Israel
Be'er Sheva | Dead Sea | Jeusalem
"Well, I'm already across the Atlantic Ocean and halfway there, why not go all the way?" That was basically my thought process in regards to going to Israel during my time in Europe. As it turns out, that was an awesome decision, as this was one of the coolest, most interesting places I have ever visited. Despite dreadful weather and several attempts on my life (completely kidding), I had a great time and I really, really want to go back. (Hopefully I'll go back next time with someone with at least a basic grasp of Hebrew.)
Day 1: Arrival - My first day in Israel was obviously the least interesting. It consisted of a three hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey; a two hour layover in the airport there; and a two hour flight to Tel Aviv. For the record, Turkish Air is awesome! I love this airline. First of all, you get a meal on even a little two hour flight. Why don't we have that in the U.S. anymore? Also, you'll never guess what I watched on the way to Tel Aviv. What did you guess? Nope, wrong. I watched Singing in the Rain. Best in-flight movie I've ever seen.
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| flying awesome |
Going through security was an interesting experience. They asked me some basic questions, like where I was coming from; where I was going to; what I was doing in Israel. When I mentioned I was visiting a friend in Be'er Sheva, I started getting drilled with questions: "Who are you visiting? Is he a college student? Does he have his own place? Has he always lived in Be'er Sheva?" Now, I've only met Eden when he visited the United States for a week or so, so I was clueless about the answers to virtually all of these questions. The grilling was so intense I actually got a bit nervous as to whether or not I was going to get into the country.
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| I guess he looks a bit sketchy. |
Of course, I got in no problem, but it was still a pretty intense grilling. After this, I jumped on a train to Be'er Sheva, and I was there in no time. On the way I met someone who I chatted with for a while. I love trains. You get to meet people and chat with them about life. Love it. Anyway, upon reaching Be'er Sheva, I met up with Eden. In the grand scheme of things, Be'er Sheva is a bit out of the way from what I wanted to do. However, it was great to see Eden.
Day 2: Getting Trapped at the Dead Sea - The plan for the second day was to visit the Dead Sea and Masada. The latter is a mountain fortress utilized by the local Jews during the first century AD in a revolt against the Roman Empire. That story does not end well. The day started, however, with a trip around Be'er Sheva, trying to find a prepaid SIM card for my phone. (I had no idea how good of an idea this would turn out to be.) This turned out to be a very involved process, as most people aren't fluent in English (and I forgot to ask about Germany), and I am obviously not fluent in Hebrew. Ultimately, I got what I needed and met back up with Eden.
On the way to the Dead Sea, we ran into some complications. Due to the significant amount of rain that was occurring in Israel, there were flash floods all over the place, including across the road between Masada and the Dead Sea.
I decided to visit the Dead Sea first and then hit Masada on my way back to Be'er Sheva. Yeah, that didn't happen. But first, the Dead Sea. Very cool place. Aside from the obvious Dead Sea attraction (i.e. floating in the salty water), it was actually a really scenic area. The contrast of a large body of water surrounded by an arid desert was an interesting view. Also, it was 22°C (71°F), which meant I got to go in. It was really cool. I have no ability to float, so it was really cool that without any effort whatsoever.
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| crummy weather is frustrating, but it does create rainbows... |
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| some salt buildup along the shore |
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| like a boss |
After that, however, things started going downhill. I didn't check the bus schedules before I went down to the Dead Sea, so when I got back to the bus, I had to wait an hour and a half for the next bus. Damn. Looks like I'm not seeing Masada. I wait and I wait and I wait. After 1:45 goes by, a guy driving by pulls over at the bus stop and and tells me the buses are no longer running due to the flooding. Damn...
I walked about 10 minutes to a nearby hostel and booked a room for the night. Woo. The original plan was to get back to Eden's that night and head to Jerusalem early in the morning. Doesn't look like that's going to be happening. I head over to my room, and I meet up with my roommates: two guys who have biked from London and are on their way to Israel. Now, they cheated a bit and took boats over from London and from Greece to Israel, but it was a pretty impressive check out what they're up to at sidetrackedproject.com and explosivecuriosity.com. It's some pretty impressive stuff.
Day 3: Almost Nothing But Travelling - Day two wasn't much better than Day one. I had to spent the morning making my way back to Be'er Sheva. Fortunately, the buses were running again and I was able to get out a little after 8:00 AM. (I didn't realize that would be the first of only two buses, so I didn't go to a breakfast I paid for.) Once I got back to Be'er Sheva, I again met up with Eden, who was also planning on going to Jerusalem to visit his girlfriend. Due to snow in Jerusalem, the buses weren't running to the city, so we needed to take the train there.
About 10 minutes before the train left, Eden realizes that the train is leaving in 10 minutes. Enough time to rush me to the train station, but not enough time for Eden to pack and come with me. Looks like I'm on my own. That really wouldn't have been a problem, if not for the fact that I'm supposed to switch trains in Tel Aviv. After riding the train for about three hours (the time Eden told me it would take to get from Be'er Sheva to Jerusalem), I asked the person across from me how much longer until we arrived in Jerusalem. This is when I learn that I am in Haifa, which is not where I want to go.
At this point I'm calling people like crazy, trying to figure out how I can get to Jerusalem. The biggest problem is that Friday is the Sabbath, so the bus lines are running on a limited schedule. I am able to find a bus into Jerusalem, but at the cost of several more hours. Over the course of the day, I go from only about three hours of travelling (the original plan of Be'er Sheva to Jerusalem) to about seven. Nothing says an enjoyable vacation like sitting in a bus/train/another bus.
I got to Jerusalem about 6:30 PM. It was really cold, rainy, and deserted. However, things turned around when I met up with Brian's friend Meital and her family for Shabat dinner. The food was great, and Meital and her family (and Josh, who was also there) were great to spend time with. It was a great experience. Thanks to my friend Brian Thomas for hooking me up with both Eden and Meital.
Day 4-5: Crossroads of the World - Finally, I was where I wanted to be. Sure, the weather wasn't anything like what I wanted it to be, but I was in Jerusalem, one of the most historically and socially important cities in the world.
This is now a choose your own adventure blog! To learn about the history of Jerusalem, you can either read what I wrote or watch the video. I say do both. Why not?
A bit of history, this city dates back thousands of years. Founded way back when, it was eventually captured by the Israelites and eventually made the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. Over the next few thousand years, it passed hands many times - it was controlled by Israelites, Persians, Greeks (under Alexander the Great), Romans, Muslim Caliphates, European Christians, Ottomans, and Brits. Following World War II, Great Britain offered the region to the United Nations to establish a Jewish homeland.
End of the choose your own adventure portion. I hope you enjoyed it.
Since 1948, Israel has existed as an independent state, although under extremely difficult circumstances to say the least. Most of its neighbors do not recognize its right to exist, and Israel has fought seven wars against its neighbors since its creation. Currently, Israel controls an area which includes all of Jerusalem (originally partitioned) as well as areas known as the Palestinian Territories: the Golan Heights, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip. Now, I'm not going to bore you with Israel's history any more than I already have, but it's important to know its history to understand what's going on there now.
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The Muslim quarter is the largest and the most densely populated. A might bit complicated, huh? |
There are two Jerusalems: an old city and a new city. The new city is like any other modern city. The old city, however, is where things get interesting. It is divided into quarters: Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Armenian. (The Armenians are the oldest Christian group in the world, the nation converting a few years before Constantine okay'd Christianity for the Roman Empire.) This creates a delicate balance within a tiny area. You always hear about how the (Jewish) Israelis and the (Muslim) Arabs (there are many Christian Arabs, too) are always trying to kill each other. My mom was certainly worried about me being danger. Admittedly, the Middle East is not the safest place in the world, but it's not a war zone, either. I never felt concern for my safety, and in Jerusalem that was particularly true. I think the people of Jerusalem, and in particular those who live in the Old City, realize the futility of fighting and maintain an air of tolerance and civility.
The Muslim quarter is the largest, with the other three about the same size. On the first day, I did a tour with Sandemans. (If you're ever in one of the cities listed, take the free tour! They're great!) We saw so much, but the crummy weather and the fact that I was there over the weekend limited my options. Some favorites were the Dome of the Rock (where Muhammed ascended to heaven to speak with God), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (supposed site of Jesus's crucifixion and home to several different denominations of Christianity who arguably get along worse than Israel and its Arab neighbors), and the markets in the Muslim quarter.
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In the Armenian quarter, some buildings are covered in broken glass. It has something to do with telling the Israeli and
Arab groups that they wanted nothing to do with their conflicts regarding Jerusalem. I'm not sure how broken glass
conveys this message, but there you have it.
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| Our awesome tour guide, Jonathan, gathers the group with a view of the Dome of the Rock (blue building) and the Western Wall. |
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| Church of the Holy Sepulchre, home to several different Christian groups. Considered to be where Jesus was crucified, it's obviously a very important place to many Christians. The problem is, however, is that none of these Christian groups seem to be able to tolerated one another. They are constntly fighting over every little thing that goes on in this church. For example, that little ladder by the window in the top left corner belongs to one of the groups (the Armenians, I believe). It serves no purpose now, and its original purpose can only be speculated, but it is maintained to this day by the group to which it belongs. When a sewer pipe burst beneath the church, no one would fix it because they couldn't agree on who got to. Whoever fixed it would be able to claim it as theirs. The floor covered in sewage,the Israeli government eventually said something along the lines of, "You're all idiots. We'll fix it and it will belong to us." Another fun story is that no one can agree on who gets to lock and unlock the church every day. Finally the Ottomans got tired of this crap, took the keys, and gave them to a Muslim family who has had them ever since. |
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| Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, completed 1898, is one of two Lutheran churches in the Old City. |
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| The front of the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer bears various symbols related to Germany, as it was built on land donated by King William I of Germany. |
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| Jerusalem depicted as the crossroads for three continents. |
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| The market of the Arab quarter. |
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| The Dome of the Rock was a very strange place; it was so open with so few people, a complete opposite from the rest of the Old City of Jerusalem. |
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| Abraham Hostel in Jerusalem |
Day 6: Departure - The last day in Israel was a disappointing one. After a week of crummy weather (with the exception of those two hours at the Dead Sea), it was finally beautiful. And I was leaving. Very frustrating. Leaving Israel was interesting. Now I thought getting into the country was tough(ish), getting out was more interesting. My bag went through two x-ray machines, and not because I was pulled aside or anything. That was the standard action taken for everybody. You can't even check in at the ticket desk without first going through an x-ray machine. I got asked a bunch of question again, especially when they saw that I had bought Arab clothing, like my keffiyeh. Thankfully, they let me through, though I'm probably on a Massad watch list or something now. Cool.
Well that's it for Israel. It was an awesome trip, albeit a disappointing one considering the weather. I definitely did not have enough time. Sorry Mom, but I'm going to have to go back and spend a month of so travelling the country. That would be an awesome experience. The trip also got me more interested in Middle Eastern affairs, something I have been developing an interest in for a while now.
Well, that ended up being quite the novel. Hope you don't get too bored reading it. That's all for now. Tschüss!
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