Friday, October 9, 2009
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Homeward Bound
Day 86, October 10th, 2008
First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for reading my blog over the past few months and sharing my travels with me. With all of the emails and comments I have received, it has really made me feel like I’ve had company on a trip that was otherwise completed mostly solo. My trip is coming to an end but check back over the next week or so because I have a ton of videos that I am going to upload from home when I have an internet connection that can accommodate more than email.
Right now, I am on a plane over the Atlantic Ocean. I left three months ago headed West and am about to complete my trip around the world returning from the East. As my trip ends, I reflect back at all that I’ve seen, done, and experienced.
Over the past 3 months, I’ve:
-Set foot on 4 continents
-Spent at least one night in 11 foreign countries
-Visited a total of 15 foreign countries
-Swam in the Indian Ocean, the Straights of Malacca, the Andaman Sea, the South China Sea, the Gulf of Tonkin, the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
-Flew by the highest spot on Earth: Mt. Everest.
-Swam in the lowest spot on Earth: the Dead Sea
-Traveled over… 27,000 miles by air, 1700 miles by train, 2000 miles by car/bus, 300 miles by boat, 20 miles by subway, 10 miles by camel, donkey, horse, etc, and 2 miles by cable car. That is a total travel distance of over 32,000 miles
-Seen wonders of the modern and ancient world including the Pyramids of Egypt, the Petronas Towers, Angkor Wat, Petra, and countless others.
-Met dozens of fascinating people some of which I hope to remain friends with for years to come.
-Prayed to many deities including Christ, Allah, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Buddha, and a tree
-Visited the homelands of two of the most important religious figures in history: Jesus and Buddha
-Visited countless UNESCO World Heritage Sites
-Eaten some of the best and worst food that one can put into their mouth
- Lost a ton of weight and then gained it all back plus some.
-Experienced every emotion known to man: joy, excitement, fear, loneliness, trepidation, frustration, accomplishment, wonder, fortuitousness, adventurousness, peace, and happiness.
-Laughed… a lot.
-Broken one foot
-Had my fair share of blisters and sore feet
-Grown a few more grey hairs
-Experienced other cultures that I didn’t even know existed when I left in June like the Iban in Borneo or the floating villages of Cambodia.
-Seen evidence of the worst horror humans can inflict on each other and also witnessed acts of generosity that would thaw the coldest heart.
-Loved being on the road, missed my bed, and after a short break, can’t wait to plan my next adventure.
-Did not contract Malaria……
Best Regards,
David
First of all, I wanted to thank everyone for reading my blog over the past few months and sharing my travels with me. With all of the emails and comments I have received, it has really made me feel like I’ve had company on a trip that was otherwise completed mostly solo. My trip is coming to an end but check back over the next week or so because I have a ton of videos that I am going to upload from home when I have an internet connection that can accommodate more than email.
Right now, I am on a plane over the Atlantic Ocean. I left three months ago headed West and am about to complete my trip around the world returning from the East. As my trip ends, I reflect back at all that I’ve seen, done, and experienced.
Over the past 3 months, I’ve:
-Set foot on 4 continents
-Spent at least one night in 11 foreign countries
-Visited a total of 15 foreign countries
-Swam in the Indian Ocean, the Straights of Malacca, the Andaman Sea, the South China Sea, the Gulf of Tonkin, the Red Sea, the Dead Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.
-Flew by the highest spot on Earth: Mt. Everest.
-Swam in the lowest spot on Earth: the Dead Sea
-Traveled over… 27,000 miles by air, 1700 miles by train, 2000 miles by car/bus, 300 miles by boat, 20 miles by subway, 10 miles by camel, donkey, horse, etc, and 2 miles by cable car. That is a total travel distance of over 32,000 miles
-Seen wonders of the modern and ancient world including the Pyramids of Egypt, the Petronas Towers, Angkor Wat, Petra, and countless others.
-Met dozens of fascinating people some of which I hope to remain friends with for years to come.
-Prayed to many deities including Christ, Allah, Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Buddha, and a tree
-Visited the homelands of two of the most important religious figures in history: Jesus and Buddha
-Visited countless UNESCO World Heritage Sites
-Eaten some of the best and worst food that one can put into their mouth
- Lost a ton of weight and then gained it all back plus some.
-Experienced every emotion known to man: joy, excitement, fear, loneliness, trepidation, frustration, accomplishment, wonder, fortuitousness, adventurousness, peace, and happiness.
-Laughed… a lot.
-Broken one foot
-Had my fair share of blisters and sore feet
-Grown a few more grey hairs
-Experienced other cultures that I didn’t even know existed when I left in June like the Iban in Borneo or the floating villages of Cambodia.
-Seen evidence of the worst horror humans can inflict on each other and also witnessed acts of generosity that would thaw the coldest heart.
-Loved being on the road, missed my bed, and after a short break, can’t wait to plan my next adventure.
-Did not contract Malaria……
Best Regards,
David
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tel Aviv, Israel
Day 85, October 9th, 2008
Today is my last day and Tel Aviv is my last port of call on my worldwide tour. I am both very excited and equally as nervous to make the trip home tomorrow. I am excited to come back and catch up with my family and friends, take a nap on my couch, wake up in my own bed, and see how my house has fared my absence and the subsequent party that was held there.
I am nervous that I am coming back big bills, no job, no car, winter approaching, and the inevitable reverse culture shock. It is going to be strange being in a place where I can brush my teeth with tap water, drink something with ice in it, not have to clean sand out of everything several times a day, or live out of a backpack. Repacking my backpack to accommodate every day’s needs has become as common to me as opening my blinds in the morning back home. I almost do it without thinking at this point.
Anyways, back to Tel Aviv. Today is Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is the most holy Jewish Holiday and the country completely shuts down from sunset yesterday until sunset today. When I say the country shuts down, I mean it is like someone flipped a switch. There are no radio or television broadcasts, the airports and public transportation are shut down, there is not a single business open and most of our hotel is even shut down. The entire Jewish population fasts for the entire day so there is not a single place to get food or drink. Like I had said in my last post, we were lucky to make it to a supermarket before it closed or we would involuntarily be participating in the Jewish fast.
We knew immediately that our hotel stay wouldn’t be a normal one when we showed up in the lobby and the reception desk greeted us by name. We were the only people checking in yesterday. The last day and a half has been more like camping indoors than staying at a nice hotel which was the original intention for the last few days of all of our trips. There is no restaurant, bar, housekeeping, etc. We have been making sandwiches and using ice and a small fridge to keep everything cold. Even with the skeleton crew at the hotel, it is still much nicer than a lot of places that I stayed at over the last three months!
Being here during Yom Kippur is very nice in a lot of ways. Last night, in the peace of the night, we walked around for a while. The roads are shut down and there is not a single car out. It was almost eerie being in a city of almost a half-million people and not seeing one car driving down the road. We did see most of the inhabitants, though, as it is traditional to walk around at night after sunset. Most people wore white and took to the streets with friends and family enjoying the warm, quiet night. There are so many people walking around but with no other signs of modern society it reminded me of a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie.
(These two pictures are from the internet)
Yom Kippur is known as the “Day of Atonement.” The central theme for the Jewish population is repentance and atonement for past sins. I am, of course, sin free but thought that it was appropriate that my trip would end on a day in which reflection on one’s life played such an important part. I can reflect over the past few months with all that I have seen and done and everyone that I have met and consider myself a very lucky person. I am going to write a summary entry tomorrow on the plane but for today, I am going to remind myself often that I was given an opportunity that most people, in the US particularly, do not get and be thankful for every moment I have experienced.
Since there is absolutely nothing open in the entire country, it was a nice excuse to do nothing but lay on the beach all day long. We spent time swimming in the Mediterranean, body surfing, napping, reflecting, and not much more. It was a very lazy day and perfect for the last day of the trip. At one point, Maria got very bored and decided to spend about an hour making a sprawling sand castle. Being from Colombia, her castle was complete with Bull Fighting Arena and Soccer Pitch. She was so proud of it. No sooner did she finish her masterpiece then she went swimming and a dog came by and relieved himself in her castle courtyard.
After sunset, as the city slowly awoke from its Yom Kippur slumber, Maria, Brian, Karen, and I walked the 40 minutes or so down to the old neighborhood of Jaffa which is the site of the original port here. We had a good dinner and it was a perfect end to an incredible trip.
Right now, I sit in the Tel Aviv airport around 3AM local time ready to board the first of my flights that will take me back to Kansas City. The peace and tranquility that was Yom Kippur in Israel was shattered with the security process here. I completely understand why they have to have the tightest security on Earth here but I also believe that they could make the process a little friendlier. At best, I felt like a common criminal while going through the 2 ½ hour security process. At worst, there were times that I didn’t feel like they were going to let me out of the country. It was a very intense few hours. Israel was at or near the top of my list of places to revisit before I had to go through the airport but now, I am not so sure. I don’t want to go through that again!
Today is my last day and Tel Aviv is my last port of call on my worldwide tour. I am both very excited and equally as nervous to make the trip home tomorrow. I am excited to come back and catch up with my family and friends, take a nap on my couch, wake up in my own bed, and see how my house has fared my absence and the subsequent party that was held there.
I am nervous that I am coming back big bills, no job, no car, winter approaching, and the inevitable reverse culture shock. It is going to be strange being in a place where I can brush my teeth with tap water, drink something with ice in it, not have to clean sand out of everything several times a day, or live out of a backpack. Repacking my backpack to accommodate every day’s needs has become as common to me as opening my blinds in the morning back home. I almost do it without thinking at this point.
Anyways, back to Tel Aviv. Today is Yom Kippur.
Yom Kippur is the most holy Jewish Holiday and the country completely shuts down from sunset yesterday until sunset today. When I say the country shuts down, I mean it is like someone flipped a switch. There are no radio or television broadcasts, the airports and public transportation are shut down, there is not a single business open and most of our hotel is even shut down. The entire Jewish population fasts for the entire day so there is not a single place to get food or drink. Like I had said in my last post, we were lucky to make it to a supermarket before it closed or we would involuntarily be participating in the Jewish fast.
We knew immediately that our hotel stay wouldn’t be a normal one when we showed up in the lobby and the reception desk greeted us by name. We were the only people checking in yesterday. The last day and a half has been more like camping indoors than staying at a nice hotel which was the original intention for the last few days of all of our trips. There is no restaurant, bar, housekeeping, etc. We have been making sandwiches and using ice and a small fridge to keep everything cold. Even with the skeleton crew at the hotel, it is still much nicer than a lot of places that I stayed at over the last three months!
Being here during Yom Kippur is very nice in a lot of ways. Last night, in the peace of the night, we walked around for a while. The roads are shut down and there is not a single car out. It was almost eerie being in a city of almost a half-million people and not seeing one car driving down the road. We did see most of the inhabitants, though, as it is traditional to walk around at night after sunset. Most people wore white and took to the streets with friends and family enjoying the warm, quiet night. There are so many people walking around but with no other signs of modern society it reminded me of a scene from a post-apocalyptic movie.
(These two pictures are from the internet)Yom Kippur is known as the “Day of Atonement.” The central theme for the Jewish population is repentance and atonement for past sins. I am, of course, sin free but thought that it was appropriate that my trip would end on a day in which reflection on one’s life played such an important part. I can reflect over the past few months with all that I have seen and done and everyone that I have met and consider myself a very lucky person. I am going to write a summary entry tomorrow on the plane but for today, I am going to remind myself often that I was given an opportunity that most people, in the US particularly, do not get and be thankful for every moment I have experienced.
Since there is absolutely nothing open in the entire country, it was a nice excuse to do nothing but lay on the beach all day long. We spent time swimming in the Mediterranean, body surfing, napping, reflecting, and not much more. It was a very lazy day and perfect for the last day of the trip. At one point, Maria got very bored and decided to spend about an hour making a sprawling sand castle. Being from Colombia, her castle was complete with Bull Fighting Arena and Soccer Pitch. She was so proud of it. No sooner did she finish her masterpiece then she went swimming and a dog came by and relieved himself in her castle courtyard.
After sunset, as the city slowly awoke from its Yom Kippur slumber, Maria, Brian, Karen, and I walked the 40 minutes or so down to the old neighborhood of Jaffa which is the site of the original port here. We had a good dinner and it was a perfect end to an incredible trip.
Right now, I sit in the Tel Aviv airport around 3AM local time ready to board the first of my flights that will take me back to Kansas City. The peace and tranquility that was Yom Kippur in Israel was shattered with the security process here. I completely understand why they have to have the tightest security on Earth here but I also believe that they could make the process a little friendlier. At best, I felt like a common criminal while going through the 2 ½ hour security process. At worst, there were times that I didn’t feel like they were going to let me out of the country. It was a very intense few hours. Israel was at or near the top of my list of places to revisit before I had to go through the airport but now, I am not so sure. I don’t want to go through that again!
Haifa and Akko, Israel
Days 83-84, October 7-8, 2008
Shalom!
This will be a short entry. The last two days we’ve had a lot of rushing and a little doing so there isn’t too much to report on.
Our last morning in Jerusalem, we got a little later start than we had planned. I think that everyone was moving slower than they would have liked due to the spirits we had imbibed the night before in honor of our departure.
Our destination for the day was the northern Israeli city of Haifa. Haifa is a major Israeli port and the worldwide home of the Bahai religion. Haifa is a city of over a quarter million and has a history going back over 3500 years. Most recently, it has gained some notoriety for being attacked by rockets by Hezbollah during the Israeli war with Lebanon in 2006 .
We took the 2 hour bus ride there which is a fine way to travel around Israel if you can read a bus schedule. By the time that we got to Haifa, we were almost too late to do anything so we just walked around the city for a few hours. Haifa is built onto the side of Mt. Carmel and has the most unique subway I have seen. It is slanted to account for the slope of the mountain. When you are going up, it feels like you should be in a cable car above ground and not a subway below it.
The highlights of Haifa, on the quick, are the Bahai Gardens and the views of the Mediterranean Sea.
The Bahai Gardens and Temple dominate the topography of Haifa. The Temple is the most distinct feature of the city and, though we were too late to tour them, the gardens were impressive to view from outside.
The Bahai faith was founded in the 19th century and is a fast growing world religion. The Bahai believe that their prophet, Bahaullah, is the most recent in the line of Abraham, Buddha, Moses, Jesus, and Mohammad. They try to point out the historical and spiritual unity of the major world religions and try to work towards peace and tolerance on a global scale. It is an interesting modern religion and I suggest taking a few minutes to look it up on Wikipedia. One thing is for sure, they can garden.
We ate in the German colony below the Bahai Gardens and had an early evening to contrast the one from the night before.
In morning, we woke up and hopped on the train to go a few kilometers north to the modern town of Akko, Israel. Modern Akko is a sleepy fishing town but was home to the medieval town of Acre which was a crusader stronghold. It passed between Muslim and Crusader hands several times and was captured by the Muslim Army for the last time in 1291 AD. We were in a rush because we had to get to Tel Aviv so we ran through the sights quickly. The highlights were the city walls on the Mediterranean and the Templar Tunnels dug below the city to connect the crusader buildings. We also visited the old Turkish Bathhouse that is now a museum.
Yom Kippur was starting at sundown this day. It is the most Holy Jewish Holiday and the entire country literally shuts down so we had to be in Tel Aviv, settled, and stocked up on food before all of the stores closed. We took a taxi from Haifa to Tel Aviv and it was a good thing, too, because by the time we checked in and got to the supermarket, things were already starting to close. They actually closed the supermarket a few minutes after we entered. After we bought some food, there were some very concerned tourists waiting outside wondering not happy that they just involuntarily joined into the 24-hour Yom Kippur fast.
I’ll write about Yom Kippur and Tel Aviv in my next entry.
I’ll write about Yom Kippur and Tel Aviv in my next entry.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Jerusalem
Days 80-82, October 4-6, 2008
Shalom!
As far as the cities I have visited in world, I rank Jerusalem just below Rome as one of my favorites. As I said before, I am staying right inside the gates of the Old City and have some of the most Holy locations of monotheism only minutes away. If I go outside of the city gate, though, New Jerusalem is right there with her modern malls, restaurants, and nightlife. My only decision when I leave the hotel is do I turn left to see history or right to eat, drink, and be merry.
I actually don’t have to go that far to eat, drink, and be merry. My hotel is situated off of a little alley and sharing the alley with us are two bars. My friends and I have got to know Christian Palestinians that own the place and have hung out there quite of bit the last few nights. In the middle of the square is a Roman mile post that was excavated near the hotel. It is written about a Roman general and commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem in 67 AD. My hotel, The New Imperial, has a lot of history. The building was originally built in the late 1800’s for Kaiser Wilhelm II to stay in when he visiting the Holy Land. It and the surrounding buildings are owed by the Greek Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of the Church lives only a few blocks away and personally leased the buildings to the business owners. The Patriarch is the head of that Church equal to the Pope in the Catholic Church. The hotel was leased to the family that operates it in the 1940’s and has operated by father, son, and grandson since then. They are a incredibly nice family and before I left, I sat and talked to the Mr. Djanni, the son of the original owner, for a while. He has lived in Jerusalem for 70 years and has seen and lived through a lot so he has an interesting perspective and knowledge on the mideast.
The hotel is in the Christian quarter which is filled with churches. Every morning, church woke me up with her bells at 6:45. Then for good measure, another church provided a 7:00 snooze alarm bell ringing. On Sunday morning, with my window open, I stayed in bed and listened to the morning services all around me including the singing and chanting in Latin. Amongst the sounds of the Christian services, you can hear the Muslim calls to prayer for one of their 5 prayer times a day. Now that I think about it, Jerusalem in actually a pretty noisy city.
My friends did make it in from Ein Gedi and I have to admit, after hearing what they went through, I am glad that I had another night in Jerusalem. Friday evening and Saturday was the Sabbath where everything shuts down here in the Jewish world. Ein Gedi is in the middle of nowhere and 100% Jewish so they had nothing to do, eat, or drink. They ended up getting a taxi to Jerusalem about 6 PM Saturday night and when they showed up, they all had the look of starving dogs in their eyes and recounted the hell that they had been through for the past 24 hours. I felt kind of bad because in Old City, Jews are the vast minority so while my friends were starved and bored to death, I was eating, drinking, and exploring one of the greatest cities on Earth.
Jerusalem really is amazing. It is the holiest city to both Judaism and Christianity and right behind Mecca for Islam. A city has had a wall here for over 5000 years and the name of Jerusalem shows up in Egyptian texts over 3000 years ago. Today, Old City is split into four geographic quarters: the Armenian, the Jewish, the Christian, and the Arab. The Armenian quarter is a walled city within a walled city which is locked every night and re-opened every morning. The Arab, Christian, and Jewish quarters are opened to each other and are divided geographically by main streets. The Christian, Jewish, and Armenian quarter all have about 2000 residents while the Arab quarter has almost 30,000. The makes Palestinian Arabs the prominent majority of Old City Jerusalem. Almost all of the businesses here are run by Palestinians including our hotel. I had thought that with the geopolitical climate here that there would be a lot of tension between the races and while it is evident, it is not as pronounced as I expected. I think that they are all proud of the city in which they live and that gives them some common ground despite the rest of their differences. Oddly enough, the majority of the violence right now in Jerusalem is from Orthodox Jews trying to push religion on secular Jews.
To get a good overview of the history and geography of the city, my hotel recommended a free-walking tour that goes for about 4 hours and starts everyday in front of my hotel at the Jaffa gate. I was very skeptical of a free tour. My experience is that if you are not paying for a tour or getting a “good deal,” they make up the difference by spending most of the tour at souvenir shops in which they make a little kickback for bring you in. The hotel said that shouldn’t be a problem with this tour group and so I figured that I’d try it out and if it wasn’t good, I’d just walk away.
My free Jerusalem tour was one of the best that I’ve had on my entire trip. The company is just starting out here and is trying to build a name for itself by word of mouth. They are operating throughout Europe and offer free overview tours there and then make a profit by selling additional tour packages. The guide was very knowledgeable, we hit all of the highlights of the city, and I learned a ton about the city. It also helped me to get my bearings around the city so I could further explore on my own.
Explore, I did. By myself and after my friends arrived, I think that I walked every street of Old City in which every turning every corner is like taking a trip back in time or tearing a page from the Bible. One minute, you are at the spot of the Last Supper and the next, you are at the Wailing Wall.
The two most significant locations in Old City are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Temple Mount. As I had mentioned before, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. It is the most holy spot in Christendom and, even for a heathen like me, was a moving experience. There are so many people inside that are totally lost in the depths of their faith and clergy from so many different denominations of Christianity that it is an impressive and, at times, overwhelming experience.
The Temple Mount is one of the most holy locations for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is the location of Mt. Neriah from the Bible. On the, sits the Foundation Stone which Jews and Muslims believe is the spot from which the world sprang. On this stone, Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his loyalty to God. God stopped him at the last moment and promised him and his descendents the land here as reward for his faith. King David placed the Ark of the Covenant on the Foundation Stone after conquering Jerusalem and his son, Solomon, built the first Jewish temple around it. Later, Kind Herod the Great built the Jewish people theirs second temple at the same spot. Christ spent much of the last week of his life in and around this temple and predicted its destruction. Today, all that remains of the temple is the Western or “Wailing” Wall. This is the spot that Jews believe always houses the presence of God and is a most holy site of pilgrimage and prayer. All of the cracks and seams in the stones are filled with little pieces of paper on which people have written prayers. I added mine even though I already have a direct line and God had just given me his New 10 Commandments.
Also at this spot, it is said that Mohammad ascended to Heaven to speak directly to God in order to begin the Islamic religion. The Dome of the Rock was built here to commemorate that event. Now, the entire top of the Temple Mount is an Islamic Holy Spot with the Dome probably the most recognizable feature in Jerusalem. Non -Muslims are only allowed to go to the top of the Mount at specific times and to specific locations but Muslims can visit at any time.
If you can’t tell, I loved Jerusalem. My days were spent learning and exploring and my nights were spent hanging out with friends sharing beers and stories. It was great and I was very sad to leave. Jerusalem has not seen the last of me.
Shalom!
As far as the cities I have visited in world, I rank Jerusalem just below Rome as one of my favorites. As I said before, I am staying right inside the gates of the Old City and have some of the most Holy locations of monotheism only minutes away. If I go outside of the city gate, though, New Jerusalem is right there with her modern malls, restaurants, and nightlife. My only decision when I leave the hotel is do I turn left to see history or right to eat, drink, and be merry.
I actually don’t have to go that far to eat, drink, and be merry. My hotel is situated off of a little alley and sharing the alley with us are two bars. My friends and I have got to know Christian Palestinians that own the place and have hung out there quite of bit the last few nights. In the middle of the square is a Roman mile post that was excavated near the hotel. It is written about a Roman general and commemorates the destruction of Jerusalem in 67 AD. My hotel, The New Imperial, has a lot of history. The building was originally built in the late 1800’s for Kaiser Wilhelm II to stay in when he visiting the Holy Land. It and the surrounding buildings are owed by the Greek Orthodox Church. The Patriarch of the Church lives only a few blocks away and personally leased the buildings to the business owners. The Patriarch is the head of that Church equal to the Pope in the Catholic Church. The hotel was leased to the family that operates it in the 1940’s and has operated by father, son, and grandson since then. They are a incredibly nice family and before I left, I sat and talked to the Mr. Djanni, the son of the original owner, for a while. He has lived in Jerusalem for 70 years and has seen and lived through a lot so he has an interesting perspective and knowledge on the mideast.
The hotel is in the Christian quarter which is filled with churches. Every morning, church woke me up with her bells at 6:45. Then for good measure, another church provided a 7:00 snooze alarm bell ringing. On Sunday morning, with my window open, I stayed in bed and listened to the morning services all around me including the singing and chanting in Latin. Amongst the sounds of the Christian services, you can hear the Muslim calls to prayer for one of their 5 prayer times a day. Now that I think about it, Jerusalem in actually a pretty noisy city.
My friends did make it in from Ein Gedi and I have to admit, after hearing what they went through, I am glad that I had another night in Jerusalem. Friday evening and Saturday was the Sabbath where everything shuts down here in the Jewish world. Ein Gedi is in the middle of nowhere and 100% Jewish so they had nothing to do, eat, or drink. They ended up getting a taxi to Jerusalem about 6 PM Saturday night and when they showed up, they all had the look of starving dogs in their eyes and recounted the hell that they had been through for the past 24 hours. I felt kind of bad because in Old City, Jews are the vast minority so while my friends were starved and bored to death, I was eating, drinking, and exploring one of the greatest cities on Earth.
Jerusalem really is amazing. It is the holiest city to both Judaism and Christianity and right behind Mecca for Islam. A city has had a wall here for over 5000 years and the name of Jerusalem shows up in Egyptian texts over 3000 years ago. Today, Old City is split into four geographic quarters: the Armenian, the Jewish, the Christian, and the Arab. The Armenian quarter is a walled city within a walled city which is locked every night and re-opened every morning. The Arab, Christian, and Jewish quarters are opened to each other and are divided geographically by main streets. The Christian, Jewish, and Armenian quarter all have about 2000 residents while the Arab quarter has almost 30,000. The makes Palestinian Arabs the prominent majority of Old City Jerusalem. Almost all of the businesses here are run by Palestinians including our hotel. I had thought that with the geopolitical climate here that there would be a lot of tension between the races and while it is evident, it is not as pronounced as I expected. I think that they are all proud of the city in which they live and that gives them some common ground despite the rest of their differences. Oddly enough, the majority of the violence right now in Jerusalem is from Orthodox Jews trying to push religion on secular Jews.
To get a good overview of the history and geography of the city, my hotel recommended a free-walking tour that goes for about 4 hours and starts everyday in front of my hotel at the Jaffa gate. I was very skeptical of a free tour. My experience is that if you are not paying for a tour or getting a “good deal,” they make up the difference by spending most of the tour at souvenir shops in which they make a little kickback for bring you in. The hotel said that shouldn’t be a problem with this tour group and so I figured that I’d try it out and if it wasn’t good, I’d just walk away.
My free Jerusalem tour was one of the best that I’ve had on my entire trip. The company is just starting out here and is trying to build a name for itself by word of mouth. They are operating throughout Europe and offer free overview tours there and then make a profit by selling additional tour packages. The guide was very knowledgeable, we hit all of the highlights of the city, and I learned a ton about the city. It also helped me to get my bearings around the city so I could further explore on my own.
Explore, I did. By myself and after my friends arrived, I think that I walked every street of Old City in which every turning every corner is like taking a trip back in time or tearing a page from the Bible. One minute, you are at the spot of the Last Supper and the next, you are at the Wailing Wall.
The two most significant locations in Old City are the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Temple Mount. As I had mentioned before, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is where Christ was crucified, buried and resurrected. It is the most holy spot in Christendom and, even for a heathen like me, was a moving experience. There are so many people inside that are totally lost in the depths of their faith and clergy from so many different denominations of Christianity that it is an impressive and, at times, overwhelming experience.
The Temple Mount is one of the most holy locations for Judaism, Christianity and Islam. It is the location of Mt. Neriah from the Bible. On the, sits the Foundation Stone which Jews and Muslims believe is the spot from which the world sprang. On this stone, Abraham was told to sacrifice his son Isaac to prove his loyalty to God. God stopped him at the last moment and promised him and his descendents the land here as reward for his faith. King David placed the Ark of the Covenant on the Foundation Stone after conquering Jerusalem and his son, Solomon, built the first Jewish temple around it. Later, Kind Herod the Great built the Jewish people theirs second temple at the same spot. Christ spent much of the last week of his life in and around this temple and predicted its destruction. Today, all that remains of the temple is the Western or “Wailing” Wall. This is the spot that Jews believe always houses the presence of God and is a most holy site of pilgrimage and prayer. All of the cracks and seams in the stones are filled with little pieces of paper on which people have written prayers. I added mine even though I already have a direct line and God had just given me his New 10 Commandments.
Also at this spot, it is said that Mohammad ascended to Heaven to speak directly to God in order to begin the Islamic religion. The Dome of the Rock was built here to commemorate that event. Now, the entire top of the Temple Mount is an Islamic Holy Spot with the Dome probably the most recognizable feature in Jerusalem. Non -Muslims are only allowed to go to the top of the Mount at specific times and to specific locations but Muslims can visit at any time.
If you can’t tell, I loved Jerusalem. My days were spent learning and exploring and my nights were spent hanging out with friends sharing beers and stories. It was great and I was very sad to leave. Jerusalem has not seen the last of me.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Crossing into Israel
Day 79, October 3rd, 2008
The political situation between Israel and her neighbors is complicated at best which I’m sure comes as no surprise to anyone. Most Arab countries, and several others, do not recognize Israel as a sovereign state. Luckily, Egypt and Jordan both have treaties with Israel recognizing her as an independent state. Because of these treaties, tourists and nationals may cross the border. It’s not quite that simple, though, because Jordan still claims some of the territory of the West Bank as it’s own as does the Palestinian Authority. The West Bank is one of the most disputed areas on Earth. For the moment, it is the Israeli government that controls it. Even with the treaties in place, it is still a major production so get across the Israeli/Jordan border.
There are three places from which to cross: the Sheik Hussein Bridge which is north by Galilee, the King Hussein Bridge which is closest to Amman and Madaba where we were staying, and the Arava land crossing which is at Aqaba where I entered Jordan.
Since we were staying in Madaba, we wanted to cross at the King Hussein Bridge. This crossing also affords one more advantage for many travelers which is that Jordan won’t stamp your passport upon exiting the country. Here, you are crossing into the West Bank and since they claim it as their own, they don’t see the need to stamp your passport if you really aren’t leaving Jordan.
This is important to many people because several countries will not allow entry if there is ANY evidence of a visit to Israel or Palestinian territories: Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Qatar, and Lebanon.
Once you cross the King Hussein Bridge, the Israelis stamp an entry/exit card instead of your passport thereby erasing, from any of the aforementioned countries, any evidence of time spent in Israel.
That is how it is suppose to work.
This is how it did work…..
I am traveling in Israel with 3 other people from my tour group: Maria, the crazy Colombian, and Karen and Brain who are two friends traveling together from Canada. We shared a taxi to the King Hussein Bridge, paid our departure tax, and gave our passports over to be examined and not get our stamp.
One passport, two passports, three passports…then my passport.
Apparently I had a different kind of visa from the other three which didn’t allow me to cross at the King Hussein Bridge. My visa was issued in Aqaba and they all got visas before they arrived. My three traveling companions were allowed to exit the country and I was stuck in Jordan.
I wasn’t really stuck, however, I was in a small race against time. My visa allowed me to exit Jordan at the Arava crossing or the Sheik Hussein Bridge. Arava was several hours away and the Sheik Hussein Bridge was about 50-60 miles north so I hopped, alone again, into a taxi bound there. It would take about an hour to get to the Sheik Hussen Bridge and I didn’t have too much longer than that to get across the border. Due to the Jewish Sabbath, the border shuts down on Friday afternoon through Sunday morning so if I didn’t make it on time, I’d be in Jordan for another couple of days.
When I got to the Bridge, it was a ghost town which made it more surprising to me the trouble that they gave me exiting Jordan. The first hassle is the transportation. I took a taxi to the Bridge, then you have to hire another taxi to take you through security, finally, you have to hire a bus to take you across the actual border.
The second hassle is the security. They unpacked every pocket of every bag that I had. After three months of travel, my backpack is not very orderly. It was a mess. Thank God that there were so few other people crossing here or it really would’ve been a disaster. As the Jordanian security was going through my bag, they are also playing with my belongings. They tried on several hats that I had and laughed at each other (and me too indirectly, I am assuming); They thumbed through some books I had and were asking me questions about the plots; They went through my entire toiletry bag asking me what prescriptions were for (diarrhea, heartburn, and hair loss, if you’d like to know) and why I had so much soap (gifts from the Dead Sea); They pulled out T-shirts I had bought and wanted to know why I chose these particular ones like my fashion decisions had national security implications. Mostly, I just think they were bored. As much of a hassle as it was, it was incredibly funny to see three men with machine guns trying on Nepalese hats. I was so tempted to ask for a picture but my time was running out and I didn’t want to risk spending the next week in a Jordanian prison.
After what seemed like hours of security, immigration, and transportation, I finally arrived into Israel.
Shalom!
From some internet blogs and from some of the Israelis that I had met in my travels, I had heard that the real fun begins once you cross into Israel. I had heard that security was incredibly tight and I would probably be pulled aside and interrogated. Once I actually got into Israel, besides the thorough search of the bus, immigration was quick. They did a cursory search of my belongings (2 minutes, maybe) and stamped my passport. My friends that crossed south of me at the busier King Hussen Bridge had considerable more trouble with Israeli immigration.
Since you're asking, yes, I did get my passport stamped. At this crossing, you cannot request the Jordanians to not stamp your passport because you are crossing directly into Israel officially leaving Jordan so it makes no difference if the Israelis stamp the passport. The evidence of a visit to Israel is stamped into your passport before you even enter. So I guess that there is no Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, North Korea, Libya, Syria or Lebanon for me. That actually reads like a list of countries at the bottom of my list of places I’d want to visit so I’m no too upset with my freshly stamped passport. Maybe someday, I’d like to see Syria and Lebanon but there are enough places in the world to see that I don’t think I’ll be missing out on too much.
Once I exited the border terminal and as the Jordanian side was earlier, the Israeli side was a ghost town. This is the much less frequently used crossing and as such, has none of the amenities of the one 50 miles south. Also, there, I would have been with 3 other people to split costs and get to where we wanted to be. Here, I was in the middle of nowhere, alone, and had no clue what my next step would be.
I decided that my first step had to be to find a taxi or bus station and an ATM. I waited outside the border station for over 45 minutes waiting for a taxi. No tourists crossing means no taxis. One finally came and wanted to charge me 50 sheckles or about 15 dollars to get the nearest town with a bus station that was 10 kilometers away. I didn’t want to pay that much but really had no other choice. I briefly thought that if I walked to Tel Aviv, I could make it in time for my flight home next week.
Once I got to the town, whose name escapes me right now, I had to figure out where I was going to get to before the Sabbath started and all the buses shut down. I was suppose to get to a town called Ein Gedi which was at least 4 hours south of where I was now with no direct transportation except for a taxi which would’ve cost more over $200. That was out. The taxi wanted to charge me $100 to get to Jerusalem but I found a bus for under $10. I figured that I’d get to Jerusalem, see if I could get a bus or reasonably priced car to Ein Gedi or just stay there and see if I could check into my hotel a day early.
Right now, I am in my hotel so staying in Jerusalem won out. By the time that I got here, there were no buses that could get me to Ein Gedi and it was still going to be too expensive to take a car. With a little luck, I’ll catch up with my friends here so we can travel the rest of Israel together.
I walked around for a long time last night when I got here. I am staying right inside Old City Jerusalem which is the location of almost all of the ancient places of significance. I am within a 10 minute walk of the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and Mt. Zion. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is right down the block about a 3 minute walk. The Church is where tradition says Golgotha was located. Golgotha was the “Skull Place” where Jesus was said to have been crucified, buried, and resurrected. My hotel is right inside the Jaffa Gate, or David’s Gate (appropriate, I think) from which every conqueror of the City has entered. Also, my hotel is said to sit (if you remember your Old Testament or Rufus Wainwright songs) directly on the site that King David saw Bathsheba bathing and subsequently stole her from her husband. After the orchestrated death of her husband, Bathsheba became the wife of King David and eventually bore him the son, Solomon.
I guess for the rest of the day, I’ll start to explore Jerusalem some more and hopefully meet up with my friends tomorrow.
More updates later...
The political situation between Israel and her neighbors is complicated at best which I’m sure comes as no surprise to anyone. Most Arab countries, and several others, do not recognize Israel as a sovereign state. Luckily, Egypt and Jordan both have treaties with Israel recognizing her as an independent state. Because of these treaties, tourists and nationals may cross the border. It’s not quite that simple, though, because Jordan still claims some of the territory of the West Bank as it’s own as does the Palestinian Authority. The West Bank is one of the most disputed areas on Earth. For the moment, it is the Israeli government that controls it. Even with the treaties in place, it is still a major production so get across the Israeli/Jordan border.
There are three places from which to cross: the Sheik Hussein Bridge which is north by Galilee, the King Hussein Bridge which is closest to Amman and Madaba where we were staying, and the Arava land crossing which is at Aqaba where I entered Jordan.
Since we were staying in Madaba, we wanted to cross at the King Hussein Bridge. This crossing also affords one more advantage for many travelers which is that Jordan won’t stamp your passport upon exiting the country. Here, you are crossing into the West Bank and since they claim it as their own, they don’t see the need to stamp your passport if you really aren’t leaving Jordan.
This is important to many people because several countries will not allow entry if there is ANY evidence of a visit to Israel or Palestinian territories: Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Syria, Qatar, and Lebanon.
Once you cross the King Hussein Bridge, the Israelis stamp an entry/exit card instead of your passport thereby erasing, from any of the aforementioned countries, any evidence of time spent in Israel.
That is how it is suppose to work.
This is how it did work…..
I am traveling in Israel with 3 other people from my tour group: Maria, the crazy Colombian, and Karen and Brain who are two friends traveling together from Canada. We shared a taxi to the King Hussein Bridge, paid our departure tax, and gave our passports over to be examined and not get our stamp.
One passport, two passports, three passports…then my passport.
Apparently I had a different kind of visa from the other three which didn’t allow me to cross at the King Hussein Bridge. My visa was issued in Aqaba and they all got visas before they arrived. My three traveling companions were allowed to exit the country and I was stuck in Jordan.
I wasn’t really stuck, however, I was in a small race against time. My visa allowed me to exit Jordan at the Arava crossing or the Sheik Hussein Bridge. Arava was several hours away and the Sheik Hussein Bridge was about 50-60 miles north so I hopped, alone again, into a taxi bound there. It would take about an hour to get to the Sheik Hussen Bridge and I didn’t have too much longer than that to get across the border. Due to the Jewish Sabbath, the border shuts down on Friday afternoon through Sunday morning so if I didn’t make it on time, I’d be in Jordan for another couple of days.
When I got to the Bridge, it was a ghost town which made it more surprising to me the trouble that they gave me exiting Jordan. The first hassle is the transportation. I took a taxi to the Bridge, then you have to hire another taxi to take you through security, finally, you have to hire a bus to take you across the actual border.
The second hassle is the security. They unpacked every pocket of every bag that I had. After three months of travel, my backpack is not very orderly. It was a mess. Thank God that there were so few other people crossing here or it really would’ve been a disaster. As the Jordanian security was going through my bag, they are also playing with my belongings. They tried on several hats that I had and laughed at each other (and me too indirectly, I am assuming); They thumbed through some books I had and were asking me questions about the plots; They went through my entire toiletry bag asking me what prescriptions were for (diarrhea, heartburn, and hair loss, if you’d like to know) and why I had so much soap (gifts from the Dead Sea); They pulled out T-shirts I had bought and wanted to know why I chose these particular ones like my fashion decisions had national security implications. Mostly, I just think they were bored. As much of a hassle as it was, it was incredibly funny to see three men with machine guns trying on Nepalese hats. I was so tempted to ask for a picture but my time was running out and I didn’t want to risk spending the next week in a Jordanian prison.
After what seemed like hours of security, immigration, and transportation, I finally arrived into Israel.
Shalom!
From some internet blogs and from some of the Israelis that I had met in my travels, I had heard that the real fun begins once you cross into Israel. I had heard that security was incredibly tight and I would probably be pulled aside and interrogated. Once I actually got into Israel, besides the thorough search of the bus, immigration was quick. They did a cursory search of my belongings (2 minutes, maybe) and stamped my passport. My friends that crossed south of me at the busier King Hussen Bridge had considerable more trouble with Israeli immigration.
Since you're asking, yes, I did get my passport stamped. At this crossing, you cannot request the Jordanians to not stamp your passport because you are crossing directly into Israel officially leaving Jordan so it makes no difference if the Israelis stamp the passport. The evidence of a visit to Israel is stamped into your passport before you even enter. So I guess that there is no Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, North Korea, Libya, Syria or Lebanon for me. That actually reads like a list of countries at the bottom of my list of places I’d want to visit so I’m no too upset with my freshly stamped passport. Maybe someday, I’d like to see Syria and Lebanon but there are enough places in the world to see that I don’t think I’ll be missing out on too much.
Once I exited the border terminal and as the Jordanian side was earlier, the Israeli side was a ghost town. This is the much less frequently used crossing and as such, has none of the amenities of the one 50 miles south. Also, there, I would have been with 3 other people to split costs and get to where we wanted to be. Here, I was in the middle of nowhere, alone, and had no clue what my next step would be.
I decided that my first step had to be to find a taxi or bus station and an ATM. I waited outside the border station for over 45 minutes waiting for a taxi. No tourists crossing means no taxis. One finally came and wanted to charge me 50 sheckles or about 15 dollars to get the nearest town with a bus station that was 10 kilometers away. I didn’t want to pay that much but really had no other choice. I briefly thought that if I walked to Tel Aviv, I could make it in time for my flight home next week.
Once I got to the town, whose name escapes me right now, I had to figure out where I was going to get to before the Sabbath started and all the buses shut down. I was suppose to get to a town called Ein Gedi which was at least 4 hours south of where I was now with no direct transportation except for a taxi which would’ve cost more over $200. That was out. The taxi wanted to charge me $100 to get to Jerusalem but I found a bus for under $10. I figured that I’d get to Jerusalem, see if I could get a bus or reasonably priced car to Ein Gedi or just stay there and see if I could check into my hotel a day early.
Right now, I am in my hotel so staying in Jerusalem won out. By the time that I got here, there were no buses that could get me to Ein Gedi and it was still going to be too expensive to take a car. With a little luck, I’ll catch up with my friends here so we can travel the rest of Israel together.
I walked around for a long time last night when I got here. I am staying right inside Old City Jerusalem which is the location of almost all of the ancient places of significance. I am within a 10 minute walk of the Wailing Wall, the Dome of the Rock, and Mt. Zion. The Church of the Holy Sepulcher is right down the block about a 3 minute walk. The Church is where tradition says Golgotha was located. Golgotha was the “Skull Place” where Jesus was said to have been crucified, buried, and resurrected. My hotel is right inside the Jaffa Gate, or David’s Gate (appropriate, I think) from which every conqueror of the City has entered. Also, my hotel is said to sit (if you remember your Old Testament or Rufus Wainwright songs) directly on the site that King David saw Bathsheba bathing and subsequently stole her from her husband. After the orchestrated death of her husband, Bathsheba became the wife of King David and eventually bore him the son, Solomon.
I guess for the rest of the day, I’ll start to explore Jerusalem some more and hopefully meet up with my friends tomorrow.
More updates later...
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Petra & Madaba, Jordan
Days 76-78, September 30th – October 2nd, 2008
From Wadi Rum, we were in no hurry to drive the 2 hours to Petra since we couldn’t check into our hotel until noon anyway so we lounged around the Bedouin camp just relaxing in the cool desert morning. Khaleid was back in the morning but it was obvious that he was much worse off than the last time we had seen him. He spent the rest of our time at the camp and the time on the bus to Petra doubled over and wincing in pain. Things didn’t get any better for him or us as the day went on. He continued to feel worse and worse and then some suspicious events started to happen. I am not going to get into all of them but most of the suspicion surrounded multiple changes to our itinerary. In Egypt, our guide Michael, followed our itinerary to the letter. Here in Jordan, with a sick guide, that has been a lot of confusion about everything that has been going on.
For two days, we were visited the sights and monuments of Petra. If you have seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you would know Petra as the location that housed the 800 year old knight and the Holy Grail. That must have been movie magic, though, because I saw neither.
On our first day, we visited a site called “Little Petra.” It is just outside of the main city and was used to house traveling merchants and their caravans. It was kind of like the business park of the city with hotels and stables. The building here were impressive enough on their own and I knew that the main city was dozens of times larger and more grand so I was very excited to see the main event the next day.
At Little Petra, Khaleid didn’t get out of the bus with us. He was too sick. Our guided tour of Little Petra turned into a self-guided walking tour with several of us trying to pull a few facts from any guide book that had been circulating through the group.
That night, Khaleid went to the hospital again. So, again, we were left guideless, in a foreign country, in the middle of no where, and with the biggest day of our Jordan visit ahead of us: Petra.
Petra is a city, founded by a people called the Nabateans, cut right into the limestone mountains of Southern Jordan. The Nabateans were an early nomadic Arab tribe that settled in the area of the Arabian Peninsula. The Bedouins that currently live here trace their ancestry from these people. They are also the only people that are allowed to live in Petra today though most now make their home in the desert or small urban communities.
The Nabateans settled here because the area that would become Petra sat in the middle of trade routes from all over the mideast They became powerful and wealthy from the control of these trade routes and with this wealth, built some of the most spectacular ancient monuments that survive in the present day. Many of the grand facades were carved as tombs or temples. Only about 25% of the area of Petra that was used for daily living has been excavated. The city is huge and covers at least 10 square kilometers. The Nabatean civilization was at its height from about 200 BC to 106 AD when it was conquered by Rome.
Since we had no guide, our tour agency tried to arrange another agency guide for us but couldn’t find one so the next morning, we met with a local guide, Akmed, for our tour of Petra. This is probably the best thing that happened to us in Jordan. Akmed is a Beduoin who was born in Petra and knows the city better than anybody. We definitely got a VIP tour. Not only did we get to see the sights that the other tourist did, we got to climb and hike to some places where there wasn’t another soul. It was an incredible day. We were scheduled to be in Petra from 8AM until 6PM and I thought it was going to be way too long of a day. I could have stayed for several more hours there is so much to see and do.
The buildings that the Nabateans built are pretty amazing. Imagine taking a sheer rock cliff and carving an entire 6 story building or cathedral right into the solid rock. That is exactly what the people living here did 2000 years ago. It is truly a wonder of the world. You also enter the city just like Indiana Jones did by going through a very narrow, winding valley. I heard several people, from my group and others (but not me, of course), humming the Indiana Jones music while walking through the Siq (the name of the valley).
Our last day in Jordan was spent driving northward, with some stops, towards our overnight stay in the town called Madaba which was Moab in the bible. It was an overall tense day in our group. Khaleid was not happy with us that we questioned him to the agency and we were not happy with him that we had to do it in the first place. The tension mixed with the fact that the trip was winding down really made for a quiet day. I think that almost everyone was looking forward to wrapping up the trip or moving onward to their next destination. Despite all of this, I enjoyed the day.
A highlight of the day was a visit to Kerek Castle, which was the last crusader castle to fall to the Muslim Army of Saladin during the crusades. Most of the castle is in ruins but it was still fun to walk through the few resorted areas where war was raged during the crusades. The highlight for me was the dungeon. As you can see, I escaped.
We also stopped by the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on the face of the Earth, for a few hours of leisure taking advantage of one of the many spas that are along the coast. The Dead Sea has a salt content (33%) that is 10 times higher than that of the oceans. Because of the high salt content, there is absolutely nothing living in its waters (hence the dead part of the name). It is so dense and buoyant that sitting in it is like sitting a floating chair. You can float with your arms and legs straight in the air and it is almost impossible to put your whole body and head underwater. That’s a good thing, too. If you get any of the water in your nose or eyes, it hurts…bad. If you’ve ever got ocean water in your eyes, you know that it stings. Now imagine 10 times the sting. There is so much salt that it crystalizes out and sits on the shore like rocks. Also, the mud at the Dead Sea is supposed to be healthy for the skin so everyone sits on the shore and slops mud on themselves. People look completely ridiculous doing it but, of course, I had to join in the fun. I do have to say that after the mud bath, my skin felt….exactly like it did before.
Our last stop was Mt. Nebo, which has been a site of pilgrimages for millennia. It is, according to tradition, the last place in which the Israelites camped after wondering the desert for 40 years and before entering the Promised Land. It is also the place where Moses saw the Promised Land before him, wasn’t allowed to enter, and then died and was buried. From the top of Mt. Nebo, you can see very little green, a completely dead body of water, and a lot of desert. If I were Moses and had just finished wandering the desert for 40 years after battling a Pharaoh and God told me that the land under Mt. Nebo was my people’s birthright, I’d ask him if he had any other options. The only thing that I can think of that could be “promised” from that view is some thirst and a sunburn. Nonetheless, visiting here has been interesting just as it has been visiting so many other places that have been significant to history.
Tomorrow, my tour group continues to Amman, the capitol of Jordan. I won’t see Amman on this trip, however, because tomorrow morning, when the rest of the group moves on, 4 of us are hopping the border into Israel for the next and last part of my adventure.
From Wadi Rum, we were in no hurry to drive the 2 hours to Petra since we couldn’t check into our hotel until noon anyway so we lounged around the Bedouin camp just relaxing in the cool desert morning. Khaleid was back in the morning but it was obvious that he was much worse off than the last time we had seen him. He spent the rest of our time at the camp and the time on the bus to Petra doubled over and wincing in pain. Things didn’t get any better for him or us as the day went on. He continued to feel worse and worse and then some suspicious events started to happen. I am not going to get into all of them but most of the suspicion surrounded multiple changes to our itinerary. In Egypt, our guide Michael, followed our itinerary to the letter. Here in Jordan, with a sick guide, that has been a lot of confusion about everything that has been going on.
For two days, we were visited the sights and monuments of Petra. If you have seen Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, you would know Petra as the location that housed the 800 year old knight and the Holy Grail. That must have been movie magic, though, because I saw neither.
On our first day, we visited a site called “Little Petra.” It is just outside of the main city and was used to house traveling merchants and their caravans. It was kind of like the business park of the city with hotels and stables. The building here were impressive enough on their own and I knew that the main city was dozens of times larger and more grand so I was very excited to see the main event the next day.
At Little Petra, Khaleid didn’t get out of the bus with us. He was too sick. Our guided tour of Little Petra turned into a self-guided walking tour with several of us trying to pull a few facts from any guide book that had been circulating through the group.
That night, Khaleid went to the hospital again. So, again, we were left guideless, in a foreign country, in the middle of no where, and with the biggest day of our Jordan visit ahead of us: Petra.
Petra is a city, founded by a people called the Nabateans, cut right into the limestone mountains of Southern Jordan. The Nabateans were an early nomadic Arab tribe that settled in the area of the Arabian Peninsula. The Bedouins that currently live here trace their ancestry from these people. They are also the only people that are allowed to live in Petra today though most now make their home in the desert or small urban communities.
The Nabateans settled here because the area that would become Petra sat in the middle of trade routes from all over the mideast They became powerful and wealthy from the control of these trade routes and with this wealth, built some of the most spectacular ancient monuments that survive in the present day. Many of the grand facades were carved as tombs or temples. Only about 25% of the area of Petra that was used for daily living has been excavated. The city is huge and covers at least 10 square kilometers. The Nabatean civilization was at its height from about 200 BC to 106 AD when it was conquered by Rome.
Since we had no guide, our tour agency tried to arrange another agency guide for us but couldn’t find one so the next morning, we met with a local guide, Akmed, for our tour of Petra. This is probably the best thing that happened to us in Jordan. Akmed is a Beduoin who was born in Petra and knows the city better than anybody. We definitely got a VIP tour. Not only did we get to see the sights that the other tourist did, we got to climb and hike to some places where there wasn’t another soul. It was an incredible day. We were scheduled to be in Petra from 8AM until 6PM and I thought it was going to be way too long of a day. I could have stayed for several more hours there is so much to see and do.
The buildings that the Nabateans built are pretty amazing. Imagine taking a sheer rock cliff and carving an entire 6 story building or cathedral right into the solid rock. That is exactly what the people living here did 2000 years ago. It is truly a wonder of the world. You also enter the city just like Indiana Jones did by going through a very narrow, winding valley. I heard several people, from my group and others (but not me, of course), humming the Indiana Jones music while walking through the Siq (the name of the valley).
Our last day in Jordan was spent driving northward, with some stops, towards our overnight stay in the town called Madaba which was Moab in the bible. It was an overall tense day in our group. Khaleid was not happy with us that we questioned him to the agency and we were not happy with him that we had to do it in the first place. The tension mixed with the fact that the trip was winding down really made for a quiet day. I think that almost everyone was looking forward to wrapping up the trip or moving onward to their next destination. Despite all of this, I enjoyed the day.
A highlight of the day was a visit to Kerek Castle, which was the last crusader castle to fall to the Muslim Army of Saladin during the crusades. Most of the castle is in ruins but it was still fun to walk through the few resorted areas where war was raged during the crusades. The highlight for me was the dungeon. As you can see, I escaped.
We also stopped by the Dead Sea, the lowest spot on the face of the Earth, for a few hours of leisure taking advantage of one of the many spas that are along the coast. The Dead Sea has a salt content (33%) that is 10 times higher than that of the oceans. Because of the high salt content, there is absolutely nothing living in its waters (hence the dead part of the name). It is so dense and buoyant that sitting in it is like sitting a floating chair. You can float with your arms and legs straight in the air and it is almost impossible to put your whole body and head underwater. That’s a good thing, too. If you get any of the water in your nose or eyes, it hurts…bad. If you’ve ever got ocean water in your eyes, you know that it stings. Now imagine 10 times the sting. There is so much salt that it crystalizes out and sits on the shore like rocks. Also, the mud at the Dead Sea is supposed to be healthy for the skin so everyone sits on the shore and slops mud on themselves. People look completely ridiculous doing it but, of course, I had to join in the fun. I do have to say that after the mud bath, my skin felt….exactly like it did before.
Our last stop was Mt. Nebo, which has been a site of pilgrimages for millennia. It is, according to tradition, the last place in which the Israelites camped after wondering the desert for 40 years and before entering the Promised Land. It is also the place where Moses saw the Promised Land before him, wasn’t allowed to enter, and then died and was buried. From the top of Mt. Nebo, you can see very little green, a completely dead body of water, and a lot of desert. If I were Moses and had just finished wandering the desert for 40 years after battling a Pharaoh and God told me that the land under Mt. Nebo was my people’s birthright, I’d ask him if he had any other options. The only thing that I can think of that could be “promised” from that view is some thirst and a sunburn. Nonetheless, visiting here has been interesting just as it has been visiting so many other places that have been significant to history.
Tomorrow, my tour group continues to Amman, the capitol of Jordan. I won’t see Amman on this trip, however, because tomorrow morning, when the rest of the group moves on, 4 of us are hopping the border into Israel for the next and last part of my adventure.
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