these was my biggest disappointment at Petra.

On the left side of the above picture, you can see one of the previously mentioned souvenir stands that sold trinkets, crafts and water. It was impossible for me to imagine America's National Park Service allowing such establishments to pop up in the ruins of say, Mesa Verde for example. It was just another reminder of how far away from home I really was.
The view from in front of The Urn Tomb helped me form a game plan on how best to use the remaining couple of hours I had left at the site.
I followed the path around the side of the cliff and got a view of more of the buildings. On the picture above, from left to right, are The Palace Tomb, The Corinthian Tomb and The Silk Tomb.
One of Petra's most remarkable ruins is the Byzantine Church, which sits on a hill overlooking the Colonnaded Street. Especially interesting in this building are the brilliant mosaics which line the right and left side of the building. This area of the church is covered to protect them from the elements.

The church also contains an impressive central courtyard.
The view from the hill by the Byzantine Church also gave great views over what was the central part of Roman Petra. The building pictured above is The Great Temple.
The picture above is the ruins of the Upper Market, where the common people did their shopping.
The Qasr al-Bint is one of the few free standing structures in Petra. It was originally built by the Nabateans as a temple in 30 B.C. and was changed by both the Romans and the Byzantines.

The Colonnaded Street was the grand centerpiece of Roman and Byzantine Petra. Beside the buildings shown above, the street was also the central point of commerce, as it contained the large marketplace at it's Southern end.
The price of my tour also included a horse ride back to the visitor's center from the entrance to the Siq. Usually, this wouldn't be something that I would do, but it was free and I was tired, so I took the 10 minute ride.
These pictures of the late King Hussien and the current Jordanian monarch, Abdullah, were at the Petra visitor's center, but they were also on display all over the country.

We ate dinner at a buffet restaurant in Wadi Musa. On the way out of town we passed a long caravan of vehicles heading into town for a celebration of Jordan's Independence Day, which was the following day. I was so glad I'd decided to visit Petra on a day tour. Under my original schedule, I would have been visiting on Independence Day, which would have made traveling around the country very difficult.

The dive back to Aqaba and the Israeli border was quite scenic. To the west (the top two photos) were expansive views over the Arabian Desert and the Dead Sea. About an hour before reaching Aqaba, we passed the turn off for Wadi Rum, the landscape made famous by the film Lawrence of Arabia.
After a short drive around Aqaba, a city that was clearly becoming larger and more prosperous, we arrived at the border at around 7:45 P.M., which was cutting it close since the border closes at 8 P.M. I was exhausted from such a busy day, but satisfied with the decision to do a day trip instead of trying to navigate the country on my own. Exploring the rest of Jordan may be something that I'll do someday while on a larger trip to the Middle East.

Petra- part one

2010-07-09T16:28:00.006-04:00

In the original plan for this trip, I had planned to go to Eilat spend a day seeing the sights there, then head over to Jordan for two and a half days before taking the ferry to Egypt and spending three days there before flying back to Ben-Gurion airport to fly home. A couple of things changed my mind upon arriving in Eilat. Firstly, I was tired. I'd been on the go for 17 days, up at sunrise everyday, and to bed after sunset everyday, moving at a pretty brisk pace. While the trip had been great, the heat and the hassles of being in a foreign country had started to add up. Even with all of that, I still had planned to follow my plan as far as Jordan and Egypt went. the second thing, and the one that ultimately changed my mind was a conversation I had with a nice couple from New Zealand the first night while I was posting some pictures on Facebook using the free wireless internet in the lobby of my first Eilat hotel. We started by discussing our trips so far. They'd started in Turkey, then visited Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Egypt in that order. Israel was the last stop on their journey. They had enjoyed their trip, but were really thankful to be getting to Israel, the most westernized of the six countries they were visiting. When I asked them about the things I had the most pressing questions I had about getting around in Jordan and Egypt, the answers were not what I wanted to hear. They said they'd been consistently ripped off by taxi drivers in Jordan, and the public transportation in Egypt was really poor and wildly unreliable. They hadn't hated the ferry experience between Aqaba, Jordan and Nueweba, Egypt, but they also didn't feel like it was worth the money they'd spent on it. I'd planned on getting around Jordan by taxi, so that first piece of news was distressing. The stories of public transport in Egypt sealed the deal. Had these places been on my itinerary at the beginning of the trip when I was less tired and looking for a little more of an adventure, this might have excited me. Coming when it did when my reserves for dealing with unpredictability and hassle were running awfully low, I knew my plans had to be changed. The things I wanted to do most, visit the ancient Nabatean city of Petra in Jordan and climb Mount Sinai in Egypt for sunrise were available via day tours from Eilat. The helpful owner of my hostel in Eilat (Corrine's) hooked me up with a tour company and I was booked on a day tour to Petra on the nineteenth day of my trip.

The tour company picked me and a group of five American college students at my hostel at 7 A.M. and drove us to the Yitzak Rabin Border Crossing, some 3 kilometers north of Eilat. We spent about a half an hour in Israeli customs before walking across no man's land and into Jordan. We arrived in Jordan with at least six other busloads of tourists heading into Jordan. We waited about an hour and a half at the border before finally receiving the Jordanian visas we needed. We boarded the bus for the two and a half hour drive to Petra.
It didn't take long to be able to see we were in a different country. The part of Jordan we travelled through looked much more like my visit to the West Bank than it did anywhere I had seen in Israel proper. There was much more evidence of traditional lifestyles everywhere we looked.
After one pit stop, we arrived in Wadi Musa, the modern town that services the hoards of tourists that visit Petra every day. The town had lots of construction going on, and it was easy to tell that there were many people trying to cash in on the draw of Petra.
I was disappointed to arrive at the entrance to Petra a little before noon. This meant I would only have about four hours to explore a sight that could easily occupy two or three full days. My tour group was milling around at the entrance, looking at souviners, buying water, and wasting time. I confirmed with our guide where and at what time to meet, and I took off to get to the site as soon as possible. I had a good guidebook, and I wanted to be able to move at my own pace and to see as much as possible. The gift shop pictured above is in reference to the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, which filmed it's final scenes at Petra.
The first thing I saw heading down the path was the Obelisk Tomb and the Bab el-Siq Triclinium. Inscriptions on the tomb identify it as the tomb of a man named Admanku. The inscriptions on the tomb are in Greek and Nabatean, a testament to the influence of the Hellenistic culture had on Petra.
The entrance to the site is through The Siq, a nearly 2 kilometer long canyon that gently winds downhill towards the Treasury.
One of the most fascinating parts of the Siq is the stretch where the original brick street remains. While looking unsophisticated to the common eye, this technology was amongst the best in the world at the time these stones were laid and gave evidence to the wealth of the city.
Having started out ahead of my group, I had almost the whole 2km walk to myself. I really enjoyed looking at the carvings in the walls of the Siq, many of these were placed here because the belief was that they would protect the city.
After 20 minutes of strolling, the Siq opens up on Petra's most famous and well-preserved building, the magnificent Treasury.
The name 'The Treasury' is misleading. Archeologists are not sure what this building was used for, but evidence points to it being a governmental building rather that a place treasure was stored.

The Treasury is mesmerizing. I've seen lots of incredible things in my travels, and this building is one of those things that I stopped and stared at in awe for a lot longer than I usually do. I knew there was still so much more to the site than it, but it took all my effort to tear myself away for this intricately carved facade.
Bedouin guide were present at every corner of Petra, offering camel rides and their services as guides. All the literature I'd read said that hiring a guide was no better than a coin flip, some were excellent, but most were not worth the money charged.
The first thing I saw after leaving the Treasury were The Royal Tombs, built to house royalty as well as the wealthy citizens of the city.
A little further down was The Street of Facades, which were dwellings carved right into the mountainsides. These facades have long since been pillaged for their decorative wealth, but I could still imagine what a majestic sight this must have been in it's heyday.

Further along the Street of Facades was Petra's Roman Colosseum. Carved into the mountainside, it was designed with a seating capacity of over 8,000.
I will cover the rest of my day trip to Petra and Jordan in my next post.

Eilat

2010-07-05T06:58:00.008-04:00

Ever since I finished my last post, I've been trying to think of nice things to say about Eilat. As this post will show, I'm still trying to find those things. But here we go anyway...

I see the point of Eilat. The city occupies 6 kilometers of coastline on the Gulf of Aqaba, a long narrow stretch of water that is technically part of the Red Sea. Three other countries have coastlines along the Gulf; Egypt, Jordan & Saudi Arabia. Egypt's stretch of coastline is the most populous, with the cities of Nieweba and Dahab and some decent diving sites located along it's blue waters. Aqaba, Jordan is a medium size market town, but it is growing quickly and has started to become a more popular vacation spot for many of Jordan's secular Muslims. Eilat is Israel's beach destination. There are a number of popular beach spots along the Mediterranean coast, but the coast there has a more temperate climate. Eilat is hot and sunny year round and sees very little rain.

One stretch of the long glitzy (expensive) beachfront mall

And that's Eilat's function, it's a beach resort just like the hundreds I've visited elsewhere in the world. It has lots of glitzy (and expensive) hotels and resorts lining it's beachfront and the streets adjacent to it. It's beaches are not spectacular, but they are crowded as if they were the best in the world. Much of the crowds are Israeli families here on vacation. What surprised me was the unbelievable amount of Russians who piled on to these beaches. I can understand visiting Israel to see the sights in the country. I hope this blog has been a testament as to how many fascinating things there are to see. What I will never be able to make sense of is why anyone would come to Israel just to visit Eilat. One of the guys who worked at my hostel told me that there were cheap packages deals that brought the hordes of Russian tourists in. That was incredible to me since Eilat's airport was tiny and couldn't handle the 747 traffic necessary to make such package deal available. But there they were anyway, thousands upon thousands of Russians. Some of the restaurants I ate in had pages in their menus in Russia. I guess when you come from a country that is notoriously lacking in beaches in warm weather climates (what you mean people aren't flocking to the beaches in Vladivostok?), some of it makes sense. I just find it hard to believe that they wouldn't head to Spain or southern France, but I'm sure those destinations are a lot more expensive, as well as probably being a much bigger hassle to acquire visas in. It's still hard to see Greece being more expensive, and I know their beaches are better...

My biggest problem with Eilat is it's lack of stuff to do. Ok, I should rephrase that, my problem with Eilat is it has a lack of things to do that I like to do. It doesn't have any historical significance, meaning there are no ruins or associated ancient historical attractions. It has lots to do, most of which are the types of activities you associate with touristy beach resorts. There were lots of shopping malls, some very nice (from what I hear- I avoid malls as a rule when traveling). The one thing I did do was take a glass bottom boat tour.

Eilat's coral reef if an environmental tragedy. Forty years ago, right about the time Eilat became a popular beach destination, the reef started to disappear. Today what is left is mildly interesting- to someone who's never seen real coral reef like that of the Caribbean regions or the Great Barrier Reef of the coast of Australia.

Upscale Hotels in Eilat from a boat on the Gulf of Aqaba

That criticism leveled, I really did enjoy the boat tour- it gave me a perspective from the water of the area around Eilat.

We were able to see the coastlines of the other countries. Above is the border with Egypt. The white building peaking around the corner of the mountain is the Taba Hilton, a luxury hotel just over the Egyptian border once popular with Israeli tourists until a 2004 terrorist bombing killed 34 and wounded hundreds more.

The coast of Saudi Arabia that was visible was cargo ships and oil tankers. That was of little surprise in a country where beach resorts would serve little purpose. As with my travels near Syria and Lebanon, my natural instinct as a traveler made me long to get a glimpse inside such a mysterious place, but I understood the reality that Saudi Arabia is an almost impossible country to visit for the common American tourist.

The city of Aqaba, Jordan looked prosperous from the water.

While I was out on the boat there were some Jordanian Air Force fighters out either doing some practice maneuvers or doing an air show.

Eilat has a couple of other popular tourist attractions. The building above is the Underwater Observatory Marine Park, which does receive good reviews for it showcasing of the diverse marine life of the Red Sea. I'd thought about visiting, but figured I probably wouldn't have been too impressed after what I'd seen of the reef from the boat.

The other attraction was Dolphin Reef, a place where people can go and interact with dolphins as well as seeing them up close. I love dolphins and also debated visiting here, but after seeing the crowds from the boat, I figured the expense of this place would not be worth the hassle that would go along with it. I've been fortunate to have a number of close encounters with dolphins in my travels, so I didn't feel like I was missing too much.

There were, of course, other options for recreation that most beach resorts offer, like parasailing and windsurfing. There were also numerous boating options from the cheap glass bottom boat ride like the one I did all the way up to the deluxe schooners which offered dinner and entertainment. I'm sure many of these are well worth the money, but it was near the end of my trip and I was trying to limit how much over budget I was going to be.

I contented myself with one early morning dip in the gulf (thankfully for my readers there are no more pictures of me with my shirt off). The water was warmer than most oceans I've been in, but there was nothing outstanding about the experience. I spent a total of six nights in Eilat, which is way too many for someone who hates beach towns as much as I do. I stayed at a wonderful hostel, Corrine's, which I will talk more about a few posts from now when I talk about all of my lodgings. I used the time in Eilat to rest and recharge my batteries (with the air-conditioning in my room blaring) for my daytrips to Jordan and Egypt. I'll be covering my tour to Petra in the next two posts.

Sweltering in the Negev

2010-07-02T16:06:00.009-04:00

I left my comfy cabin at the Negev Camel Ranch early in the morning the get a start on the day before the sun started to bake everything.

My first line of business was to drive through the Maktesh HaGodal Crater. I was the only one out at this early hour (I've mentioned how Israelis are not exactly early risers). The crater was beautiful in the earlier morning light.
I was stopped about half way through by a camel jam.

My first sightseeing stop was at Shivta, which I covered in the Desert Cities of the Negev post. Heading south, I came to Sde Boker, the desert city best known for being the last home of Israel's first Prime Minister and founding father, David Ben Gurion. Ben Gurion was a remarkable man. He was born in Poland, and became enamored with Zionism at an early age. He was responsible for helping establish the state of Israel and defeating the Arab armies that attacked Israel when statehood was declared. He had an amazing intellect, and was able to anaylize things from viewpoints other than his own. A good example was his response to a question about the Arabs being angry at and refusing to recognize Israel.

"Why should the Arabs make peace? If I was an Arab leader I would never make terms with Israel. That is natural: we have taken their country ... There has been anti-Semitism, the Nazis, Hitler, Auschwitz, but was that their fault? They only see one thing: we have come here and stolen their country. Why should they accept that? They may perhaps forget in one or two generations' time, but for the moment there is no chance. So it is simple: we have to stay strong and maintain a powerful army."
Ben Gurion believed that Israel should concentrate on settling the Negev, that way it would offer the least displacement of Israel's Arab population. He set an example by settling on the kibbutz in Sde Boker.
Ben Gurion's cottage, a humble six room building, has been maintained as it was when he died in 1973.
Of particular interest is Ben Gurion's study and library. Containing thousand of scholarly volumes and pictures of him with other world leaders, the room remains a testament to the search for knowledge that he held so dear.
His bedroom is also as he left it- complete with his slippers sitting next to his bed.
Ben Gurion and his wife, Paula, are buried on a hillside a few miles down the road on a hillside overlooking the beautiful Valley of Zin.

The Valley of Zin

Ibex at Ben Gurion's Grave park

The site is now preserved by the Israeli National Parks.

From the Ben Gurion's graves I drove downhill then south for a couple miles to the trailhead at Ein Avdat National Park. Ein Avdat preserves a pool of cold water in the middle of a baking canyon in the middle of the Negev, so to say the area comes as a surprise to travelers is an understatement.

As the title of this post states, the day was hot, really hot. Up on the top of the hill by the Ben Gurion's graves, the temperature gauge in my car read 42 Celsius, which converts to 108 degrees Fahrenheit. I hadn't intended to hike a great deal of Ein Avdat for this reason.

I set off down the trail with four liters of water hoping I could at least make it the kilometer to the pool of water. It took about 20 minutes of hiking next to the small stream and dry river bed through the water carved canyon to make it to the pool.

Under most circumstances, the pool at Ein Avdat would be no big deal. The fact that it is located where it is makes it quite remarkable.

The pool is fed through the aforementioned stream, but also through many underground channels in the surrounding rock of the canyon walls. I followed the path a narrow set of stairs carved into the canyon walls for a view from above of the pool.

I continued on for a little bit, following the stream until the heat started getting to me. I knew I had to turn back, but before I did I was able to get some more photos of the greenery surrounding the stream. The pools have obviously existed here for quite a while, since archeological evidence shows that people have been living in or near the canyon for tens of thousands of years. I was really pleased that I wasn't scared off by the heat, since Ein Avdat was one of my most pleasant surprises on the whole trip.

As pleased as I was with Ein Avdat, the heat had zapped my energy. I stopped a few more miles down the road to explore Avdat (one of the Desert Cities of the Negev, see related post). Half an hour into my visit to Avdat, I developed a raging headache I could only attribute to the sun and heat. I had reserved a tent at an offbeat facility near the town of Mitzpe Ramon, a half an hour down the road, on the edge of the Ramon Crater, on of the largest craters in the world. With the headache still in full gear, I intended to crash in the tent for a few hours and explore the crater around sunset or in the morning. Upon arriving at my lodging, I realized this plan wasn't going to happen. The tents were not what I had expected, they were canvas covered domes that were open on a few sides. They were located in the baking desert east of the town, and since there was no wind, the tent was easily over 110 degrees inside. That, coupled with the shabby and dirty appearance of the facility as a whole convinced me I needed another plan. I called a few other hotels in town, finding them either booked, out of my price range or closed for sabbath, I decided to have a quick look at the crater from it's elevated viewpoint and then head toward Eilat, some two and a half hours south.

The crater was facinating, and under different circumstances I might have enjoyed exploring it some more. As it was, I contented myself with a quick look around the visitor's center and then taking some photos from the viewpoint.

Being around 4 p.m., I started out toward Eilat. With the air conditioning blaring and the sun starting to wain, my headache subsided to a tolerable level. I arrived in Eilat around 7 p.m. and located my hotel, which I had paid a little extra to book until 7 p.m. the following night, since the next day was Saturday (Shabat, or the Sabbath) when everything would be closed. Extremely happy to be in a dark room with air conditioning, I pulled the shades and went to be without dinner, happy to have reached Israel's southern end a couple of days early. I intended to use the extra days to recharge my batteries for the final two adventures of the trip- Petra, Jordan and the climb up Mount Sinai in Egypt. First I had a couple of days to kill in Eilat, which I will cover in my next post.

Masada

2010-06-26T12:19:00.013-04:00

I got up at 4:45 A.M. to visit Masada. A lot of people hike up for sunrise, but unfortunately for me, I had a 45 minute drive from the ranch I was staying at and the sun started coming up about 30 minutes into my drive.

It still made for some dramatic vistas as I drove up the southern end of the Dead Sea.

I'd decided to start my hike up Masada early because I knew the heat by 8 A.M. would make it impossible to do the hike. The plan was to hike the Snake Path on the eastern side of the mountain up and take the cable car down a couple of hours later after I explored the site. The Roman Ramp Path on the Western side is considerably easier, but I thought the Snake Path would be the cooler experience. Also, the Roman Ramp is reached by an inland route, which would have meant I wouldn't get to drive along the Dead Sea on my way to and from Masada.

Well, the Snake Path was quite the experience. The path is steep and rocky, with many steps thrown in. I'd been doing a lot of walking while in Israel (I'd walked almost 6kms in Tel Aviv two days earlier) so I figured I was at least in good enough shape to manage it.

The views were spatactular, but by the halfway point up the mountain I was spent and not focusing on my surroundings much, other than to keep slowly plodding toward the top. I was soaked with sweat. I found out later that the temperature was close to 90 at 7 A.M. Officials at the park had closed the path for hiking up by 8 A.M. when the temperature broke 100.

The sign at the beginning of that path states that the hike should take about 45 minutes for most people. It took me about 70 minutes. By the end I was walking about 500 feet at a time before resting and drinking water. I drank almost all of my 4 liters of water by the time I'd made it to the Snake Path Gate at the top. I found a bench just inside the gate and sat for a while catching my breath and cooling down before venturing out and exploring the site.

Madasa is one of the most famous sites in Israel. The story is controversial not just for it's content, but also because much of the archeological evidence does not back up the account given by 1st century historian Josephus, who recorded his version from oral accounts from the only five survivors. In 73 A.D., seven years after the fall of Jerusalem to the Romans, a radical group of Jews were still living at Masada, the cliff top fortress built by Herod the Great over a hundred years earlier. The Roman legions had been sent out of Jerusalem to quash the last of the Jewish resistance, and Masada was one of the last holdouts.

The Roman Ramp

After months of failed attempts by the Romans to take the site via the Snake Path, the Romans began to build a massive ramp on the west side out of stones and massive amounts of earth using Jewish slave labor. As it became clear to the leaders of Masada that defeat was imminent, the leaders had decided that they would rather die than be taken alive by the Romans and forced into slavery.

A plan was devised where 10 men were selected to kill the residents of the city first, then each other so that only one man would have to commit suicide, a grave sin in Judaism. When the Romans finally breached the gates, they entered a completely empty city with piles of bodies laying in the center. The zealots had even left their food stores out in the open to show the Romans that they had chosen death, and had not been in danger of starving. The survivors who told the story to Josephus were two women and five children who had survived by hiding in a cistern.

Each year at their swearing in ceremonies, soldiers of the Israeli Defense Force are brought to Masada and repeat the oath that "Masada shall never fall again".

The site itself was very interesting. The views over the southern end of the Dead Sea were extraordinary.

It took me about three hours to explore the site. I first explored the southern end of the mountain, where the ruins were not extensively restored of excavated.

Of particular interest on the south side of the ruins was the cistern. These massive rooms designed to hold the city's water were carved right into the rock below the main level of the city. In such an arid region, keeping a good amount of water stored nearby was vital to the survival of the city.

The views from the Southern Wall also gave me a perspective as to how tough it must have been to take this cliff-top fortress.

The picture above is the ruins of one of the seven camps the Romans built around the base of Masada. The was also one built on the top of the cliffs to the southern end of the fortress.

The North side of Masada contained a number of very interesting ruins, including the platforms and temples that Herod build on the northern slopes.

There were extensive ruins of warehouses and animal pens. Looking at the size of these it was easy to see how much though had been put into the importance of fortifying Masada in case of a siege.

As with many ruins I'd seen in Israel, there were elaborately decorated bathouses, and the one at Masada was no exception. There were still some of the mosiacs remaining, as well as the some of the painted walls in some of the rooms.

The above picture was taken using my fancy new zoom lens that I purchased when I bought the camera right before the trip. The green patch in the middle Ein Gedi, the National Park I'd visited the previous day.

Look closely and you can see the cable car ascending

I enjoyed my exploration of Masada, and even after three hours on top of the mountain, I felt like I could have explored for another hour or two. The heat of the day was finally starting to get to me. It was 105 degrees at 1030 A.M. and the sun wasn't even directly overhead yet. There was no way I was walkig back down the snake path, instead I opted for the eight minute cable car ride back to the visitor center.

Sore and more than a little sunburned, I headed back to Ein Bokek (see The Dead Sea post) to get some air-conditioning and some free Wifi, before heading to Tel Arad, which I will cover in my next post.

Arad & Sunset

2010-06-26T11:54:00.005-04:00

Exhausted from my early morning climb of Masada, I had little energy left in the afternoon but decided to make a quick stop by the ruins of Tel Arad, some 30 kilometers east of The Dead Sea and 10 kilometers east of the modern city of Arad.
Modern Arad is interesting in that it is one of the few cities settled in the Negev that can be considered a success. Many of the other cities in the desert failed to achieve any level of prosperity, but Arad continues to attract people. It's not that Arad has many interesting sites, but the elevation and air quality make it a desirable retirement destination for many elderly Israelis. The desert around Arad is has also been moderately in successful in being set up for farming.
Tel Arad is like many other archeolgical sites in Israel- it's the ruins of a city (or area) that was occupied by many different cultures, including the Canaanites, Israelites, Persians, Macabeans, Romans, and Muslims. The first Canaanite settlements date from 4,000 years before the time of Christ.
The highlight of the ruins is the reconstructed Israeli fortress located on the hill overlooking the ruins of the Canaanite city.
The fortress has been partially reconstructed from materials excavated from the site. The original fortress was built during the reigns of David and Solomon. The gates to the city are very similar to the ones found at Tel Megiddo, which was also built during the same time period.

Sacrificial Altar

The Holy of Holies

Inside the fortress are the ruins of a Judean Temple, the only one to have ever been excavated. I was specifically impressed with the reconstructed sacrificial altar, and the Holy of Holies, which offers a rare look into the religious life of the Israelites.
Below the Israeli fortress and encompassed by the ancient Canaanite walls is the ruins of that Canaanite city of Arad. As it was over 100 degrees and I was exhausted (and suffering from a little ruin fatige) I admired the ruins from the hill, and then headed back to Dimona and the camel ranch I was staying at.

The sunset photos above were taken from a hill overlooking the place I was staying, The Negev Camel Ranch, which was right next to Mamshit National Park and about 8km from Dimona. I'll be covering all the places I stayed in a post near the end of the trip.

The Desert Cities of the Negev

2010-06-18T21:15:00.007-04:00

The Desert Cities of the Negev is a UNESCO World Heritage Site the is comprised of four Nabatean cities of Shivta, Advat, Mamshit, and Haluza. I was able to visit the first three of these, which are all Israeli National Parks. These cities were built in the 1st century B.C. They were important posts on the Incense Route, which stretched 2,400 miles from the modern day countries of Oman and Yemen at the tip of the Arabian Peninsula on the Arabian Sea, through Saudi Arabia and Jordan, finally ending in the port of Gaza on the Mediterranean Sea.

The first of these cities I visited was Mamshit, which was also known as Memphis.
Mamshit is the best smallest of the cities, but is also the best preserved. Mamshit's era of prosperity was also shorter than that of the three cities I visited. The city ceased to be a popular trading post during the Roman occupation in the 1st century A.D., so they residents of the city became expert breeders, raising famed Arabian Stallions.
Many of the corrals used for these animals are visible today.
Mamshit is also famous for the ruins of it's two churches. Especially interesting are the mosaics located in the ruins of the 4th century church located in the Northeastern quarter of the complex.
The site today has a number of reconstructed buildings as well. The picture above shows a building that has been reconstructed so the visitor can see what the buildings would look like with a roof.
A number of stone archways have been reconstructed too. These served as entrances to buildings in some cases, decorate purposed in other, and as stabilizing force in others still.
There were a few other features about Mamshit that I really enjoyed. The first was the reconstructed dam on the dry river bed of the Mamshit River. When visitors travel to sights in the desert like this, many have trouble understanding how the people who lived in theses cities got water. The dam being where it is shows how the residents were able to use the topography of the area to their benefit. The dam also emphasizes that the area then was not as dry as it is today.
The second of the features unique to Mamshit was the reconstructed marketplace. I could almost envision what this might have looked like in the 1st and 2nd centuries A.D.
Mamshit was located about 6km outside of Dimona. If Dimona sounds familiar but you can't place it- you are not alone. The city itself is not famous, but the site about 10 km west of the city is. It's the sight of Israel's alleged nuclear weapons program. Driving in to Dimona I passed a large facility to with sign that said "MILITARY AREA: NO PHOTOGRAPHS OR VIDEO ALLOWED". These signed appeared every couple hundred feet along the fence separating this road from the facility itself. I obliged and didn't take any pictures of it (honestly, I was petrified of what would happen if I did), so you'll have to settle for this picture (above) of the city of Dimona taken from Mamshit.

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I visited Shivta the next morning. Shivta, located a mere 12 km from the Egyptian border, has the most remote feeling of the three cities I visited. Where as Avdat is located dramatically of a high hilltop and Mamshit is located on the valley of the Mamshit River, Shivta's location is more on an arid plain.

Shitva is also the most disputed of the sites. For many years it was considered one of the Nabatean cities, although now many archeologists believe the majority of the buildings were built during the Byzantine period. The main courtyard area (pictured above) and it's Byzantine style baths and watering systems have lead to this speculation.
Shivta, like Mamshit, had impressive ruins of two churches. The first, the larger Byzantine Church, is thought top have been built in the late 3rd century A.D.
The second (Northern) church is though to have been built later, somewhere around the 6th or 7th Century A.D. for the purpose of being a center of worship for pilgrims making their way from Jerusalem down to St. Catherine's on the Sinai Peninsula.
The second church contains a number of carvings that are consistent with this era of Byzantine architecture.

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The most important of the cities is Avdat. Avdat was the most important city on the Petra-Gaza portion of the Spice Route. Unlike Mamshit, Avdat continued to prosper even after the Roman conquest of the mid first century A.D. When international trading became impossible, the residents Avdat switched to agriculture as their major source of income.
Wine-making was key to the economy of Avdat. Ruins of the elaborate wine press are located just outside of the main gates.
The main gates of the city are also impressive. This were first constructed in the 1st Century A.D. and improved upon during the Byzantine period.
Like both Mamshit and Shivta, Avdat contains the impressive ruins of a Byzantine era church.
Avdat was finally abandoned in the late Seventh century A.D. after and earthquake leveled much of the upper city.
The most striking feature of Avdat is it's location, perched dramatically on a enlevated plain overlooking expanses of the Negev.

Each of these sites were similar in many ways, but they were different enough to make them interesting despite the number of ruins I had already seen. I enjoyed Mashit the best, but that could have been partially because the day I visited there was a much more pleasant tempurature than the day I visted Shivta and Avdat. More on my blazing hot day in the Negev in my next post.

The Dead Sea

2010-06-17T17:10:00.020-04:00

The two days I spent in Tel Aviv had basically been the mid point of the trip. I'd enjoyed my time in the northern part of the country, but I was excited to get out and head to the south, to the desert parts of Israel, where much of the country's ancient history and geographic wonders are located. I left Tel Aviv very early in the morning for two reasons; the first was to avoid having to drive in Jaffa and Tel Aviv (then around Jerusalem) during the height of rush hour, the second was to get to The Dead Sea area early to beat the massive crowds of tourists who flock to the region everyday from Jerusalem.

It was a little over two hours from Tel Aviv to my first stop, Qumran National Park. It was at this spot in the caves near the northern part of the Dead Sea that a shepherd boy, in 1947, looking for a lost sheep threw a stone into a cave opening and heard the crash of pottery breaking. Upon further inspection, he found a manuscript inside the pottery that turned out the oldest known versions of the Old testament and the Apocrypha. Further excavations discovered the village of the Essenes, the breakaway Jewish sect who left the mainstream because they were concerned about the religion becoming too liberal.

The site today is highlighted by the unearthed remains of the village. Of particular interest were the ceremonial pools, which are a testament to the Essenes belief in cleanliness.

It was possible to hike up the mountainside to the numerous caves there, but I had read in guidebooks that the cave where the scrolls were found were unmarked, so I didn't do this. I also wanted to get on to my Dead Sea float.

The Dead Sea is the lowest point on Earth at 422 meters below Sea Level. It is amongst the saltiest bodies of water in the world with a salinity level of 33.3%. This makes it impossible for anything to live in it. It also makes it almost impossible for anything to sink in it. That is why one of the essentially touristy things to do in Israel is to have a 'float' in the Dead Sea. For this experience, I chose a place called Mineral Beach.

I had been given a tip by some people I met in Jerusalem that Mineral Beach would be a good place to do this since the crowds would less overwhelming than they would be at the beaches in Ein Gedi, some 20 kilometers down the road. Most of the previously mentioned bus tours from Jerusalem stop in Ein Gedi, and since it was the Jewish holiday of Shevout, I had a feeling Ein Gedi would be unbearable.

I rented a locker for my stuff and headed down to the shore. Since I was by myself and I'd read a lot about theft being ripe on the beaches of the Dead Sea, I took only my old camera and towel down to the beach with me. Floating in the Dead Sea comes with all kinds of rules to make the experience as pleasant as possible. The above signs give an example of of such rules. I'd read a lot about this experience so I knew not to shave in the days leading up to my float. I also knew that the two small abrasions on my elbows I'd suffered when bumping the walls in Akko a few days earlier would burn from the salt content. Lucky for me, they'd healed and were only mildly uncomfortable.

The crowd at Mineral Beach so early in the morning was small. I heard a lot of Russian being spoken, and didn't see another American anywhere on the beach. I'd hoped to find an English speaker so I could ask them to take a picture of me floating. Instead, I had to rely on setting up my camera and getting into the water within the 10 second limit set on the camera's timer. I was pretty pleased to get the above photo, but it took three tries to get it. The experience of floating in the Dead Sea was unique. I entered as instructed, walking in backwards until the buoyancy of the water kicked my feet out from under me and then I was floating. The feeling of my feet going up made me momentarily nervous, as I expected my head and face to flop back into to the water as they would in a normal body of water, but they didn't and my whole body floated gently near the surface of the water. The texture of the water was oily, something I'd read about, but was still surprised to feel. The water was also warm (compared to other lakes I've swam in) and my initial reaction was that it felt like I was floating in a deep fat fryer, because of the temperature and oily feel. I had trouble getting used to floating so easily. After a few minute I realized I had been straining to keep the upper part of my body out of the water, which, of course, wasn't necessary, but was a force of habit. I didn't float for long- I'd read that more than 20 minutes wasn't particularly healthy, but I observed people who stayed in a lot longer than I did and they didn't seem to be having any problems. Getting out was an interesting experience, too. I first tried flopping over on my stomach to get my legs down, but all that did was force me to strain to keep my head out of the water, avoiding pure agony I'm sure. Eventually I was able to get my feet on the bottom by paddling to shallow water and bending my knees sharply while sitting forward. I showered off immediately, both down on the beach and up in the locker room as recommended.

I left Mineral Beach and headed south down Highway 90 driving on "the worlds lowest road". I stopped many times along the way to take pictures of the Dead Sea.

Later in my trip I would meet many people who would say that their visit to Ein Gedi National Park was one of their favorite things about Israel. I was surprised every time I heard that because Ein Gedi was one of the least favorite places I visited, although to be fair, it wasn't Ein Gedi's fault. Ein Gedi is a lush green oasis with waterfalls and hiking trains in the middle of the desert. Being the Jewish holiday of Shevout, the park was packed beyond belief. When I pulled into the parking lot I could see that instantly, since they were parking people in a gravel auxiliary lot across from the main parking lot which was full already. I waited in line at the entrance gate to show my pass and then walked up the main trail to start hiking some of the paths. Much to my disappointment, the first path was so crowded with families out enjoying the holiday with some hiking, that the path had a line to get onto it and then people were proceeding in a tight single file line down the path. After 5 minutes, I made it to the waterfall pictured above. I looked at the crowds on the path ahead of me and, after snapping a few pictures of the waterfall, turned and reluctantly headed back toward the parking lot. I'm not a big fan of crowds to begin with, but thousands of people with little kids running around all over the place on what are supposed to be serene hiking trails was definitely not my scene.

I stopped in the visitor's center on the way back and read about the all the plants and animals I was supposed to have seen on the hike.

Since I'd planned to spend a few hours hiking at Ein Gedi, I had some extra time to kill. I pulled out my trusty Let's Go Israel & the Palestinian Territories and looked for something else to do. Masada was a few miles down the road but I was going to hike up there early the next morning. I read about a resort community called Ein Bokek where they had some restaurants with free Wifi and some outlet stores where I could get Dead Sea mud for the souvenirs that Janeen wanted for her friends.

Ein Bokek was an upscale beach resort, with lots of fancy hotels & spas that would have been way out of my price range had I decided to stay there. Fortunately for me, I was just looking to get into some air conditioning and upload some pictures on the free Wifi. Ein Bokek is south of the actual Dead Sea, it's beach area is on an area that used to be part of the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has been shrinking for many years, and the part around Ein Bokek had dried up in the 1980s. The Dead Sea Works, a company that extracts minerals such as potash for export overseas built a series of canals and retention ponds that filled with water creating an artificial extension of the Dead Sea, which is what people who go to Ein Bokek swim in.

Like Ein Gedi, Ein Bokek was bursting at the seams with the holiday tourists. It was like any state park in the U.S. would be on Memorial Day or Labor Day. People were enjoying floating in the water, barbequeing and shopping at the many outlet stores which lined the main street through the community. I used the free wifi at a McDonalds on the north end of the strip, bought a tone of Dead Sea mud and salt (which I dreaded having to carry around once the car was gone), and enjoyed the air conditioning for a while.

Lot's Wife

Leaving Ein Bokek, I continued south to Flour Cave, and the rock formation known as Lot's Wife. In the Old Testament, Abraham's brother Lot lived in the wicked cities of Sodom & Gomorrah, which God destroyed due to their wickedness. He allowed the pious Lot to escape with his family, warning them not to look back at the destruction as they were fleeing. Lot's wife couldn't help herself, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

The Flour Cave is so called because of all the white powdery residue people who explore the cave get all over themselves while inside. The powder is actually salt, since 90% of the hills are salt. I didn't explore much of the cave because I didn't have a flashlight with me, but I did go in as far as the light would allow so I could get some pictures of the salt deposits.

It was still only early afternoon, and even with all I'd done so far, I still had time to head to another sight, the ancient Nabatean city of Mamshit, which was just a couple of miles from my accommodation for the evening. I'll cover Mamshit in my next post.

Ceasarea, Jaffa & Tel Aviv

2010-06-12T09:02:00.013-04:00

Waking up on day twelve I felt stronger than I had on the previous day. I was glad because I was scheduled to visit Ceasarea, Herod's ancient sea capital and reportedly one of the most fascinating Roman ruins in all of Israel. It, along with the Golan Heights, was one of the reasons I had rented a car, since Ceasarea is accessible by public transportation, but it is not easy or time efficient to get to.

The feature that is most often mention as most impressive about Ceasarea is the harbor that Herod built here. At the time it was built in the first Century BC, it was the largest artificial harbor in the world. Artists rendition's do make for an impressive sight. Today, however, the port area of Ceasarea is less than impressive. Without having seen the rendition of what the site looked like, I'm not sure I would have been able to recognize the significance of this.

The area had also been restored/improved to contain some shops and restaurants, as well as a visitor's center. Mixing the modern in with the ancient like this made it difficult for me to appreciate the historical significance of the harbor part of the site. I read that this part of the part has become popular for festivals and weddings. I'm obviously not a big fan of using ancient historical sites for these purposes, but it seems almost policy for the Israeli National Parks.

Walking South along the coast I walked through what was the main streets of the old Roman city. The dominant feature of this part of the park is the amphitheater which was used for chariot races and various other spectacles.

Just south of the main street/amphitheater area are the ruins of what is believed to be Herod's Promontory Palace. The area also contains a number of impressive mosaics. Further excavations will be needed here to determine what the exact dimensions and uses of this palace where.

Most people consider the Colosseum at Ceasarea to be on of the highlights of the ruins. It is impressive, but the site had been used for a concert the previous night and was full of chairs from that event. While I think it's a unique idea to use these ancient sights for modern concerts, having the chairs in the stadium took away from it's authenticity for me. Combine that with the impressive Roman Colosseum I'd seen at Beit She'an five days earlier, I left this part a little disappointed.

I spent the rest of my time at Ceasarea exploring the main streets of the village area. The building that impressed me most here were the public bath buildings. I was able to conjurer up an image of the opulence that was sure to be found in these buildings during Ceasarea's heyday. Both building were decorated with tile and some cool mosaics, many of which are still visible today.

The most impressive part of Ceasarea to me was not even located at the main sight, it was a 5 minute drive north. The hulking ruins of the old Roman aqueduct run for mile along the beachfront. The two-tiered system brought water from the slopes of Mount Carmel to the town for drinking water, but also brought water from a nearby dam for use in irrigating the fields. The system is an amazing technologically advanced system for the times.

Heading south, I drove to my destination for the next two nights, Israel's largest Metropolis of Tel Aviv. I wasn't actually staying in Tel Aviv, but 2 miles to the south in the 4,000 year old seaside city of Jaffa. Driving into Jaffa looking for my hostel, without the benefit of a good map, was the single most frustrating experience of my entire trip. Not only were the roads poorly marked, many were one way streets and many others were under construction. After driving in circles for close to an hour, I finally located my hotel only to realize that I wasn't going to be able to park near it, since it was in a shopping area full of pedestrians. I finally found a parking garage down the street and was happy to abandon the car there for the next day and a half.

The Jaffa Clocktower

With that as my introduction to Jaffa, I was crabby when I checked into my hostel, and sat in the room for an hour before going out. I had read nothing but great things about Jaffa, but I was positive I was going to hate it. I'm really glad I was wrong. Jaffa is wonderful.

I strode up the hill to the main seaside area, the remnants of the ancient city, with it narrow and twisting walkways.

The hilltop itself provided fantastic views over the modern city of Tel Aviv and it's skyscrapers in the distance.

The area also had some other sights including The Wishing Bridge, where it is said that if a person holds their zodiac sign and faces the sea, the wish they make will be granted. The building in the distance is Jaffa's most famous building, St. Peter's Monastery, built on the site of a 13th Century Crusader castle.

I'd hoped to get some beautiful pictures of sunsets over the Mediterranean, but both nights were overcast and windy. I was disappointed not to get the sunset pictures, but glad to have the windy, pleasant evenings, since it was the first time since I'd arrived that the daytime temperature had been below 90. Instead of sunsets, I took pictures of the surfers who reveled in the perfect surfing conditions provided by the sharp western breeze.

The next morning, day thirteen, I left Jaffa and walked down the beachfront toward Tel Aviv. The morning was cloudy and cool, something I wasn't used to on this trip. (It was still in the 80s) In all my travels in Israel, I never found a place where the residents were early risers, so this meant that I had much of the beachfront promenade to myself. I could tell from looking at the facilities along the walk that on nice days, these beaches had to be packed with people.

I'd intended to make my first stop the Ben Gurion Museum, which is a house that was owned by Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben Gurion, and preserved pretty much the way he left it when he died in 1973. Unfortunately for me, the house was closed for the two day observance of Shavout, a Jewish holiday marking Moses' receiving of The 10 Commandments.

I walked down Ben Gurion Street past Tel Aviv City hall and into Yitzak Rabin Memorial Square, the site where Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin was gunned down by a radical Jew in 1995. A tasteful memorial has been set up on the east side of the square. This site was important to me, since I have long been an admirer of Rabin's.

South from Rabin Square is the Dizengoff Center, a multi-level mall named after Tel Aviv's first mayor. The most fascinating part about this mall was how much like an American mall it was, except for all of the signs being in Hebrew. People often think of Israel and it's ancient history and forget that a modern, successful country exists here. I usually hate malls, but wandered around this on with a sense of fascination. It was extremely crowded due to the holiday. Most of the shoppers were teenagers, which is where American teens would be on a holiday such as Memorial Day or Labor Day.

Continuing South to the Yemenite Quarter, I wandered into the Carmel Market. After staying in the Muslim Souq in Jerusalem, I felt like I'd seen this before. Still, it was interesting to see people out on the holiday shopping in the market for just about anything you can imagine. I only made it a few blocks due to the overwhelming crowds before I slipped out of the market and headed back to Sheinken Street, Tel Aviv's most famous street for being home to the beautiful people. I didn't really understand the appeal, but the street was lined with upscale clothing stores and boutiques.

My main reason for walking Sheinken Street was to use it to cut between the Carmel Market and Rothchild Boulevard. This street is mentioned in the guidebooks as a place to go to see Bauhaus Architecture, a uniquely Israeli style that started in the 1950s. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site called "The White City". I'd read in all the guidebooks (and heard it mentioned on travel sites and blogs) that this is one of the most confusing World Heritage Sites since of the almost 4,000 Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv, less than a handful have actually been restored. Most lie crumbling, and many are unrecognizable. I, though the help of a guidebook, was able to locate a couple and was decidedly unimpressed.

The other reason for walking this way was to pass the small, unassuming house where David Ben Gurion declared Israel an independent state in 1948. Neither Independence Hall r Founder's Square across the street were all that interesting, unless you are familiar with the story of Israel's Independence in 1948. I'd intended to carry on to the Shalom Tower and go up to the observation floor on the 48th floor, but was informed by the security guard that the tower no longer had an observation floor, and that I would have to go to the Azrieli Tower to view Tel Aviv from above. He advised that I call the tower first, to make sure it was open and not closed for a private function. As it was going to be a long walk, I did call and was glad I did. It was closed.

I was disappointed to not get pictures of Tel Aviv from above, but made up for it by having a restful late afternoon and evening in Jaffa. I knew it would be smart to get a good night's sleep since the next day I was heading for one of the highlights of the tip, The Dead Sea.

Haifa

2010-06-06T16:19:00.009-04:00

I woke up on day eleven and wondered which batch of hummus that I'd eaten had upset my stomach so much. I knew that I'd be spending less time exploring Haifa than I'd intended, but considered myself lucky to feel well enough to go out at all after the night I'd had.

My first stop in Haifa was Elijah's Cave. The cave is sacred to Christians, Jews and Muslims. It is the spot where the 9th century prophet, Elijah, lived while he was fleeing from King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. Elijah also open his school here when his exile was over. It is located on the westernmost part of Haifa Bay, where Mount Carmel meets the Mediterranean Sea.
Just down the hill from Elijah's Cave, is The Clandestine Immigration and Naval Museum. This exceptional museum documents the period in history when Jews from all over the world attempted to flee the deadly persecution they endured, especially in Eastern Europe & Germany. The British, attempting to placate the Arab masses who lived in Palestine, had put serious limits on Jewish immigration even though they knew what was happening to the Jews.
The stories are uplifting and heartbreaking- desperate people who know that not attempting the journey will almost certainly lead to death, while also accepting that the difficult path to Palestine could also very well lead to deprtation, detention or even death. The centerpeice of the museum is the clandestine immigration ship Af-Al-Pi Chen, or the Nevertheless, a name that is so fitting in this struggle.
The inside of the ship has been turned into a gallery and theater, which displays many excellent photos that paint a picture of what life was like for those refugees. You can tell how difficult their situation is, but also can see the hopefulness of a people who really had nowhere else to go.

The film that was aired in the theater was very moving, using testimony of the refugees themselves, set against the background of archival footage from the era. The museum below the ship expanded on the life on the ships as well as what life was like in the detention camps which a large number of the people wound up in. The museum also pointed out the positive outcome of the tenacious immigrants, the founding of the state of Israel in 1948.

Jetski used in a failed terrorist attack

The second part of the museum focused on the history of the Israeli Navy. It highlighted Israel's military struggle with it's neighbors (especially Egypt) during the first few decades of the countries existence. The most amazing part of this museum to me was the section that dealt with all the foiled terrorist attacks that the Israeli Navy had been part of. I has heard of a few of these, but the sheer volume of attempts was shocking, even though it probably shouldn't have been. It was a vivid reminder why Israel takes it's security so serious. A little over three weeks later the Israeli Navy was involved in the disastrous boat ride off the coast of Gaza. While hardly condoning their actions, I was a much more sympathetic to the Israelis after seeing how many attempts are made to threaten their security.
After the museum I rode the cable car to the top of Mount Carmel.

The Port of Haifa
Israeli Navy sub escorting ship into the Port

The top of the mount provided great views over the western part of the city, the port of Haifa (Israel's largest) and over the whole of Haifa Bay.

On top of the mountain is the Stella Maris Carmelite Church and Monastery. The beautiful church's highlight is it's ornate dome.
Returning via the cable car to the bottom of this mountain, I drove around the west side of Mount Carmel and up into Carmel neighborhood, Haifa's main pedestrian downtown area when many of the cities best reputed hotels and restaurants are located. Still not feeling all that good, I spent a short time walking around this area, eventually winding up at the top of Haifa's most famous attraction, The Baha'i Gardens. The gardens are beautiful and immaculately maintained, spreading from the Central Carmel are almost all the way down the hillside to the port area. The most striking feature of the gardens is gold domed Shrine of the Baab, but unfortunately for me, the whole building was covered by a scaffolding.
Although disappointed to have my day in Haifa cut short, the extra rest proved essential to the rest of the trip.

24 Hours of airports & airplanes

2010-05-30T13:15:00.003-04:00

I'm in the home stretch now. I have three hours until my flight leaves (always a good idea to leave lots of time for Israeli security), then I have 12 hours between Tel Aviv and Philadelphia, a layover of 6 hours in Philadelphia then the almost 2 hour flight to Detroit. That's 23 hours, a long time to spend in airports or on planes. Being away for so long makes the time even harder. I'm ready to be home NOW, and I basically have another day to go.

I was going to spend the time here at Ben-Gurion to use the free internet to post an overall reflection post on the trip in general. The truth is, right now, I'm too tired and overwhelmed from the experience to put anything remotely readable together. Anything I put up now wouldn't be doing the journey justice, so I'll probably wait a few days (maybe weeks) to try and get my hands around what it is that I've done here.

I will say that it's been amazing. It's also been harder than I thought it would be. It would be premature to say I'm never going to do another adventure like this again, even though that's how I feel now. Most of you know me to well to be convinced that my traveling feet have stopped wandering for good. I'd be surprised if I chose such a long trip again, simply missing Janeen has been the single hardest part of the trip. I wish I could express how much I've missed her, but there are no words to do that longing justice.

Well, I'm off to go through security and check in for my flight. I'll talk to you all on the other side of the Atlantic. Shalom.

The Northern Mediterranean Coast

2010-05-28T10:20:00.011-04:00

The Border of Israel & Lebanon

Israeli Naval vessel patroling the Lebanon border

On my tenth day, I drove for an hour to the Northernmost point in Israel along the Mediterranean Sea to see the caves of Rosh Ha-Nikra. These natural grottos have been carved into the spetacular white chalk cliff by thousands of years of waves beating down on them. The caves are right on the heavily guarded border between Israel & Lebanon. The border, like that of Syria to the the East, is completely closed, and the Lebanese government also refuses to recognize Israel. Lebanon is basically controlled by Syria, which supports and encourages terroist activity by the outlaw group Hezbollah against Israel. To stop frequent rocket attacks into Isreal from southern Lebanon, the Israelis occupied a 20 mile buffer for almost 20 years, just pulling out troops in 2000. Rocket attacks do happen from time to time, and the Israeli response is always swift and severe.

For most of the last year, there has been quiet, which is why I felt comfortable visiting these natural wonders. The grottos themselves are awesome, with the blue sub-tropical water contrasting with the natural caves. The caves can also be explored by sea kayak, although I did not choose this option.

The other part of this sight is the more recent history. The British enlarged the caves during World War II so they could run a rail line from Europe to Egypt. There is a flimstrip which is shown that optimistically states that maybe someday soon this type of train will be a reality again. This seems unlikely.

The way down to the caves is via a short, 5 minute cable car ride from the top of the cliff to the bottom.

My next stop was at Akhziv National Park, a small beach park with some Crusader-era buildings that are sprinkled in to the landscape of the park. In a testament to the number of ancient ruins in this country, the building are unlabeled and barely draw any notice from the families and crowds of young people who come here.

The main attraction are the two 'natural' pools that have formed along the coast. They are popular for swimming, especially with families, since their shallow waters are safer than swimming in the sea.

My next stop was the famous walled city of Akko (Acre). Akko has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and has been under the control of the Egyptians, Israelites, Phoenicians, Assyrians, Greeks, Roman, Arabs and Crusaders, just to name a few. The city's importance as a port coincided with the downturn in the fortunes of Herod's port at Ceaserea.

Today, it is a largely Arab city, and many of the building that survive in the old city are from the crusader period.

The highlight of any visit to Akko is wandering around the Subterranean Crusader city and the old Citadel. Many of the underground chambers are well-preserved. There is an audio guide available that adds to the experience. Each room has a number that is typed into the guide and an explanation of what you are looking at is given in the language of your choice.

Another fascinating part of the walking tour are the underground tunnels, which were important in the defense of the city. When Jerusalem fell, the Crusader briefly made Acre that capital of their empire in the Holy Land. The city fell to Salah al-Din in 1187 without a fight, which is remarkable to imagine, since wandering around these tunnels make it hard to imagine the city being very easy to capture.

I walked along the imposing southern walls of the city along the blue waters of the Mediterranean.

I finished my visit to Acre with a walk around the souq, or market. I really loved the one in Jerusalem and this one also proved to be an amateur photographer's dream.

Transfiguration, Annunciation & Armageddon

2010-05-28T06:32:00.009-04:00

Early on my ninth day, I drove from Tiberias on The Sea of Galilee to Mount Tabor. Tabor is reported to be the site of the Transfiguration, when Jesus took Peter, John & James up "a high mountain apart" so that he could speak with Elijah and Moses. Tabor's setting certainly fits the description, and today it is a pilgrimage site with one of the most attractive chapels in Israel commemorating the spot.

The Church of the Transfiguration was completed in 1924 over the remains of Caananite settlements going back almost 3,000 years. Above the central altar are is an attractive mosaic depicting Christ during the transfiguration. There are two small chapels set to the side dedicated to Moses & Elijah.

From the top there are attractive views of the surrounding Galilean countryside.

After Tabor, it was off to the chaotic center of Nazareth. It was a small village when Jesus grew up here, today it is an over-crowded city of 65,000. It is the largest Arab city in the non-Palestinian part of Israel. The centerpiece of the city is the enormous Basilica of the Annunciation, built over the site of Mary's house, and the spot where the angel Gabriel first appeared to Mary to give her the news of her upcoming conception.

The church is built on two levels, the upper floor being the modern facility, with it's gorgeous dome and some truly beautiful stained glass windows.

The upper floor and the courtyard surrounding the basilica also contain artwork from the church's of many different nations depicting the annunciation.

The Grotto of the Annunciation, located below the modern facility, venerates the home where Mary lived, and contains a small chapel, which had a tour group having a service when I was there.

Central Part of the Tel

Some 15 miles south east of Nazareth is the ancient ruins of Tel Megiddo, the city of Armageddon. This site is one of Israel's most complicated ruins, with 25 different layers of settlements having been unearthed in this one spot. The oldest excavated parts of the Tel (City) go back to the early bronze age, some 3300 years ago.

Circular sacrifice altar from Canaanite times

The spot is famous for being conquered from the Canaanites around 1000 AD by King David. The Canaanites had occupied the city since the times of the Judges. Solomon made Megiddo one of his northern fortified cities, build a large defense wall around the perimeter in the 900s BC.

Israelite Public Building from King Ahab's period (860 BC)

The gates built by Solomon

It should be pointed out that while many of the locations mentioned in the Bible are subjective, Megiddo has been archeologically proven to be what it is. The site is amazingly complex, and since it contains so many different layers, a visit to the museum and a close following of the guide that is handed out upon entry was very important. There are a lot (and I mean A LOT) of ruins in Israel, but to highlight how important a site this is, it is one of the few that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

I stayed the night at my favorite lodging of the trip, The Zipori Village Cottages, where I'd stayed two nights earlier, and where I would stay the next three nights, using it as a base to explore the Northern Mediterranean Coast.

Back in Jerusalem, Winding Down

2010-05-27T11:58:00.004-04:00

As the title says, I'm back in Jerusalem, where the trip started. I've been real good about posting pictures on Facebook, haven't been real good on the blogging- the last full post was from day 7 (I'm on day 22 now). Anyway, I'm still going to post about each individual experience, meaning I have ten or so posts to get done. I should have one done by tomorrow evening on Nazareth, Mount Tabor and Tel Megiddo (Biblical city of Armageddon). I should have one more Sunday which will be a trip summary. The rest of the experiences will come over the course of this summer.

It's been an incredible adventure. Not to play spoiler on future posts, but Petra, Jordan was amazing, and hiking Mount Sinai in Egypt for sunrise is amongst the most incredible and spiritual things I have ever done. The Mount Sinai post may come in three parts- my notes on that day take four written pages (the usual is one).

As great a time as I've had, I'm ready to get home. I miss my wife with a ferocity that I have never felt before. I love traveling, but being away from her for this long is unbearable. This will be a consideration in planning future trips.

Here is a link to picture galleries on Facebook that I've taken since my last post that updated these. I'd really hoped Photobucket would have worked out- obviously it hasn't, and I'm sure I should have used Smugmug like many of the bloggers that I read with regularity do.

Day 15- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066700&id=1208119406&l=264ea40af9

Day 16- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066716&id=1208119406&l=c02bce3a5

Day 17- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066800&id=1208119406&l=8dfffa8891

Day 18- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066952&id=1208119406&l=b5168b3dbd

Day 19- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067087&id=1208119406&l=f9e05fb03d

Day 20&21- http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2067290&id=1208119406&l=0950b0b857

Today

Same view May 7th

Jerusalem's in the middle of a sandstorm, which has reduced visibility to about 300 yards, so I only took three photos, mostly to show how bad the storm is, today. Hopefully it clears up by tomorrow.

Floating in the Dead Sea

2010-05-20T03:54:00.004-04:00

I'm without an internet connection at my lodging at least until Saturday. I'm sitting in a cafe in Ein Bokek (find that on a map) to publish some pictures on Facebook and publish one here of my float in the Dead Sea.

More on that experience coming later. I apologize for the picture of me with my shirt off. That can't be easy to look at.

Here's a link to the Facebook galleries I've put up since my last gallery update about a week ago.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065777&id=1208119406&l=a6322b3d48

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065866&id=1208119406&l=38f966fc13

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065943&id=1208119406&l=8dbda3ddf0

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066023&id=1208119406&l=fc50d8d068

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066105&id=1208119406&l=1fb6e493d7

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066225&id=1208119406&l=1dc2697b34

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066368&id=1208119406&l=2ad08485e7

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066452&id=1208119406&l=8dc0b733c9

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2066601&id=1208119406&l=22c5ca0585

Hopefully I'll be able to catch up on some blog posts this coming weekend....

The Golan Heights

2010-05-18T11:07:00.009-04:00

When I started thinking about this trip almost a year ago, I bought a copy of Lonely Planet Israel & the Palestinian Territories and started reading it. I skipped over the section on The Golan, mostly because I had intended to do the trip using mostly public transport and the book made it clear that the Golan was not easy to do by bus. In January I was browsing some websites and saw some pictures of Gamla and Nimrod Fortress, and my curiosity was stirred. I listened to a podcast about Israel (The Amatuer Traveler by Chris Christensen) and his guest (Douglas Duckett, a man I credit with inspiring much of this trip) talked about how easy it was to rent a car and drive around Israel. I still thought it would be prohibitively expensive, but after checking I realized that it would be affordable, but better yet, would allow me to visit some places that I'd previously crossed off my list. The Golan was one of those places.

The heavily guarded border between Israel & Syria

I'd looked forward to the day in the Golan since I shored up my itinerary in March. The Golan has had a rocky history. Fought over by conquering forces since Biblical times, it more recently has been battled over by Israel and Syria. Israel took the territory in 1967 during the Six Day War. When Syria invaded during the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Syrians almost succeeded in taking the Golan back. Israel annexed it after the 1973 conflict, in a move still not recognized by the United Nations, and one of the primary reasons that Syria still refuses to recognize Israel. The two countries still have no official diplomatic relations. You can not cross between the two nations, and if you have an Israeli stamp in your passport, you are not allowed to enter Syria from anywhere. (This also applies to Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Yemen & the United Arab Emirates). Syria demands the return of the Golan before any peace settlement with Israel can even be discussed. Considering the Golan is the high ground between the two, and that who ever hold that ground has a decided military edge, it's hard for me to see Israel ever seriously considering returning it. Also, since Syria has started three wars with Israel (The Syrians gottheir asses handed to them three times), and still continues to be a supporter of Terrorism against both Israel and it's Western allies, I can't see any reason for Israel to consider giving it back either, even if it means that Syria will not negotiate with them. After seeing the land in person and realizing how beautiful it is, that's all the more reason for Israel to hang on to it.

The site of the upper city of Gamla

Overview of Gamla (Upper & Lower Cities)

My first stop was at Gamla. Gamla is the Hebrew word for camel, and the site was given the name because the hill looked to the first settlers like a camel's hump. The history of Gamla goes back to artifacts found on the hillside from the early Bronze age. It is most famous for being the site of the last fateful stand of the Jews against the Romans in the Great Jewish Revolt of 63-67 AD. The story of Gamla's final days is epic. The Roman had surrounded the city and had vastly superior numbers. The Jewish fighters lured the Roman legions into the lower city having set it up as a trap. The Romans were badly beaten and suffered a great amount of casualties, and the Jews were able to flee into the fortified upper city, hoping that this defeat would dissuade the Romans from attacking the upper city, located higher up the mountain, and in a much harder to take position. The Romans did not give up, instead bringing in more men, including many who had been part of Masada's last stand (more on Masada later in this trip). After many days of battering the upper city's walls, the Romans finally breached walls and poured into the upper city. Knowing that defeat they had handed the Romans earlier in the battle for the lower city would cause the Romans to dispatch them rather than taking them hostage, the citizens and soldiers of Gamla threw their families and themselves off the cliff face, rather than being slayed by the swords of the Romans. Jewish historian Josephus' account claims over 10,000 Jews died in this way, and unlike Masada, there were no survivors. The town was so destroyed so thoroughly that the Romans did not even leave a garrison at the site, as move that was atypical for them.

Gamla today is a nature reserve, especially noted for being a nesting point for the endangered Griffon vulture, a larger scavenger with a wingspan of over nine feet in some cases. I was able to use my zoom lens to get the above picture of this one in flight.

Bullet-hole riddled former Syrian outpost

I drove north into the heart of the Golan. I passed signs of the recent conflicts that had taken place in this area.

The above picture is of the Syrian ghost town of Quneitra, once a thriving town of 30,000, now abandoned after it was destroyed by the Israelis in the 1973 war. The town remains abandoned today because it falls within the territory set aside as no man's land in the armistice that ended the 1973 war.

Mount Hermon, the highest point in Israel, (half in Syria, half in Israel) could also be seen from the Quneitra viewpoint.

Massada (pronuonced Ma-say-day, unlike Masada, Ma-sa-da) is a Druze city in the very upper regions of the Golan. The Druze are an independent, fiercely secretive sect of Shi'ite Muslim, and many of the residents of these towns still consider themselves Syrian citizens. The picture of hillside Massada is taken from Nimrod Fortress. I didn't stop in Massada, the guidebooks gave conflicting reports as to how friendly the residents of Massada and Majdal Shams (the largest Druze town, just to the north) would be to Western outsiders.

Much of the driving in the Golan was on roads like the one seen above- mountainous, with blind turns and no dividing lanes. In most cases this would be mildly unsettling, but throw in the way that Israelis drive (fast and relentless and risky about passing), it made it a little nerve-racking. I was fortunate it was the middle of a weekday and not a weekend or holiday.

Nimrod Fortress, as seen from a hillside 5 km away

My favorite sight of the trip so far has been Nimrod Fortress, a 13th Century castle perched dramatically on a hillside overlooking the Golan and Upper Galilee. I'm not going to spend a lot of time describing Nimrod's history because the sources still dispute who built it, who occupied it, and how long it was occupied, although the last one seems to be until the 1800s when it was destroyed by an earthquake. Instead, I'm going to let the dramatic pictures below do the describing of Nimrod Fortress.

Looking toward the Upper Citadel

Looking from the Upper Citadel to the lower portion of the castle

The large cistern

Rock Hyrax, a furry rodent typical of these elevations

A baby rock hyrax

Israeli border post on the Lebanon border, as seen from Nimrod Fortress

My final stop was at Banias Nature Reserve. This lush, green area is right at the foot of the mountain from Nimrod Fortress. It's water source is snowmelt from Mount Hermon and the surrounding mountians. The area contains some of Israel's best hiking, with beautiful springs and waterfalls, as well as some very interesting Roman ruins.

Banias Waterfall

Palace of Agrippa (Herod's Grandson) with Nimrod Fortress on the hill in background
Temple of Pan
Banias Spring

Wrecked vehicle left as memorial to 1973 Yom Kippur War

Sign says "Danger- Do not enter- Unexploded Mines"

A Sign you wouldn't see in any American National Park

I'm so happy I rented the car and got to see the Golan Heights. I hope Israel can achieve peace with it's neighbors, but I also hope that the price of that never involves returning the Golan to Syria.

The Sea of Galilee

2010-05-18T10:40:00.013-04:00

Early on the morning of my seventh day, I left Zippori and drove through Tiberias to the Northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. This is the area where Jesus did most of his ministry prior to heading to Jerusalem.

My first stop was at The Mount of the Beatitudes, the site where Jesus gave his famous Sermon on the Mount as recounted in Matthew 5-7. The site now contains the Church of the Beatitudes, the dome structure containing eight sides to commemorate the eight Beatitudes.

Before visiting the site I sat in the car and read the Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.

Uphill from the Mount of the Beatitudes is Korazim National Park, which contains the ruins of a town that Jesus rebuked for it's lack of faith. The centerpiece of these ruins is the 3rd Century Synagouge.

My third stop was The Church of the Multiplication of the Fishes and the Loaves. This beautiful church is located on the spot where Jesus fed the 5000, from only a few fish and a loaf of bread.

Right in front of the altar is a beautiful mosaic depicting the fish and the loaves.

The next spot down the road was The Church of the Primacy of St Peter, where Jesus called Peter to be his disciple. The spot is marked by a small church right on the shores of the lake. As with most of the spots along the "Jesus Trail", there were groups of Pilgrims holding services.

Peter's house

The Church built above it

Capernaum is the ancient city mentioned several times in the Bible as Jesus base of operations while conducting his Galilee ministry. The town was home to Peter, Mark and John. This was one of the most disappointing of all the sites. My complaint was that a large modern building had been built above the site of Peter's home. The building housed a rather pretty, airy church and a glass floor in the middle so visitors could look down and see the ruins of the home, but such a large building was out of place above an ancient site.

Moving on I came to Kursi, where Jesus performed the Miracle of the Swine, where he healed a demon possessed man by sending his demons into a herd of pigs which immediately raced to the lake and drowned themselves. Little remains of the town today except the ruins of it's synagogue.

I drove uphill looking for the Ofir Observation Point, located on the highest rise above the Sea of Galilee. I was disappointed. While the views were spectacular, the day was so hot that a thick haze made visibility a problem. I was just barley able to see Tiberias, a mere 7km away across the lake.

The Western Sally Port (Entrance)

The Laundry Room

My final stop of the day was not on the Jesus trail or even on the Sea of Galilee. About 10 miles south of the southern shores of the lake in the ruins of a Crusader-era castle names Belvior. This ruins site picturesquely on a hill overlooking the Jordan River and the country of Jordan in the distance.

The ruins themselves were impressive, but it was the views from the hill that captures my imagination. It was easy to see why the Crusaders picked such an imposing spot for their fortress. It was hard to imagine any army being able to conquer such a fortified position, but it did happen, by the Ottomans in the early 13th Century. I almost felt guilty for enjoying Belvior so much. Here I'd spent the first part of the day following Jesus' ministry sites and the site I enjoyed most that day was something unrelated to his life. I realized, however, that the reason the Crusaders took on their missions was to possess the Holy Land. One of the biggest reason I enjoyed Belvior so much more than the other sites was that I practically had the place to myself, whereas the Jesus' sites were overflowing with tour groups. I've been a part of tour groups before, and I've battled them as well, but I've never had so much of my enjoyment zapped by these people.

I left Belvior quite impressed, but I had no idea that a much more impressive castle awaited me the next day in the Golan Heights.

Temple Mount, Beit She'an, & Tzippori- Day Six

2010-05-17T14:05:00.010-04:00

Early in the morning on my sixth and final day in Jerusalem, I walked over to Temple Mount. This is the site of the first and second temples built by the Jews. The first temple was destroyed when the Jews were sent into exile by the Babylonians in 586 BC, the second temple was destroyed when the Romans conquered Jerusalem in 66 AD. When the Muslims conquered Jerusalem in 638 AD, they took control of this hallowed ground.

Only one of the entrances to the Temple Mount is open to non-muslims, and that is the one that is furthest south, the Moors' Gate. Access to this gate is right next to the entrance to The Western Wall Plaza, and as you ascend the ramp to the mount, you get a good look at The Western Wall itself.

Two of the holiest shrines in Islam are located on the the Temple Mount. The first is the al-Aqsa Mosque. This is the main worship center on Fridays for the Muslim population of Jerusalem. The building itself has been damaged by invaders, fire and earthquakes, and despite it's importance and functionality, it's appearance is nothing compared to The Dome of The Rock.

The Dome of the Rock isn't a mosque at all, it's function is that of a shrine. Non-Muslims are not allowed inside, and that was disappointing. Some believe the Dome of the Rock occupies the center point of the world. If it does, then it is a fitting building to occupy such a spot. Most of my pictures of Jerusalem where it is visible use the Dome as the center point of the shot. I couldn't help it. If you look back at my post on the Mount of Olives, you'll see that what I mean about it being the centerpiece of every picture. I must have 200 pictures of it from different angles. It's just draws your eye to it. It was completed in 692 AD, but fell into crusader hands at the beginning of the 12th Century, when it was used as a church and the al-Aqsa Mosque was used as a palace for the king, then as a home for the Templars.

Jewish graves on the side of the Mount of Olives

Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene

Dominus Flevit

The Seven Arches Hotel and the Mount of Olives viewpoint

The Temple Mount afforded great views of the Mount of Olives and the sites I had seen there a couple of days before, as seen in the above photographs.

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I picked up my rental car and left Jerusalem heading first west and the north through the Jordan Valley. It was clear in my rental agreement the the insurance on the car did not cover The West Bank. This is one of those Israel-only issues. The roads I took upon leaving Jerusalem, first Highway 1 West, the Highway 90 North, both passed through the heart of the West Bank. I was assured, however, by the lady at Eldan (The rental company I'm using) that these roads were if fact fine to be used since the were controlled by the Israeli police. But that just raised another question- If I stop for gas or a bathroom break does that mean I'm uncovered because I'm off that road? Fortunately, I didn't have to test it out, as I made the hour and a half drive without incident. Upon exiting the West Bank, I did get one of those checkpoint stops I had expected to get with Sam. I was stopped, asked to hand over my passport, pull the car up into an inspection area where I had to unload all of my stuff, leave the car doors, hood and trunk all open, then take all of my bags into a small hut where they were X-rayed. While I was doing that, my car was first visually inspected then give the once over by the bomb sniffing dog. I wasn't bothered at all by this, there is a reason that they have such tight security. I did witness an Italian couple who were quite put off by having to submit to the screening. The man for a while looked as if he wasn't going to comply, but the machine gun carrying soldier who came to talk to him was able to convince him it was in his best interest to allow it.

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My first stop after the checkpoint was the amazing National Park of Beit She'an. My original itinerary had forced me to skip this, but after altering it a little, I was so glad I didn't miss it. The ruins here are extensive and are from 20 different cultures, including Caananite, Israelite, Persian, Egyptian, Babylonian, Ottoman, Arab, Crusader, Byzantine, but most of all Roman.

The highlight of the site for me was the remarkably well-preserved Roman Colosseum. Seating up to 7000 in it's day, the site was powerful to witness. It was built in 200 AD, during the height of Beit She'an's Roman period.

The above picture is a look at the main boulevard, and in the background, the tel (city) on the hill where many of the other culture's ruins were found.

The public toilets were of special interest, especially since it is so hard for us by western standards to imagine public toilets without stalls where both genders took care of their business. What is even funnier is that these public toilets were considered the height of sophistication at the time.

My final stop was at Tzippori National Park, a few miles outside Nazareth. This site was occupied for over 450 years by the Jews, Romans and Byzantines. In Roman times, the city was known a Sepphoras.

The highlight of the park are the Roman-era mosaics, including the most famous one dubbed "Mona Lisa of the Galilee".

Other highlights were the main street and the Roman amphitheater, which were both fascinating, but paled in comparison to what I had just seen at Beit She'an.

I stayed the night at a wonderful place little place, the Zipori Village Country Cottages, located right at the base of the National Park. I enjoyed the stay here so much that I came back and spent three more days here later in the trip.

The West Bank pt.3- Bethlehem & The Shepherd's Fields

2010-05-15T10:53:00.015-04:00

On the road north to Bethlehem from Hebron we passed the Al Arov refugee camp and the Jewish settlement of Efrata, one of the largest in the West Bank. These sights highlighted two of the major issues remaining between Israelis and Palestinians. The refugee camps are poorer than even the towns in the West Bank, having high unemployment and little hope. Many of the people (or their family) either abandoned their homes in Israel proper when Israel declared itself a sovereign nation in 1948 or when Israel took control of the West Bak after the Six Day War in 1967. Many of these camps are recruiting grounds for fundamentalists, who can used the depressed conditions in these camps as a rally point for their cause. Sam told me that many people on the West Bank, including those in refugee camps went into Israel proper everyday to work. The most amazing thing he relayed to me is that in order to work exit the West Bank for work, candidates must be over 30 and married. This is something I had never heard and was amazed at this policy. It's really oppressive, but it does eliminate the demographic that suicide bombers and terrorist usually come from- young, angry, immature, men who see no future for themselves.

The settlement of Efrata is large, and I could see the place where construction was ready to begin. The problem with the Palestinians receiving the West Bank and Gaza as a place for their own country is that there are hundreds of Jewish settlements dotting the area. Most of the settlements have their own bypass roads and heavy security. The settlers inside these towns religious fundamentalists, believing that they must settle the West Bank so that it remains part of Israel. This is not a political argument for them- they believe that this land was given to the Jews by God. The Israeli government for many years encouraged these settlements, then after receiving international criticism, turned a blind eye to them. In recent years, the government has been much more restrictive in allowing new settlements to be founded, but the existing one have continued to grow. After seeing these in person, I still wonder how a Palestinian state is ever supposed to work. I can see a scenario where the Israeli government forces these settlers from their homes- that would lead to widespread rioting by the most powerful & vocal minority the country has. It's also hard seeing the Palestinians happy with a land that is divided geographically by all of the lands and roads these settlements have- there would be no geographic cohesion to it.

We made our way into Bethlehem. I'd seen heavy tourist traffic in Jerusalem, but Bethlehem was bursting at the seams. The song says 'O Little Town of Bethlehem' and it couldn't be more wrong. I'm sure it's meant to refer to the time of Jesus, but today Bethlehem is a large, fast moving, heavily-touristed place. The above picture is some of the famous street art done by UK artist Banksy. There were a couple of different paintings, the most famous of which are in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp, adjacent to Bethlehem.

Our stop in Bethlehem was at Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity. The church claims to be the oldest continuously used Christian church in the world. The spot is, for the most part, recognized as the actual spot where Jesus was born, since the Roman Emporer Hadrian has a shrine built to a pagan god here to distract attention away from this spot by Christian pilgrims. It was Constantine's mother, the same woman responsible for the building of The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, who had the first Christian church built here in 339 AD.

Tourists flocking the Grotto of the Nativity

The star marks the spot of Jesus' birth

The area where Jesus was laid after being born

The main attraction here, of course, is The Grotto of the Nativity. There was a huge line of tourists lines up to make their way down the stairs and visit the cave where Jesus was born. There was also a section of the cave where Jesus was first laid, which was set up as it's own separate shrine. I'm usually pretty synical about these places, but it was amazing to see the masses who has flocked here because of devotion. Many in the crowd were so touched by the experience that they left the grotto in tears.

The church itself was massive. It contained evidence of many different periods, Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, and most recently Greek Orthodox. Particularly interesting were the Byzantine era mosaics.

Next door to The Church of the Nativity was The Franciscan Church of St. Catherine's. This church was beautiful and airy inside, quite a conrast from the dark and brooding Church of the Nativity next door. My guide, Sam, was married in this church.

Below St. Catherine's was the Cave of St. Jerome, where he first translated the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. The cave also contained the tomb of St Jerome and some beautiful stained glass.

Upon exiting St. Catherine's we were able to look up and see bullet holes on the side of The Church of the Nativity from the 2002 siege that took place there. The Israeli Defense Force raided Bethlehem looking for 200 Palestinian militants, who fled to the church and for 39 days, in a widely covered incident, held monks and some innocent civilians captive. The siege ended somewhat peacefully, with the militants releasing the captives in exchange for being deported to Jordan or Gaza instead of being released. I was told that many of the militants, especially the ones taken to Gaza, have since been killed in raids and air strikes, and many of the other were later arrested by the IDF for other crimes.

On our way to our last stop at the Shepherd's Fields, Sam and I stopped for a lunch of turkey shawarma and Palestinian beer.

The Shepherd's Fields were a little underwhelming. The area around the fields have been so built up, and the site itself was so touristy, that it was impossible to imagine the scene of 'The multitude of angles" appearing to the lonely shepherd's to announce Jesus' birth. The site did contain a church with some beautiful paintings of the story.

The single most striking feature of the shepherd's fields was the electrified fence that has been built right through it. It was a fitting way to end the day. It perfectly summarized my feelings about the West Bank, a land seperate and divided. Controlled by one side, but holy to many. My hopes are for some sort of lasting peace in the future that both parties can live with, although nothing I saw on that day would give me the impression that's possible.

One last note, I mentioned in the first part of this article that I had carried my passport in my front pocket all day, expecting to have to show it a number of times. The actual number it was checked- zero. Maybe that's some progress....

Sam & I at Shepherd's Fields

The West Bank pt.2- Mar Saba & Hebron

2010-05-14T11:56:00.013-04:00

My expectations of what would happen on the way out of Israel proper and into the West Bank had grown inside my head as the trip approached. Sam asked me when I got into his car if I had my passport. I usually carry it in my money belt, but for today I was going to carry it in my front pocket. All I had read left me expecting to have to show it at least 10 times. I expected the checkpoints to be a small break in the 'Seperation Fence', the 471km fence the Israeli Government is building on the border with the West Bank. The above picture is the fence as seen from the lookout behind the Seven Arches Hotel on the Mount of Olives. Where Sam & I crossed, it was a small check point, with the fence nowhere to be seen and a seemingly regular chain link fence (with some nasty looking barbed wire on top). Sam told me that this fence was also electrified, and that made it seem more formidable.

The West Bank itself is poorer than the rest of Israel. Lifestyles tend to be more traditional, as seen in the pictures above. Much of the West Banks economy relies on tourism, that's why times of unrest are particularly damaging for residents in these parts. Much of the rest of the economy is agricultural, especially in the northern part of the West Bank, and herding of sheep, camels and cows, is dominant in the drier south. Industry is the West Bank is almost non-existent, since the Israeli government has made it hard for Palestinian entrepreneurs to get permits to build factories. Few people would have the money to, as well, although Sam told me that some factories are starting to open up.

Mar Saba Monastery

The caves where Sabas originally settled

The Kidron Valley

Our first stop of the day was the monastery at Mar Saba, some 25km east of Jerusalem, in the baking Judean desert. The devout Saint Sabas occupied the caves opposite the current site of the monastery in the late 5th century BC. His popularity lead to a following of over 70 faithful monks, joining Sabas in his desert sanctuary. The first churches were build here in the early 6th Century. Destroyed by constant invaders, especially the Persians & Ottomans, and also by earthquakes, the current buildings are from the 1800s. They are dramatically perched over the Kidron Valley. The photos I have fail to give the proper perspective. It was the photo of this place in a book I saw before coming that drew me to want to visit it. Not getting the proper viewing angle was not the only disappointment for me, since upon arrival, we were met by a chattering monk, explaining that the main priest had gotten up early for prayers and was napping then eating, meaning we could not visit the inside of the compound itself. He did allow us to step inside the front gate so that Sam could explain what the buildings were from the balcony. He also didn't allow me to take any pictures from the inside. Sam said he'd had problems with this particular monk before.

We continued Southwest toward Hebron, passing Heroduim, King Herod's palace/fortress built during the time of Christ into a low hill.

Tomb of the Patriarchs/ Ibrihami Mosque

I'd wanted to visit Hebron for a few reasons. The first was that all my sources said that Hebron was a good place to get a peak into everyday Palestinian life in the southern West Bank. Nablus & Jenin in the northern part were the best place to find this, but those were out of my reach on this trip. The second reason for visiting Hebron, was to visit The Tomb of the Patriarchs, or the Ibrahimi Mosque. The building's history is as controversial as the history of the city itself. The shrine built over the Cave of Machpelah, the traditional resting place of Abraham, his wife and their offspring, was open to both Jews and Muslims, since both religions see Abraham as their patriarch. In 1994, Baruch Goldstien, a resident of the neighboring Jewish settlement of Kiryat Arba, walked into the Mosque dressed in his IDF uniform and with his IDF issued rifle, opened fire on Muslim worshippers, killing 29 before he was beaten to death.

Evidence of repairs of a bullet hole from the Goldstien massacre

Since the massacre, the building as been divided into Muslim and Jewish sections. Both sides have access to the tombs of Abraham and his wife Sara, with the tombs of Issac and Rebecca residing on the Muslim side, and the tombs of Jacob and Leah on the Jewish side.

The Tomb of Abraham

Security checkpoints existed at both entrances, but Sam and I were able to get into both sides.

The Muslim side was beautiful, with elaborate rugs, a gift from the King of Morocco adorning the floor in every direction. This side also contained a beautifully carved minbar (pulpit) from the time of Ottoman ruler Salah ad-Din in the late 12th Century.

The minbar and mirhab (central point of worship facing Mecca) were located between the tombs of Isaac and his wife Rebecca.

The Tomb of Jacob

The Jewish side consisted mostly of a courtyard for reading the Torah, and to the other side, the tombs of Jacob and Leah.

After the Jewish side, we went out and observed the traditional entrance to the Cave of Machpelah, the cave purchased by Abraham to serve as his grave, and the first geographic reference in the Bible that can be tied to and actual place today. We also took a look at the Jewish part of downtown Hebron, not to be confused with Kiryat Arba, the settlement on the hillside above town. The Jews has lacked a presence in Hebron since 1588, when the Jewish population was massacred by the Ottomans. Following the Six Day Way of 1967, Israel gained contral of the West Bank. It didn't take long (early 1968) for a radical Jewish Rabbi and some of his follows to reestablish a Jewish presence here by renting a downtown hotel for an indefinite period of time. When the incident became an embarrassment to the Israeli government, who hadn't authorized such a move, the colonists were moved to the hilltop settlement they occupy today. In another act of defiance, the Rabbi's wife and some settlers moved into some abandoned building in Hebron proper, setting up a clinic and assuring the town of a Jewish presence in the future. That part of Hebron today, isolated from the rest of the city, is essentially a ghost town, with a couple hundred residents living in dilapidated buildings and having no real businesses, except those revolving around serving the tourist crowds visiting the tombs. Even the Muslim souq had moved away from this area, now being located more toward the chaotic center of modern Hebron.

We left and drove north heading for the city of Jesus' birth, Bethlehem.

The West Bank pt.1

2010-05-14T10:40:00.005-04:00

My earliest memories of The West Bank are from 1987-88, when I was a sophomore in high school. CNN had daily footage of people throwing rocks at tanks and troops, and the troops using guns to fight back. I'd didn't seem like a fair fight. I don't remember who it was that told me that the one throwing the rocks were actually the bad ones in this disagreement. I thought if all they doing is throwing rocks, how can they be the bad ones if the other guys are gunning them down? The mind of a 16 year old can only understand so much. That first Palestinian Infatada represented a shift in how the US media covered the Israel-Palestine conflict. It was the first time that the Palestinians were portrayed as victims.

That thinking stuck with me for the most part, until 2000, and the Second Infatada, where Palestinians started walking into buildings and blowing themselves up. Despite having a great deal of admiration for people who have strong belief and live according to those values, suicide bombing seemed unconscionable. It seemed to cross the line in to radicalism, something I've never been able to accept. Those bombings seemed like they devalued life, and that, despite what some would consider the ultimate statement of belief, made them ineffective.

Since 2000, I've read a lot on the Occupied Territories. I've listened to a couple of lecture series I got from the library and have followed the stories on the news. I remember the assassination of Yitzak Rabin in 1995, but did not understand it's importance to the future of the conflict. In my recent readings, I've grown to appreciate that Rabin's vision, while unpopular with the more radical parts of Jewish society, is sorely missed today.

A few months before leaving on this trip, I started planning on visiting the West Bank during my trip. There had been, as CNN put it one night, "the longest period of sustained peace in recent memory". A few days later, riots broke out in East Jerusalem over housing developments being build for Jews in East Jerusalem, on land the Palestinians see as the future capital of the Palestinian state. I had been doing reading and was fairly confident that I could take a taxi from East Jerusalem to Bethlehem, navigate Bethlehem on my own, then hire another taxi to take me to and from Hebron, another city that had peaked my interest. The riots, although minor compared to the infatadas, worried my wife and my family. I did not feel like giving up my dream of visiting the West Bank, so after consulting some people I trust, I decided to fork out the money and hire a well-recommended guide for the day to take me to Bethlehem, Hebron and the desert monastery of Mar Saba. So that is how I found myself on Monday, the fifth day of my trip, in the passenger seat next to the fascinating and informative Sam Salem.

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This post has become a monster to write, and will include at least 23 pictures. I usually try to limit the size of the articles, this one will require at least two more posts. I'm working on it- I swear. Please accept the picture below as evidence.

New Jerusalem

2010-05-13T12:09:00.013-04:00

I really love the Old City of Jerusalem. It's got a frenetic pace, especially in the souq area, and it's also got cool hostory around every corner. I figured I wouldn't be doing the city justice unless I got outside the walls and saw what the modern city of Jerusalem had to offer.

I headed west until I came to a large park, which had the really cool looking Monestary of the Cross in the valley. This Greek Orthodox shrine is from the 1000s AD, and according to the guidebooks, would be a major tourist attraction in any other city. Alas, in Jerusalem, it sits mostly forgotten because it is far away from the Old City and in a remote valley where it is hard to get to. I would have visited the inside, but it was Sunday and it was closed.

One of my main goal in walking this far was to visit two of Jerusalem's finest museums, the Bible Lands Museum and The Israel Museum (pictured above). The Bible Lands Museum was very good, if not a bit sterile in it's presentation. It had artifacts dating back as far as 6000 BC, and had them displayed by time period in an easy to follow layout.

The Israel Museum, much to my chagrin, was mostly closed for renovations. The two things that were open, however, were the two reasons I had wanted to visit. the first was a scale model of the Old City from the Second Temple Period, around the time of Christ. The admission fee included a handheld audio device that allowed you to type in numbers and get explanations as to what you were looking at. I really enjoyed this, and it put the ancient city in perspective. Even though I love wandering the streets of the Old City, seeing it in this type of layout gave me an appreciation as a geography geek of how the city must have looked back then.

The second part of the Israel Museum that remained open was The Shrine of The Book. This is the specially climate controlled wing where The Dead Sea Scrolls are kept. Discovered in 1947 by a Bedouin shepherd boy who was searching for a lost sheep, the scrolls are the best known artifact known pertaining to the Old Testament and how the books were selected. My only disappointment in this was that the actual bible scrolls were not on display, instead there were reproductions. They were many of the original scrolls on display, but most were from books that had not made it into the Bible. I'll be visiting the site where the scrolls were discovered (Qumran) later in this trip.

I was going to visit the Israeli government building, known as the Knesset, but when I showed up there were only two tours scheduled, one in Hebrew and one in German. My high school German is long forgotten (and was never good enough to follow along on a tour like this) and my Hebrew skills leave a lot to be desired, so I settled for a picture from the exterior and moved on.

My next stop was at Yad Vashem, Israel's Holocaust memorial and museum. I'd read a real good article before I'd left criticizing Yad Vashem for it's politicizing of the Holocaust. It's true, the way things are phrased and presented do have a definite bias, but unlike the authors of the article, I'm not ready to let that define my visit. The Holocaust is something that for those of us who aren't Jewish will ever be able to grasp as deeply as they do. The museum was sad and gripping, laid out in an historical order that was easy to follow. Like The Israel Museum, Yad Vashem had a handheld audio guide that was available for 30 Shekels (about $8) and added to the experience.

The were no pictures allowed inside, but I did snap the one above of the shoes that were taken from victims right before they were gassed at Auchwitz. I saw displays upon displays full of these things (suitcases, shoes, false teeth, even human hair) when I visited Auchwitz in 1999. Seeing this again brought back memories of that sobering experience.

Outside the museum portion, was The Avenue of Righteous Gentiles, a pretty walkway with trees planted for many of the people who had risked their lives during this awful period to save the lives of Jews.

My final stop of the day was at the Mahane Yehuda Market, or shuk. This is the market where Israelis go to buy their meat, spices, produce and vegetables. It was much less touristy and much more functional than the souq, the Muslim market in the Old City where I was staying. the biggest difference was that no of the stall owners tried to talk me into buying things that I did not need, the thing I hate most about the touristy souq. I picked up some pitas, hommus, olives and grapes and had a nice little lunch, all for about $5. After leaving the market I walked back to my hotel through modern Jerusalem, which was, to put it as nicely as possible, uninspiring. More about that in my Jerusalem summary post.

I had one more day in Jerusalem, but it wasn't going to be spent there- I was going to the West Bank, something I'd thought about everyday since I decided to do this trip, and it was quite an experience.

A few days break

2010-05-12T00:11:00.002-04:00

I'm not sure I'll be posting anything the next couple of days. I'm staying at a kibbutz tonight and then my hotel Thursday does advertise having internet, so I guess I'll have to play it by ear. It's day seven for me and I just finished posting on day 2, so catching up is a little hopeless, at least while I'm here.

I'm off to the Sea of Galilee today.

The Walls of Jerusalem part 2

2010-05-11T12:56:00.006-04:00

On Friday, I walked the walls of the Old City from Jaffa Gate in the west all the way to the Western Wall Plaza on the southeast side of the city. I had tried to go back and walk the stretch from Jaffa Gate to Lions Gate but that part of the walk was close on Friday. I went back to finish my circuit of the city walls Saturday afternoon. (The part of the walls that border Temple Mount in the southeast corner is closed for 'security reasons'.)

The above picture is from on top of The Jaffa Gate, as one enters the Old City. It's under construction right now, it looks to me like they are expanding the road as it runs into the Armenian Quarter.

The views from to the west of the Jaffa Gate were of modern Jerusalem. This part of the wall was very important in the Six Day War, as the Jordanian Army held the Old City and was able to fire into Israeli held West Jerusalem without impunity. The Israeli Army eventually to back the Old City in this war, as well as all of the West Bank territory they hold today.

It was hot (94 degrees) and having chosen to do this right when the sun was at it's mid-day peak probably wasn't the brightest move. The southern part of the walk had no shade, but I'd done it in the morning on a day where it was considerably cooler (mid 80s). I passed the New Gate (the scene from here entering the city as seen above). As you can surmise from the name, this gate, cut out of the wall in 1887, is the newest of the city's gates, and was closed during the Jordanian occupation of the old city from 1948 to 1967.

I reached Damascus Gate after a few minutes more of walking in the blazing heat. The chaos both inside and outside this gate which borders East Jerusalem, is not dimished being viewed from above.

The view from up top of the Damascus Gate over the Muslim Quarter was impressive, framed by The Dome of the Rock at every angle.

There were also good view of East Jerusalem, which is a predominantly Arab part of the modern city.

The walk from Damscus Gate to Lion's Gate all the way around the city was scenic, but this part of the walk was also much dirtier, both with the amount of weeds and trash that covered the promenade. Of particualer intrest on this portion was the Stork Tower, the defensive point at the northest corner, which was important because the eastern side of the wall has always been considered the weak point in the defense of the city. Many of the city's conquerers have come from this direction, including the crusaders, who breached Herod's Gate in 1099.

In the footsteps of Jesus (with thousands of other tourists)

2010-05-10T14:11:00.015-04:00

On Saturday, I woke bright and early and took a cab from the Damascus Gate to the Seven Arches Hotel, situated on the top of The Mount of Olives, just to the west of Jerusalem's Old City. The Mount of Olives figures prominently in the story of the last week of Jesus' life.

The view from in front of the Seven Arches has to be one of my favorite viewpoints I have ever visited. Spread out before you is the whole Old City, with the gleaming Dome of the Rock taking center stage. I find myself constatntly using it as the focal point of pictures I take. It may be one of the most striking buildings I have ever seen.

Also spread out below this viewpoint are the thousands of Jewish graves. Tradition says in the last days, those who are buried on the slopes of the Mount of Olives will be the first to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Most of the major churches of the Old City are visible from here- The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, The Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, and the Al-Aqsa Mosque. Enjoyment of the view was only mildly affected in a negative way by the tons of tour groups and tour buses that are sharing this magnificent panorama. I was glad I'd gotten up there so early, as I'm sure the worst of it probably happened later in the morning.

I walked up the road the road and came the Church of the Ascension. There are at three churches on the Mount of Olives that mark spots where the different religions or denominations believe that Jesus ascended into heaven.

Down the street from The Church of the Ascension is the The Church of the Pater Noster "The Lord's Prayer". The first church at this site was comissioned by Helena, the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine. The site was chosen because it is believed to be the site where Jesus first taught The Lord's Prayer. The inside of the courtyard, and all the surrounding buildings for that matter, are lined with The Lord's Prayer in 161 different languages. When I read about this shrine in advance I thought it sounded cheesy, but it was actually very well done.

After Pater Noster, I bagan the steep decent down the mount. The first site I came to was the Church of Dominus Flevit, which translated means "The Lord Wept". This teardrop shaped church is one newest additions, having been built in the 1950s. This marks the spot where Jesus stopped and wept over Jerusalem. The viewpoint from the front plaza of the church is almost as outstanding as the one in front of the Seven Arches. I didn't get to go inside the church since a service was in progress.

The Russian Orthodox Church of Mary Magdalene is right down the path from Dominus Flevit, but is only open two days a week for two hours. I did get a picture of it's attractive golden onion domes from plaza in front of Dominus Flevit.

Nearing the base of the mountain I came to the Garden of Gethsemane. I asked my mom and dad before I left what were some of his best memories from their 2005 trip. My dad recollected how peaceful a place the Garden of Gethsemane and been saying it had been a quiet place for prayer. I did not find it the same experience, as it was on of the most crowded sites I have ever seen. It was still moving to read the story of the agony Jesus felt in the garden immediately preceding his arrest.

Next to the Garden of Gethsemane is The Church of All Nations, an attractive building with an impressive facade.

Finally, I crossed the street to the Tomb of the Virgin Mary, another one of the holiest sites in Christendom. It is believed that Mary was interred here by the disciples after her death. This shrine was really amazing, requiring pilgrims to walk down a long set of stone steps to get to the heavily incense laden chamber housing Mary's tomb. This was one place I really found effective despite the crowds.

As I mentioned in my post about The Garden Tomb, I'll write a longer post about the dichotomy of visiting religious sites later. I'm still a few days behind...

The rest of the pictures from the Mount of Olives are here on my Facebook page-

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065446&id=1208119406&l=2be2e7446b

East Jerusalem & The Garden Tomb

2010-05-09T13:58:00.008-04:00

In the afternoon on Friday, I left the Old City through the Damascus Gate and wandered into East Jerusalem, and another world. The chaos of the Muslim Souq had prepared me for it a little, very little though. The pace of things was incredible. The thing I noticed right away was that I saw no Jews and no writing in Hebrew anywhere. I guess this is to be expected, since the Palestinians see East Jerusalem and the capital of the hoped for Palestinian state. I wandered up and down the streets for an hour or so, so much in awe of this spectacle that I never even took my camera out- that is truly a rarity for me. I didn't feel unsafe at all, nor did I draw any attention I didn't like. I was stopped by a group of Palastinian young men, seven of them, who looked to be between 10-12. Only one of the boys spoke any English I could understand.

"You American?"

"Yes", I said.

"I know America!"

"What do you know?"

"I know Kobe Bryant", the ring leader said, and did his best impression of a basketball jump shot. The rest of the boys all cheered.

"Very Good", I said smiling. "What else you know?" Sometimes when speaking to people who aren't native English speakers, I fall into this simplified way of talking. I don't mean to, and so far, to my knowledge, I haven't offended anyone with it.

He puffed up his chest and said "I know Lebron James!"

I smiled and nodded, content to let him play to his crowd. I addressed the other boys. "Anyone else know America?"

They all seemed to defer to the leader, and he turned to a smallish boy with a small scar under his left eye. The boy looked embarrassed when addressed, and for a moment I was afraid I had made a mistake in asking the other boys. The leader prodded him some more.

The small boy all of a sudden came to life. "I know Lady Gaga!", he exclaimed, and the began to gesticulate wildly in what was supposed to be an impression. He broke into song- which I did not recognize, but I'm sure was supposed to be Lady Gaga. The rest of the boys broke down in hysterical laughter. The small boy went on for a few seconds longer, then laughed, and took off running. The rest of the boys charged after him.

The boy who originally spoke to me was the last to take off running. He smiled and said over his shoulder, "Goodbye America".

I said goodbye and thank you as he ran off. I'm not sure he knew why I was thanking him, but I knew.

After finishing my wandering, I found my way to the Garden Tomb. The story behind the Garden Tomb is a common one in Jerusalem. Certain protestants groups refuse to accept the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as the site of Jesus' crucifixion. Famous archeologist Charles Gordon located the site of a skull-shaped hill just north of the Old City in 1883. When excavating the site, he found some tomb that generally matched to description of Jesus' tomb from the gospels.

Archeologists have since come up with some evidence (that is refuted by the owners of the site) that the tombs uncovered were from the 5th Century B.C.E., not from Jesus' time. Even with this evidence, it's hard to dismiss the Garden Tomb. The hill (as you can see above) does have a look somewhat like a skull. The setting for the Garden Tomb is also peaceful, where as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is a magnificent structure, it's really hard to imagine the events of Easter taking place there. Lonely Planet quotes a protestant minister as saying "If they Garden Tomb was not the site of the Lord's death and resurrection, it should have been." That really sums it up- it fits the picture you have in your head of the scene- even though that picture isn't necessarily correct. Then again, most of the holy sites in Jerusalem can fall into this category. I'll talk more about this in the next post about the Mount of Olives and my Jerusalem summary post coming in the next couple days.

Here are a couple more pictures from The Garden Tomb.

Sunburned, tired and day and a half behind

2010-05-08T15:19:00.004-04:00

So.... I'm already a day and a half behind on my blogging. I'm not going to worry about it, obviously it would be silly to spend my time blogging and not seeing. Today I was at the Mount of Olives in the morning and I finished my walk of the Old City Ramparts in the afternoon. It was 91 degrees here today, too, and that, included with all the walking, has left me a little sunburned and very tired. Hopefully, I'll be able to post about Friday afternoon and Saturday sometime tomorrow.

For now I'll leave you with the above photo, from the lookout on the Mount of Olives- what a view of the old city.

The Walls of Jerusalem

2010-05-07T10:03:00.013-04:00

Despite barely finishing the last post around 10PM last night, I slept for a few hours and then woke up wide awake at around 230 AM. I did some photo editing and some reading, and was just ready to go back to sleep when the Muslim call to pray started echoing down the alleyways of the Old City. It was really unique- a middle of the night reminder of how far away from home I am.

In the morning, I wondered down to the Jaffa Gate.

This gate is the link between the Old City and West Jerusalem, the newer, modern part of the city. I took a flight of stairs up to the Ramparts Walk, a walk that follows the path of the walls of the old city. The walls as they currently stand are from 1542 when they were rebulit by Suleiman, the Ottoman ruler of the area. The Crusaders had torn down the previous city walls in 1219, when they captured the city.

Today there are two ways to do the Ramparts Walk, from the Jaffa Gate north then east all the way around the north side of the old city to Lions Gate on the West Side of the city. This way was closed today, I'll have to go back and do this Saturday or Monday. The route I took followed a southern than eastern direction, from Jaffa Gate to near Dung Gate, the gate closest to the Western Wall Plaza and Temple Mount.

The above building is the Tower of David in the Citadel. It was closed on Friday, so I did not have a chance to climb the tower. The Citadel contains overlapping pieces of a least seven different cultures who at one time or another controlled this strategic point.

The first part of the walk provided great views over modern West Jerusalem and the Montefiore Windmill.

Rounding the southwest corner of the walls, the Basilica of the Dormition Abbey came into sight. This is a church built on the site where Jesus' mother Mary was reported to have died. Also in the same complex is the Room of the Last Supper.

The southern end of the walk granted amazing views of both the Tyropoeon and Kidron Valleys. The Kidron Valley was especially important in the story of the last week of Jesus' life.

This part of the tour also included sweeping panoramas of The Mount of Olives, my destination Saturday morning.

Finishing the walk, I visited The Western Wall, the most sacred sight in the Jewish faith. This wall comprises the western side of Temple Mount, sight of the first and second temples. This visit was especially moving, see the devout pray with such ferver is stirring, not matter what you believe.