Jerusalem - Day Two

Friday 22.Aug.08

After my coffee and bagel I walked back to the hotel to meet Kherieh and Vicki at 2PM. When she arrived she drove us to the Ambassador Hotel which was in the governmental region of Jerusalem – where a lot of of embassies and consulates are located. The hotel restaurant was lovely with an outside atrium-type area. Kherieh ordered us mezze, which was a sample of every kind of salad and dip they had. It was amazing. I don’t even know what half of it was, but it was delicious nonetheless. I wish I would have taken a picture of the spread. In addition to that I ordered lamb kebabs. I was so full from eating the mezze that I could not even come close to finishing the kebabs. We sat there for quite a while chatting, eating, and drinking Turkish coffee. After dinner Kherieh took us to the botanical gardens or Wohl Rose Garden over by the Knesset. There were flowers and roses from every country in the world. When we arrived at the German section, the sign that indicated that the flowers had been donated by Germany had been vandalized – every time the sign said “Germany” it had been scratched out. It is amazing to me that after all this time there is such animosity towards Germany because of what happened 60 years ago.

After walking around the garden for a while Kherieh gave us a driven tour of Jerusalem. We drove past PM Olmert’s house as well as the President’s residence. We also drove by the Israel Museum, which contains portions of the Dead Sea scrolls. We then headed south towards the German Colony and then back up north passing by the infamous King David Hotel. The German Colony is an area of Jerusalem where many Arabs had lived before 1967. They were forced out of their homes and the Jews moved in. It is quite a nice neighborhood and evidence of the once Arab neighborhood is evident by the Arabic script located in the stones of many of the buildings there. Kherieh took us towards northeast Jerusalem and up Mt. Scopus, where Hebrew University is located. The view from the mountain is amazing – you can see a huge portion of the city, including the old city and the Dome of the Rock. We arrived just before sunset and I was able to capture it on camera. There was a religious tour group up there who were holding hands singing songs. It was beautiful in an odd sort of way.

Jerusalem - Day One

Thursday 21.Aug.08
After breakfast I headed out to the old city of Jerusalem. I entered at Jaffa Gate, where David’s Tower is located. The old city is unreal; a labyrinth of alley-like streets filled with markets, vendors, and restaurants. I managed to make my way to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. I have to admit that I did not know much of the church, but quickly found out upon entering. On the ground lay a wet stone. Many pilgrims surrounded the stone praying and soaking towels in the water; kissing the stone, dipping their fingers in the water, etc. I found out that this was allegedly the stone where Jesus’ body was prepared for burial. In the middle of the church is the actual ‘holy sepulcher,’ in which is the stone that enclosed the cave that Jesus was buried in. There was a large line to get into the area that the stone was in. I didn’t go in. I was amazed by the reactions of a lot of the tourists there. They were so serious about what they were doing. Head coverings, cross signs, kissing and touching certain holy relics.

When I finished looking around the church I decided to try and make my way to the Damascus Gate because according to a guide book I had there was an open market on the other side of the wall. When I neared the wall I was stopped by some Israeli policemen who told me that the area was only for Muslims, but that at 1:30 to 2:30 it was open to the public. A shopkeeper who was nearby offered me a cup of Turkish coffee and I accepted – my first one! The shopkeeper’s name was Basem. He lived right next to his shop. He didn’t know English very well; however I was happy to just be there hanging out and people watching. The Israeli police were really nice and I met several of them as there was a police station just one door down. It was interesting to see the interaction of Basem who is an Arab and the police who are Jewish. They were like old chums – joking and laughing, sharing cigarettes, etc. It was beautiful. I hung out there long enough to also have my first mint tea. It was delicious and Basem even made it without sugar. I got a lot of comments on my feet tattoos. The Arabs that I met thought that they were nice, but too big and not a good place to have them. They felt that they should be smaller and maybe on my upper arms. The Jews thought they were beautiful and said nothing about the size and placement. Interesting juxtaposition. As the afternoon wore on, I probably could have stayed all day, but I had to meet Kherieh at 2PM. I made my way back to the hotel, sweating the whole way.

Later in the day Kherieh, Vicki, and I made our way north towards Nablus and to my official first entry into the West Bank. The separation barrier is pretty unreal. It is larger than it seems in photos and really does look like the walls of a prison. The road to Nablus was nice, albeit winding. I have been quite blessed to not get motion sickness so far on this trip. I saw settlements which are evident by their strategic location on top of hills and quality of construction, and Arab villages which are easy to spot because of their towering minarets and decrepit buildings.
We neared the checkpoint that I have heard so much about – the one that is extremely difficult to enter and takes a special permit to get through. We turned left and started heading up a hill before we reached the checkpoint. This road is only to be used by the Jewish settlers or Israeli plated cars. We reached a village at the top of the hill which is a “Samaritan” village. Samaritans are a small Judaic religious group who have their own Torah and believe it to be superior to that of traditional Jews. Because it is such a small group (about 700), there is a lot of consanguine marriage and therefore a lot of disabled people live in this village. Our driver parked the van and within minutes we were picked up by another driver who had Palestinian license plates.

We then made our way through the “checkpoint,” which was more like a barrier with two Israeli soldiers guarding it. They waved us through and within a few meters there was another van waiting to pick us up. This van was an an-Najah University vehicle. The reason we had to cross through the barrier in a Palestinian plated car is because Israeli plated cars are not allowed into Nablus. Nablus is absolutely beautiful and located along hills and in a valley. It is quite grimy and there was a lot of trash everywhere. Children played in the streets and the drivers were insane. We arrived to the an-Najah University campus which is huge and gorgeous overlooking the city of Nablus. The graduation was held at an outside amphitheater at the back of the campus. We were met by security personnel who escorted me, Vicki, and the original van driver to our seats – front row of course. We arrived around 4:30 and although the graduation didn’t begin until 6:00 the place was packed. The graduation was awesome and I was so glad to be there. The graduates filed in wearing their caps and gowns and keffiyeh patterned sashes. There was a choir who sang the Palestinian national anthem – yes they do have one. The families of the graduates were so excited and crowded around in front of us to take pictures of and give flowers to their loved ones. It was beautiful and chaotic and I loved every second of it. Unfortunately we had to depart at 6:30 because the checkpoint closed at 7. We were given VIP treatment and the ceremony. We were offered water a few times and paths were opened to us when we needed to leave.

We left the same way we came, although we had a different driver for the Palestinian plated car this time. I can’t even imagine having to do this twice a day, 5 days a week like Kherieh does. A simple thing like going to work is something that so many people take for granted. We made our way back to Jerusalem, which is stunning at night.

Here I Am, Jerusalem!

Wednesday 20.Aug.08
I arrived into Israel today around 3PM. Ben Gurion Airport is very nice. There is a central hub area where there are plenty of restaurants for people to eat at before their respective departures. In the center is a fountain lying below a glass dome. The first stop was the “passport check.” I was feeling very nervous and had been conjuring up a story to tell them for some time. The lines were short and I arrived at a counter with a not so nice looking woman behind it. She asked what flight number I was on. I answered. She asked what my reason for visiting Israel was. I said that it was mainly for religious reasons and to see the holy sites, but I also said that I was on vacation and had always wanted to come to Israel. She asked if I was by myself. I said “yes… crazy right?” She laughed. She asked me where I was staying. I answered, “the Notre Dame Center in Jerusalem.” She then asked how long I would be in Israel for. I lied and said four weeks and that I was staying the first two weeks in Jerusalem and the second two in Tel Aviv and Haifa. She said that my earrings were very beautiful. I told her that my friend bought them for me in India. She was very kind and wished me a pleasant visit.

It did not take me long to spot my driver. He was a small, 30-something Arab man with a kind smile. He immediately helped me with my bags and I followed him to his taxi. The heat in Tel Aviv was instantly evident and I was curious to know if I would be able to handle it. Luckily the taxi driver had good air conditioning so I was able to cool off and enjoy my first drive through Israel.

My first impressions were regarding how monotone the landscape was. Everything seemed to have a gray hue to it… the rocks, the grass, the trees, the houses, etc. Most of the towns are located up on the tops of hills. My driver, Hamir did not speak English super well, but we were able to have a bit of a conversation. He was impressed by what little Arabic I knew. Hamir lives in East Jerusalem and although he is not married he “has someone who drives him crazy.” He has a brother who lives in Ramallah. Hamir said that everyone in Jerusalem is so political that it can make your head explode. I can only imagine. He decided to take me a back way to show me some of the Arab sections of Israel. At one point he pointed at a wall, but it was not the separation barrier, but rather a wall that surrounded was used as a means of keeping Jewish towns separate from Arab ones. As we drove towards Israel I was able to spot several IDF vehicles stopped on the sides of the roads. Most that we passed involved IDF officers interrogating Arab citizens. Hamir decided that he wanted to show me more “politics” so he took me past a prison (one of many he says). It was amazing to me how much the walls of the prison looked like the walls of the separation barrier. Nearly identical I’d say.

My first glimpse of Jerusalem and I was in awe. The white stone flats and businesses blanketing the hills… the slightly dusty air...the people. We passed through a Jewish section first (in West Jerusalem). There were young Jews, old Jews, orthodox Jews, children with dredles, etc. It was beautiful. It did not take too long to arrive at my hotel. The hotel is awesome! The outside is unreal and the lobby is beautiful with its arches and Christian art. The room albeit simple is everything I could hope for. The view out my window points in the direction of the Mount of Olives and the old city. Amazingly stunning! Jerusalem, here I am.