Israel (Feb 28-March 18)

I am in Jerusalem!
ISRAEL
Mark

Israel has been one of the most incredible parts of our trip yet. It was great being picked up at the airport! A rarity for us, as we usually have to walk by all the signs and excited family members waiting for others. This time Steve and Gissa were there, waiting with a minivan for the six of us and all our stuff. We headed south, as the weather was quite cold and rainy up north. Israel is a tiny country, some 500 Kms long! But the weather and terrain change magically before one's eyes, even in the small distance.

It was the first time we had to wear our "warm" gear. I put on one of my two pairs of 3/4 length pants, only to find business cards from Nepal in the pockets - the last time I'd worn them was in November! We all got out our new scarves, which we purchased in India, and put on any piece of warm clothing we had, as it was 15 degrees!

Dead Sea View of the shoreline

The drive south was strange, as there was hardly anyone on the road. Being Shabbat, everything was closed. The landscape was dry and rocky. We saw a wall which we thought might be "the" wall, and which we later found out was indeed the West Bank wall, but there are no signs along the way. The Dead Sea was our destination, about 120 Kms. south of Tel Aviv, where we landed. The roads were all beautiful and new, traffic light, and we made good time.

You descend to the Dead Sea, as it lies 417 metres below sea level. It is the lowest point on earth. There was a sign marking sea level, and some marking the depth below sea level as we drove. And then suddenly a body of water appeared on our left, without a big sign pointing and flashing: Dead Sea, Dead Sea. It was strangely quiet and empty. No hotels or tourist malls; no boat rentals or vacation spots. Nothing really, but signs warning you about swimming being prohibited in this area. We marvelled at the landscape, and looked at Jordon on the other side of the water.

Walking next to the Dead Sea

There are exactly two choices of accommodation at the Dead Sea: the Hostel, and the Kibbutz. The hostel was nice, but expensive. The Kibbutz was nice and expensive as well, but they threw in a free spa entrance, as well as dinner and breakfast, so we stayed there. In India some days before we had splashed out and rented three rooms, one for L and I and one for each of the kids. It was the first time they wanted a room of their own, and Jaiselmer was a good place to do it. It cost around 80 bucks CDN for the three rooms. At Ein Geddy, the Kibbutz, it cost us 380 dollars a night!! We were in shock.

Oasis in Ein Getti

Thankfully the rooms were nice, and the food INCREDIBLE! And it wasn't just because we'd been eating vegetarian Indian food for 6 weeks either, although I'm sure that contributed to our enjoyment of it. Even G & S loved the food. There were all manner of meats and fish and chicken and veggies and salads and breads and desserts for dinner; and for breakfast there were more incredible cheeses and smoked fish, salads and teas and yogurts and fruit. All of it all-you-can-eat.

The next day we went to the spa. It was cold and grey out, but we were determined to go into the Dead Sea. There were few people at the spa, which was large, with mineral baths inside, and mud baths and spring-heated showers outside, as well as the Dead Sea of course. When it was first built the spa was on the shores of the Dead Sea. Now it is a good 7 or 8 minute walk from the shore, as the water has receded at least 3 or 4 hundred metres in 20 years! As you walk down there are sign posts showing the shore levels at various years. It really will be gone within 50 years or so, nothing there but a little puddle.

Walk down to the Dead Sea swimming area

The spa provided big warm comfy bathrobes, and we all walked down to the the water bundled up. The shore has become very hard and prickly, as the salt and minerals have hardened, leaving a white base which you walk on. It can be quite sharp and very slippery, so we walked in slowly and painfully. You are also not supposed to put your face in the water, and even swallowing one drop can be dangerous and you are supposed to report it to the lifeguard immediately.

We all stepped gingerly into the cold water, finally allowing ourselves to drop right in, only to find that we floated, just like they say! We all sat propped up, feet out, upper body out, unable to sink. We even sat cross-legged without problem. We were pretty much alone, except for a couple of Spanish people. After our dunk we went up to the mud baths and slathered cold wet mud all over ourselves, and listened to the Spaniards, who told us we had to wait for the mud to dry. The sun made an appearance right on cue, and we stood around trying to dry the mud before freezing to death. Of course no one had the camera. Rinsing was great, as the water was hot spring water, a bit stinky, but salubrious I'm certain.

Relaxed and rejuvinated, we all went back to the hotel to wait for dinner. A flash flood had occurred from some rain, and we watched as the water flooded over the road and rushed to the Dead Sea. The water can come from as far away as Jerusalem!

The next day we left for that city, but stopped by Masada for a quick hike to the top of that mountain. It's not a mountain, but a pinnacle with a flat top. Here a group of 600 Jewish settlers had killed themselves rather than bow to Roman rule some 2,000 years ago. The site has been excavated (and is still being excavated) and the displays were fascinating, with some walls still having the original Roman paint!

Old Marble wall remains in Masada

The hike up was along a winding switchback, and took a good hour or so. You can take a fanicular, but we walked - even my 69 year old mother, there and back! We had delicious falafal afterward, and began our addiction to humous somewhere around this point.

Making it to the top of Masada

At the top of Masada

As Canadians driving around Israel is like a commute. Jerusalem was only 120 or so Kms. north. We arrived in the late evening, and after checking out an expensive hotel, opted to go to the old city, which seemed to elude us as we drove in. After all, it's hard to spot a 3,000 year-old walled city! We eventually did find it, and we eventually did find a hotel through the winding streets of Old Jerusalem. L and I set out on a scouting mission as the others waited in the car. We got to the Lutheran Guest House by asking every 10 metres or so. It is a beautiful building which has been lovingly restored. Once there, we found our way back to the car, and then had to circle through the Old City three times (it's one way) to find a parking spot! After we found one we had to hike about a kilometre to the Guest House, at night, through the narrow winding alleys. It was all quite fun, and the Armenian Tavern proved a great place to have a bite to eat once we had settled in.

Shopping in Muslim Quarter

Jerusalem was absolutely incredible. We all just loved it and had a really magical time there. It's by far the most powerful city I've been to, with Judaism, Christianity and Islam all laying claim to it. Ancient history, biblical legend, and modern history - still being played out - all mix together into a disorienting swirl of famous stories and long-lost ancestral pasts, both actual and mythical. Really, at the end of a day of touring the Old City, one is left with the certainty that there is no one truth, with fact on one side and the real story on the other. They are all stories - including the ones we generally agree upon to be "true" - and we are constantly rewriting them all.

Outside Jewish Quarter

We spent alot of time walking through the ancient, narrow, cobble-stoned streets of Old Jerusalem, moving from one quarter to the other, usually unaware of the change. Old Jerusalem is broken up into Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Armenian quarters. I know, I walked around for 2 weeks saying the same thing: "How did the Armenians get their own quarter?" The answer: they got in early and held tight to this day.

Jewish Quarter

But after two 3 hour walking tours through the Old City with our amazing guide Davr, we began to undertand the city, it`s history and people a little bit more. Our second tour was filled with incredible experiences - even Davr commented: "You guys are getting everything today!" It began at King David's tomb - a very holy spot for Jews, which is situated right underneath the room where Christ supposedly had his last supper, which is obviously significant for Christians. When we arrived in the last supper room there was a group of pilgrims from Eastern Europe (there were goups of pilgrims moving around all over Jerusalem all day from all over the world) who began chanting this beautiful, ancient Gregorian chant which echoed throughout the room and mystified everyone present.

King David statue with Dvir in foreground

Then, while waiting in the queue to get onto the Temple Mount, we heard drums beating and saw people singing and dancing. We were suddenly bombarded - by candy! A boy was having his Bar Mitzvah and they were celebrating. Then our guide got verbally accosted by another Israeli guide because he worked for this tour company. After that was settled by me and another guy from BC telling the other guide to take it off-line (pun intended), and that this was not the time and place to discuss union politics, a group of Israeli protesters tried to get onto the Temple Mount to decry the fact that this is where the promised Third Temple is going to be, and that they want to start building it now, and not wait any longer for God to do it. But the Israeli police were having nothing to do with it, and they would not let them through.

Jewish group trying to get into the Temple at the Mount

Davir speaking at the Temple Mount - Guards in the background

The Temple Mount is the place where the first two Jewish temples were built, and is now a Muslim area, with the Dome of the Mount open only to Muslims, and a Mosque just in front of it. The whole area is sealed off to non-Muslims except for certain times in the morning and afternoon.

Temple Mount in Muslim Quarter

We got onto the Temple Mount without problem, and then made our way to a far exit. Here, deep in the Muslim quarter, some of the retaining wall, which held the first and second temples, is exposed. Standing there were a group of a dozen or so secular Jewish people (in other words not Orthodox), with one of them telling a story of how he had come to this spot when he was younger and asked for a sign, which he received in the form of a bird coming onto his shoulder, and then this was followed by some beautiful and very heartfelt singing by the group, which we later found out was a song asking for the third temple to be built - right where the holy Muslim mosque and Dome of the Rock are at this moment! The Dome of the Rock is a large building with a solid gold dome which houses a sacred rock, or exposed portion of bedrock. At this spot it is believed, by the Jews and Muslims, that Abraham had tied his only son and was to execute him, AND it is the spot where Muslims also believe Mohamed lifted off to heaven when he died!

Cross in Christian Quarter

Church of the Holy Seplicre-Steve coming into main hall

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, built on the spot where Christ was said to have been crucified, is just a few minutes from this spot: it is a large and ancient church, with a mixture of extreme ornate areas and a room where there is a large half-burnt throne-like chair sitting by a charred wall. Because no one Christian group or sect can lay claim to this holy church (although they all try, with a fist-fight recently breaking out between two priests!), the keys to it are actually held by Muslims, and have been for the past 150 years! The chair still sits there charred after a fire as no one can agree on who is to repair or what is to be done with it.

Old Chair in disrepair

There are pilgrims here who have travelled thousands of kilometres and lined up to touch the spot on the bedrock where Christ's cross was placed, and some feet away there is a stone slab where it is said he was lain after being taken down, and there are people there kneeling, kissing the stone and weeping. Davr told us the slab has had to be replaced, as so many people have chipped off pieces of it. There are ancient crosses from the Crusaders chiselled into the walls marking their presence here (a type of ancient graffiti); there are small groups of people in tiny ancient carved out caves and alcoves chanting and reading from prayer books. It is all quite moving, regardless of ones beliefs. Everything is so present there, it feels as if history is alive.

Crosses carved by pilgrims

There is something called "The Jerusalemn Syndrone", and apparently almost every week someone gets the idea that s/he is some holy figure, usually Christ returned. At first we laughed when we heard about it, but after touring Jerusalem, it is easy to see how this can happen!

In Israel the workweek is centred around the Jewish sabbath, which is Saturday, and which begins on Friday night at sundown. We wanted to witness the Western Wall, the most holy site for Jews, on Friday night, to see what is done for Shabbat, but first we had to get our shopping done as all the stores are closed on Saturday! We had planned on having a Shabbat together on Friday night - our only one in Israel, and so we spent the last hour or two of store opening hours rushing through the local Jerusalem food market, buying everything for a huge Shabbat feast. The energy at the market was frenetic, as hawkers screamed things in Hebrew and people rushed through, buying last-minute items before everything closed up for the next day and a half. As we walked around we said "Shabbat Shalom" to people, which was really fun. It was actually quite enjoyable walking around on Saturday and having all the stores closed. I remember when it was like that in Canada, on Sunday, and I had fond memories of the enforced quietness. I think we lost something in our pursuit of the freedom to shop... ALL THE TIME.

Sweets at the market

It was the first time we self-catered since Japan, where we often went to the local supermarket to buy fantastic Japanese delicacies and eat them at Satomi's house. Self-catering is just not an option in SE Asia, but in Israel it was fantastic: fresh fruits and veggies galore, great cheeses, olives, breads, bbqued chickens, marinated and smoked fish, and of course humous! We had become addicted to humous, and craved it three times a day! As we dashed about getting our dinner ready, I began looking for Shabbat candles. I said to my mother: "What we need is one of those Labovitch people to come and give us some free candles." A few minutes later I left a store without any luck finding candles. I noticed the gang across the street waiving something in the air. When I got there sure enough they had the candles, and the Labovitch girl had given them to us for free! We ditched our feast at the hotel and high-tailed it to the Wall, as sunset for lighting candles was 5:05, and it was already 4:30.

Walking in the Market in Jerusalem

When we finally made it through the metal detectors and by the armed guards who are there 24/7, as the Wall is open 24/7, there was not much action, and we figured we'd missed the main goings-on for Shabbat. Because the Wall is run by Orthodox Jews, it is split up into two sections: one for men and one for women. They are not two equal sections either, with the men's being huge, and the women's tiny and cramped. And so we split up, with Steve, Caleb and I heading to the men's section, which is separated by a little fence from the women's.

The Western Wall- Men on Left and Women on Right

But as we waited, more and more people began showing up, rearranging the chairs and tables in front of the wall, and one by one they began dovening (praying), standing by the wall bending back and forth nodding at the Wall. We remembered that men do not light the Friday night candles, women do, as these guys were in no rush to make it home for the candle-lighting deadline. More men arrived, with each different Orthodox sect battling it out with the other for the freakiest hats. There were many Western and secular men there too, as well as tourists from India and Japan and all over the world. It was incredible to see all these people coming to this area to pray. It was great to be there together with Steve and Caleb, sharing the experience. A little distance from the wall there was a huge circle of women who were singing and dancing in celebration, and next to them a group of secular men also singing and celebrating. Other people walked arm-in-arm singing and dancing together. It was such a wonderful scene, with everyone being drawn to this powerful area, despite everything!

Said Jesus placed his hand here when stopping to brace himself with the heavy cross on his back

That is the strange thing about Israel: if you did not watch the news it would be hard to know there was any trouble there at all. The army was not nearly as present as I had anticipated. I thought there would be jeeps and patrols everywhere, driving up and down, with bunkers on the street corners, etc. But no such thing. There were spots of army presence, like a tank maneouvre we'd seen in the Golan Heights, and Jerusalem has armed police and army throughout the winding streets, but for the most part it is all very discrete and hidden. Life is quite normal. Israel is also tiny. Teensy tiny small! Which makes the situation that much sadder, as you can't help but wonder why they cannot have this tiny little piece of land and be left to live in peace.

Peace Grafitti on a wall in Jerusalem

We left Jerusalem and headed up north, to see the Sea of Galillee, and to visit the town of Zefat - renowned for it's Kabalistic studies. Again we arrived at night in the dark without a clue where we were supposed to go. We had the name of a hotel from Lonely Planet, so we stopped and asked a cabbie where it was. He told us the hotel was closed - and had been for years. Then he told us of another good and inexpensive hotel. He took out a small piece of paper and pen and drew us a map, as he spoke no English. He explained as he drew a short line, followed by a curve, followed by another straight line and another curve which was followed by a line which he then kept drawing all the way across the table - about 10 inches off the paper! He did this twice, just to be sure we understood. Steve and I headed back to the car. Everyone asked where we were supposed to go, and we said, "No clue." We showed them the map and we all laughed our heads off. Eventually we found the hotel we were looking for, which ended up to be the same hotel at the end of the table, which ended up to be a wonderful place run by a guy named Shlomo - how could it be bad?

Hotel in Zefat

Owner of the hotel - Shlomo

Our first night in Zefat was quiet and cold, and the Kabbala was alive, as I had my most amazing out of body experience yet, becoming completely conscious in my dream and eventually lifting up and flying. Zefat is a tiny town with many Orthodox Jews. It was fun shopping in the little market, as these usually very insular people made small but meaningful gestures to reach out to us, curious about these strange folks in their town. One man picked up a bottle of wine we were purchasing, looked at it and put it down and commented it on it. We then talked to him for a while. Others made similar gestures to evoke conversation. It was quite strange being in a Jewish town, but feeling like we were in another culture, which we were.

Streets of Zefat

Purim feast at our little hotel in Zefat

Finding a playground in Zefat

Zefat is also known as an artistic centre, and Gissa and Steve ended up buying a gorgeous painting of a fiddler on a roof! It just so happened that the painter lives in Montreal and only sells his art at this gallery in Zefat!

Fiddler on the Roof Painting

From Zefat we went to Tel Aviv, which is the fast-paced secular part of Israel. There people fill the bars and restaurants until 4 or 5 in the morning, as I found out one night when roaming through the streets until 4 a.m! I ended up eating fantastic pizza at 3:30 a.m. while watching the goings-on in the bars and the street around me. All very fun.

I drove Gissa and Steve to the airport from Tel Aviv. It had been a great time with them. We had not travelled with anyone other than Caleb's friend Jesse, who met us in India, and Israel had been a very very enjoyable time for all of us.

The next day we drove down to Eilat, the southernmost tip of Israel, as we were going to Dahab, a small seaside town on the Red Sea in Egypt. This part of the Red Sea has Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all within a few Kilmotres of each other! From Eilat we took a taxi, and in 4 minutes were at the border.

Border to Egypt

We walked about 100 metres and were in Egypt, where dark-skinned men walked around in neck to ankle robes with scarves on their heads drinking tea and smoking sheesha. We had been travelling hard for some 7 or 8 weeks, hardly staying in a place for more than one or two nights and were all very tired. We ended up staying in Dahab 15 days, and did very little, if nothing, many of those days. But that is a different blog entry.

Mark