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JERUSALEM: MAY 15, 2000 - MAY 21, 2000 Wednesday, May 17, 2000 Jerusalem, Israel is a very powerful place buzzing with high energy and emotions. There is so much history, beauty, religion and conflict contained within the stone walls of the Old City and also throughout the still very young country. I am not an extremely religious person. I do believe in my religion, although I do not make religion a topic of conversation in my daily life. I respect all religions and also those who do not practice religion at all. To me, it is a personal decision that each person must make on his/her own. I do, however, love the opportunity to learn about religious practices and customs, including my own. Our visit to Jerusalem has already taught me so much about the Jewish, Muslim and Christian faiths. There is so much important history for these religions right here within just a few square kilometers. Jewish Pilgrims come from all over the world to visit the Western Wall of the great Jewish temples which was also the place where it is believed that Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac, but instead he spared his son's life and slaughtered a ram. The Western Wall is Judaism's holiest site. Christian Pilgrims come from all over the world to carry a cross along the same path that Jesus carried the cross two thousand years ago. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built around what is believed to be the site of Christ's crucifiction, burial and resurrection. Muslims make the pilgrimage from all over the world to Jerusalem to visit the Dome of the Rock which marks the spot where they believe that the prophet, Muhammad made an ascent to the heavens and saw God and then returned to Mecca the next morning. People of all of the above faiths live within the stone walls of the Old City and pass one another every day. Although the Jerusalem is divided into four quarters: The Jewish Quarter, the Muslim Quarter, the Christian Quarter and the Armenian Quarter, it is still necessary that all of these communities live together in peace. However, this is not the case at this time. As anyone who is reading this journal knows, there is a long history of conflict between these religions. This has been very apparent to Rich and I already. The day that we arrived in Jerusalem happened to be the anniversary of Israel's Independence. The Muslim Palestinians held a demonstration in protest of this occasion which led to bloodshed of both Israelis and Palestinians in the West Bank, an area still being claimed by both Israel and Jordan and populated by many Palestinians who also claim the land as their own. Meanwhile, in the New City part of Jerusalem, the hard right wing Jewish people were holding their own demonstration claiming that the land was theirs and should not be given away to the Palestinians. Everyone is fighting over possession of this holy land. Despite this underlying conflict, Jerusalem is a magical place. Within the walls of the Old City, one gets lost in the narrow thoroughfares surrounded by archways and buildings all made with Jerusalem stone. Often times, you can find yourself walking along the same path as those who lived in Jerusalem thousands of years ago. Yesterday was our first full day in Jerusalem. We spent the day getting acclimated to the city and taking a three hour walking tour through the four quarters. Today we visited the Holocaust Memorial of Yad Vashem which was extremely moving and also the daily services at the Armenian St. James Cathedral. As I said earlier, I have already learned so much about the various religions. However, the more that I learn the more I realize that I do not know. Luckily, we have another week or so here in Israel to learn more. Saturday, May 20, 2000 Great day! Woke up at 3:00 a.m. to travel by bus to Masada where we climbed the mountain to watch the sunrise. We then went and literally floated in the Dead Sea, the lowest point on Earth. Afterwards, we visited a national park and hiked to waterfalls. Finally, we drove all around to many holy sites, including Jericho and the site where the Dead Sea scrolls were found. Yesterday was also a great day. We went to Mt. Zion and saw Oskar Schindler's grave as well as what is believed to be the site of the Last Supper and also the site where the Virgin Mary passed away. We then followed many Christian pilgrims as they walked through the Old City to the 14 Stations of the Cross which begins where Jesus was condemned to death and ends at the spot where he was buried. A very moving journey. In the evening, we sat at the Western Wall and watched as the Jewish community made their way to the wall to celebrate the the Sabbath. The open air synagogue was very crowded and the air was filled with a festive spirit.
Monday, May 22, 2000 If I have not mentioned this before, I will now. The Israeli police and army can be found in great numbers all over Israel. In fact, it is compulsory for all Israeli youth, both men and women, to serve in the army. When the members of the Israeli army are not on duty, many still carry around their weapons because they are responsible for them. If they happen to lose the weapon, they are subject to a punishment which may include jail time. Many can be seen carrying their M-16 machine gun along with their book bags as they roam the streets with their friends. It is a very different scene. However, given the volatile situation in Israel, this type of protection is considered necessary. Below see off-duty army men on the left and on-duty on the right.
We have seen many army men and women board and depart from our bus in their army green uniforms. This, of course, makes us feel safe. We hope that this is just routine, and they are not expecting any terrorist activity on the particular bus that we are riding. Sitting across the aisle from us, is an on-duty army man who is sleeping with his machine gun just sitting between his legs. I really hope that there aren't any terrorists on our bus.
Tuesday, May 23, 2000 Very fun and athletic day. Today we rented bicycles and rode around the Sea of Galilee. We found the scenery and the historical and religious sites to be absolutely beautiful. We found the roads to be very hilly and the temperature to be quite hot. But seriously, we really enjoyed it. The town of Tiberias, however, leaves little to be desired. It is just a little town on the coast of the Sea of Galilee. We like our room. It has a large balcony that overlooks the sea and it is only $20 per night which is very cheap for Israel. However, there is one problem...which brings me to my next topic and that is the room situation in Israel. "GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT DON'T LET THE BED BUGS BITE" is what my parents would often say to me when I would get ready for bed as a small child. Of course, I believed this to be a cute little saying. I never thought that there was really such a thing as bed bugs. Well, let me tell you, THEY EXIST! And let me tell you, they are alive and well in the hostels of Israel. We first discovered bed bugs in our cute little hostel in Jerusalem. Poor Rich was the victim of what must have been hundreds of hungry little bed bugs. He has bites all over him...including his face. We were so happy to leave that place when we left Jerusalem. However, here we are at another hostel and I now have a few bed bug bites. I fared a lot better than poor Rich, however. We saw our friends, Jim and Alexy that we met in Jordan. They said that they also encountered a tribe of hungry little bed bugs at their hostel in Jerusalem. They counted hundreds of bites on their bodies. Apparently, bed bugs (I have also heard them called bed lice, which sounds disgusting) are a big problem in Israel. Yet, the rooms cost three times more here than any of the other countries that we have encountered so far (except Japan). We even have sleeping bags, but the buggers have penetrated through the bags, because we are still getting the bites even when we seal ourselves in our bags. Oh well, we will just have to hope that the bug blaster spray that we have will eventually wipe them out. It is a good thing that we like Israel so much, because this bed bug thing can really put a damper on things.
SAFED: ABSOLUTELY CHARMING. AKKO: FINE. Wednesday, May 24, 2000 This morning we woke up early, loaded up our packs and took the first bus out to the charming hill town of Safed. The highest town in Israel, Safed provides spectacular views of the green valleys of northern Israel. We enjoyed the day walking along the stone walkways and exploring the Jewish Synagogue Quarter and the Artists' Quarter. The Artists' Quarter consists of modest, yet fashionable, homes that double as the studios for the talented artists that have come from all over the world to live and work in this beautiful town. Late in the afternoon, we jumped on a bus to Akko, which is said to have the most complete and charming old town in all of Israel. We were off to a bad start when we learned that there were only three hostels in the old town. The choices were all very poor. We chose the cheapest and decided that our visit would be for only one day anyways. We were happy that we chose our room in time to run out to the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and watch the sun set. It was very beautiful. We walked around all evening just taking in the charm of the old city. There were very few tourists. We only counted a handful. This was very refreshing. The next morning we walked along the pier and watched the fishermen bring in their catch from the early morning hours. They were very proud as they held up their cod fish and tuna. Afterwards, we toured the sites. This did not take very long. Before long, we were on a bus to Tel Aviv. Akko has a lot of charm and it is still young to the concept of tourism, so we are very glad that we visited the old port town. However, if you only have a short time in Israel, you can give it a miss.
TEL AVIV: THE STYLING AND PROFILING MIAMI OF THE MIDDLE EAST Sunday, May 28, 2000 Day Four in Tel Aviv, and we are loving every minute of it. We have found a wonderful hotel named Hotel Nordau on the stylish brick pedestrian only Nahalat Binyamin Street near the Yemenite Quarter. We have a large balcony which makes for a great location for early morning coffee and pastries purchased from the nearby market. Our first full day in Tel Aviv was Friday. We spent the day exploring the old port town of Jaffa. This enchanting town is made up of narrow alleyways of artist shops, places of worship, and homes which make their way down to the harbor where we found swanky sea food restaurants, rough looking fishing boats and real live fisherman...not just some chumps out for a leisurely Friday afternoon outing with the boys. We actually purchased some art in Jaffa. We are very excited about the silk screen masterpiece done by Stanley Handelman. We are also very broke. However, 10 years from now when we admire the fine print on our wall, we will have forgotten about the dinners we had to give up in order to pay for it. Saturday we went to the beach. From sundown Friday to sundown Saturday Israel celebrates the Shabbat, the day of rest and religious worship. Most stores are closed, the busses do not run, the markets are shut down and all is quiet. The people are given a day to relax and play if they wish. The beaches of Tel Aviv is the perfect place for the Israeli teenagers, families and senior citizens to enjoy the Shabbat. We felt compelled to join them. The beaches were crowded with people sun bathing, playing soccer, beach tennis, swimming in the large waves of the Mediterranean Sea and talking on their cell phones. We had a great time taking it all in. In fact, we probably stayed on the beach longer than anyone else out there. We suffered the consequences later as we rubbed lotion on our red, sun burned skin. Saturday night we indulged in our second movie theater experience of the trip. This time we saw Magnolia, a creative movie starring Tom Cruise among other great actors. I would give it a thumbs up. Today is Sunday. The stores are open, the busses are running, the markets are open and all is back to normal. We visited a museum and walked the streets today. We topped off the day with a delicious pasta dinner at the Pasta Bar. It was a nice change from all of the falafels and shwarma that we have been eating. We have to wait until Wednesday to get our cameras from the repair shop. So, until then, we will enjoy Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and the wonderful people and culture of Israel. P.S. No more bed bugs. Perhaps it was a few "lice"-olated incidents. ha ha.
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